If you’ve ever prayed and felt like nothing happened, you’re not alone. Most of us have or do
still, wrestle with the question: Does prayer really work? But we must first look at what we mean
by “work”? Do we mean “Did I get what I wanted?” Or do we mean, “Did I become more
aligned with what God wants?” That distinction changes everything. We live in a world that
measures value by output. If I input a prayer and nothing changes externally, then the prayer
must have failed — or so we think. But what if prayer is less like a vending machine and more
like a conversation? What if prayer isn’t about getting God to change our world but about letting
God change us for His world?
C.S. Lewis once said in his essay on prayer,
“Prayer in the sense of petition, asking for things, is a small part of it; confession and penitence
are its threshold, adoration its sanctuary, the presence and vision and enjoyment of God its bread
and wine.”
Prayer then is not primarily about outcomes — it is about orientation. It is about presence. When
we approach God with a list of demands, we may miss the transformation that pray is intended
for, in favor of a transaction to get something from God, In essence God serves us instead of we
serve Him. Jesus modeled this kind of prayer. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed, “Father,
if You are willing, remove this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done”
(Luke 22:42). This is not a prayer of personal victory. It’s a prayer of surrender. And it is perhaps
the most powerful prayer ever prayed. Not because it “worked” in the way we might want —
Jesus still went to the cross — but because through it, Jesus embraced the will of the Father, and
redemption came to the world.
We Want the World Changed. God Wants Us Changed.
Let’s be honest. When we pray, we often ask God to change a situation: fix a relationship, heal a
disease, provide a job, calm the chaos. Those are not bad prayers. But if we believe prayer is
only successful when the world around us changes, then we’re setting ourselves up for
disappointment — and worse, disillusionment with God. But what if the greater miracle is not
that our circumstances are changed, but that we are changed in the midst of them? Romans 12:2
says, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good,
pleasing, and perfect will of God.” This transformation often happens in prayer, not after it. We
come to God hoping He’ll do something for us, and we leave having had Him do something
in us. God is not after performance; He’s after presence. He’s not a boss waiting for you to
complete a checklist — He’s a Father inviting you to sit at the table. Prayer is not about proving
ourselves to God; it’s about opening ourselves to Him.
Prayer is often treated like a contract: “If I pray enough, believe enough, fast enough,
then God will act.” But the gospel paints a very different picture. It’s not about baking spiritual
cookies for 20 years so God will finally accept us. It’s about sitting at the table, receiving whatwe could never earn, and being changed by the One who welcomes us in. Jesus described the
Kingdom of Heaven as a feast, not a formula (Matthew 22:2). Prayer is not a 911 hotline for
emergencies — it’s a seat at that feast. It’s where our hearts are reshaped, not just our requests
fulfilled. And as The Table of the Lord reminds us, the Christian life is not an isolated quest for
spiritual upgrades, but a shared journey of becoming — together, around a table, aligned with
God and bring His way here on earth as it is in heaven.
So… Does Prayer Work?
I guess the answer really depends on what you mean when you ask does it "Work". If by
“work” we mean “I got the answer or thing I was looking or wanting" or "God gave me what I
asked for,” then the answer will be no. But if by “work” we mean “God met me, changed my
view, and made me more like Christ,” then the answer is always yes. In fact, it may be in the
times when prayers seem unanswered that the deepest work is done. Not because God was
absent, but because He was present in ways we didn’t expect. Like a father holding a child who
doesn’t understand why the pain hasn’t gone away yet — He is still holding. Still listening. Still
working.
Maybe the real power of prayer is not the mountain that moves, but the hearts that
changes. Maybe the goal of prayer was never to control the world but to let the Spirit of Christ
take control of us so that we become the hands and feet of Christ and God’s answer to the
problem in the world. Maybe that’s what Jesus meant when He said, “Your Kingdom come, Your
will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Prayer doesn’t bend God’s will to ours
— it bends our will to His.
Prayer is not for asking God to come change things in the world,
but asking God to come change us so that we are the change in the world.
So keep your fidelity, keep praying. Not because it guarantees changed circumstances. But
because it guarantees communion. And in that communion, we are transformed. That is the real
work of prayer. And yes — really it works.