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{{box | text=A 1,000 opinion answering the question: Does prayer affect how God acts?}}
The question as to whether or not prayer affects how God acts is an important and emotive question. Unspoken behind the question is the acceptance that God exists, listens and cares. But beyond these presuppositions, Christians don't unanimously agree upon the role of prayer. For me, the immediate gut reaction is “of course prayer affects how God acts” and so it seems a little surprising that there are many faithful Christians who believe the opposite. As Mark Pretorius puts it <ref> Mark Pretorius, How Does Prayer Affect God’s Plan? An Enquiry into God’s Providence with Special Reference to Prayer and Healing ([cited); available from http://www.satsonline.org/satsonline/userfiles/Pretorius,ProvidenceandPrayer.pdf.</ref>>
: ''If God is sovereign and His plans fixed, why pray? Does prayer change what God has purposed to do? If not, what is the point in praying? One could take these questions even further and say: if prayer has any effect on what happens, then it would seem that God’s plans are not fixed. On the other hand, if God has settled His plans and He will do what He is going to do, then does it matter whether we pray or not?''
These are powerful questions which cast doubt on the effectiveness of prayer. But, taking into account Scripture, church tradition, experience and reason, I am still convinced the answer is that prayer does, at times, affect how God acts.
