Is God more likely to grant a prayer request if lots of people ask for it?

After reading the title of this post, you might be wondering, “Why is Pastor Tim bothering to write about a question that should so obviously be answered ‘yes?’ Of course God is more likely to grant a prayer request if many people ask for it!” Well, I’m writing this post because—from a biblical perspective—the answer to this question is NOT obviously “yes.” In fact, the answer is a definite “maybe, maybe not.”

Let me be perfectly clear on this point before I say anything else: there is nothing we can do to FORCE God to grant our prayer requests—absolutely nothing. We cannot, through any means, bind, coerce, manipulate, or otherwise control God’s decision about our prayer requests. Now to be sure, the Bible does mention human attitudes and actions that will accompany effective prayer. A short list would include repentance (Isaiah 59:1-2), confidence in God’s generosity and goodness (James 1:5-17), obedience (John 15:7-10), persistence (Luke 18:1-8), and treating your wife properly (1 Peter 3:7; yes, it actually says that, guys—look it up!). But here’s the irony—a lack of such attitudes and actions in your life will definitely hinder your prayers, but the presence of such attitudes and actions will not definitely get your requests answered!

Now, does the number of people making a request belong in the category I just mentioned? Will a lack of larger numbers definitely hinder your prayer request? Certainly not! On the flip side, though, will the presence of larger numbers definitely assist in your request getting answered? The MOST we can say is, “maybe, maybe not.”

The one passage I’m aware of that joins together prayer and numbers is 2 Corinthians 1:11 (Note: the statement in Matthew 18:20 about “two or three gathered” is NOT a general teaching about prayer.) In 2 Corinthians 1:8-10, Paul has been speaking of his hope that God will deliver him and his co-workers from physical danger. He writes in v. 11, “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.” Paul’s stated desire is that a larger number of people will become thankful to God since they have also made the same prayer request. The request answered would thus be their request as well, and they would be grateful to have it answered. I certainly have to think that, all other things being equal, more gratitude to God is better than less gratitude to God. This thought could therefore be a good motive for us to share prayer requests with others.

But does God take the potential numerical impact of a request into account when deciding on an answer? This passage simply does not say, nor does any other passage of Scripture that comes to my mind. We had better be very cautious, therefore, before we assume that a greater number of requesters brings with it a greater likelihood of receiving the request.

I wrote this post today to help you in two specific ways.

1. To help you think twice before sharing sensitive information as a prayer request.

If you’ve attended church very long, you’re likely familiar with what some have jokingly called the “organ recital”—times for sharing prayer requests that often become dominated by health concerns. When we or someone we love is facing trouble of any kind, we often want to call in the prayer cavalry right away. We want to get the word out so that other people can start praying for that person.

Those of us who are very familiar with how churches often operate can easily forget that not everyone wants to have personal, sensitive information shared quickly or broadly. Some people don’t mind this information being shared for the purpose of prayer, but some people aren’t comfortable with it. We should respect their decision without thinking their request is less likely to be answered if it’s not broadcast.  In this day when companies bend over backwards to protect our personal information, we should do the same for our friends. Make sure you have permission before you share information!

2. To help you not lose hope for your own requests.

We’ve all seen lots of prayer requests go viral on social media. People all over the world get to praying for someone they don’t even know. It can be encouraging to someone to know they have that much interest in their need.

But have you wondered if your own requests are at a disadvantage if they don’t garner that much attention? Perhaps you even put your request out there, but few people seem to pay attention. Does that influence God? Is He swayed by the number of likes, shares, and re-tweets?

I see no reason to think He is. Rather, we are assured that the God who knows the number of hairs on your head is concerned about you on a personal level. He knows what you need before you even ask (Matthew 6:8)! He is listening to you even if no one else is, so don’t lose hope for your requests if they don’t gain much notice from others. God’s children may always come with confidence to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16), even if no one re-tweets the fact that you were there.

Assessing Anger in Our Parenting

            For many of us, parenting is the last remaining frontier in which our anger has not been fully tamed. We’ve beaten anger back off the shores of friendship and even the wide plains of marriage, but it remains entrenched in the wild, untamed hill country of parenting. We don’t like it, don’t want to admit it, and even feel downright ashamed about it, but nevertheless, anger remains in our words and our actions toward our kids.

            Some parents among us grew up facing anger from their parents, and they swore up and down that they would not repeat those sins once their chance to be a parent came along. Yet here they stand with a bewildered look on their face as they have to admit once again, “I sound just like my dad (or mom).” It’s like the struggle that the Apostle Paul described in Romans 7:15—“I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”

            Why do we find such anger boiling up within us? Biblically, the answer is pretty simple—our hearts tell us that we deserve to be treated like God Himself, but our kids have different ideas. Please note: it is not that our kids make us get angry. They don’t have any such control over our actions. Rather, they simply act in ways we don’t like and we choose to react in anger. Our anger is always our own fault, not theirs. We have to accept responsibility before there will be any hope of change.

            How do we start to defeat this anger in our hearts? The process is not easy, but I believe it begins with this realization: anger cannot and will not produce any good results in our relationships with our children. None. Zero. As long as we entertain any thought that our anger might produce something good, we will lack the determination to put our anger to death. It’ll become like that can of random screws in your garage—you hang on to them because maybe, just maybe, they’ll come in handy someday. If you treat anger that way, you’ll be surprised just how often you pull it down off the shelf.

            Why am I so confident that anger will produce no good thing in your relationship with your kids? Take a look at James 1:19-20: “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” That last statement is true both in me and in others. My anger doesn’t lead me toward godliness, and it doesn’t produce godliness in others, either.

            At least not true godliness—the kind that flows from the heart. Anger can be so deceptive in this way because it can produce an imitation of godliness. Our kids tend to shape up after we’ve unleashed a verbal barrage on them. It looks like it accomplished something, so we’re tempted to keep doing it. But “shaping up” shouldn’t be our goal as Christian parents. Cleaned-up behavior on the outside with dirty hearts on the inside isn’t what we’re aiming for. The grand, audacious, mind-blowing goal of this thing we call parenting is to lead our children to love God with everything they’ve got and to love others like they love themselves. Anger will not move us one inch closer toward that goal, though it might knock us backward by several yards.

            Now, we can all thank God that He so often accomplishes great work in our children’s hearts in spite of our anger. That is glory to Him, but it is no credit to us. We don’t want to use His kindness as some excuse to not get serious about putting our anger to death. While this isn’t the whole answer, the process at least starts in us when we look in the mirror and say, “I don’t have this all figured out, and I may not know yet what I’m going to do instead, but whatever it is, I will not speak or act in anger toward my kids again.” Will we still blow it at times? Probably, but praise God that the repentant heart will always find forgiveness through Christ! A humble confession to our kids will also do worlds of good—for them and for us. Time to stop reading and go find that mirror!