This saying does not come from the bible and careful reflection will show that it is not true as a total principle. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and he did so out of his free sovereign choice with no involvement through prayer, or any other means, of the people he created.
However, once we put the saying in context we will see that it does highlight an important principle for the Church. It was John Wesley who gave us the first recorded use of the phrase when he wrote:
“Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on earth. God does nothing but in answer to prayer.”
Wesley was not simply calling for more prayer, nor was he suggesting that any sort of prayer can move the hand of God. Some of the first teachings of Jesus exposed the hypocrisy of prayer that comes from a self-righteous heart or from a belief that mere repetition will persuade God. Jesus did stress the need for both perseverance and faith, but rooted these in the natures of people and of God. In people insofar as we are utterly helpless of ourselves, and in God, insofar as he is all-powerful and he has care, concern and love for the world.
Wesley set the focus for the prerequisites of effective prayer as a fear of sin and an exclusive or total desire for God. He was particularly stating that these were the foundational requirements for preachers, but the principle extends to the whole people of God.
We understand why some of us puzzle over why God should seem to limit himself to the degree that his people involve themselves in what he is doing. However, it is the difference between creation and pro-creation. As we said above, the first act of creation was out of nothing but the sovereign word and will of God, but everything that God made in that first creative act, contained within it the seed necessary to pro-create. Since the beginning, every generation – whether of plant, humanity or animals – brings forth the next generation.
The Church is no different. Every generation of Christians must be those who give birth to the next generation. True, they cannot do it without God, but also, God will not do it without them. It is a spiritual truth as well as a natural one that ‘except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and dies, it remains alone’. Pro- creation always involves a change of priorities – a denial of self in order to bring forth the life of another. All of Christianity is based on this principle which permeated every action of Jesus Christ in both life and death, and which finds its highest expression in fervent prayer for the next, as yet unborn, generation of believers. It can be seen historically, in a study of the major moves of God, which we call revivals.
Whenever people are born of God in large numbers, their births will have been preceded by concentrated, prevailing prayer. The basis for that statement is simple. In most cases, the prayer can be traced back afterwards. This is not fanciful. Some students of revival, such as J. Edwin Orr, completed a Doctorate at Oxford on the subject, and many have compiled newspaper records clearly detailing what happened. It is no secret, that before the 1858 Great Awakening, in which both the United States and Great Britain each saw around a million people added to the churches, prayer meetings were rampant. At one period in New York, 10,000 people met daily for prayer*. If we compare like with like in terms of the population ratio, that would be the equivalent of over 2000 people meeting for prayer in Northampton every single day.
Let us make no mistake about the matter. Human effort or better methods, however well intentioned or well motivated, will accomplish little more than a superficial human response. Nothing less than fully surrendered hearts gathered for sacrificial, believing prayer will see a new ingathering of people into the Kingdom of God.
*For a brief summary of what happened visit: https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/webfm_send/577
Jesus and the Holy Spirit intercede to the Father (I know it says ‘for us’) – – could it be that Jehovah created the earth in response to the interceding of Jesus and the Holy Spirit . . . . just a thought
Jesus taught us to pray ‘Thy will be done.’ He told us to also PRAY,’ the Lord of the Harvest to send forth labourers. Surely God wa ts us his children to pray that He might accomplish such. Stands to reason until we do, He might not, or why else should we pray? By Calvenistic reasoning He is violating His sovreignty in doing this.
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and he did so out of his free sovereign choice with no involvement through prayer, or any other means, of the people he created.” Yes, this is true, God in His sovereignty decided to create the earth but later He gave dominion to man and thus drawing a line that He would not interfere. Man would now have to pray to God for assistance in order for God to intervene on His behalf. So yes, we do have to pray for God to do anything on this earth, otherwise He would have dominion not us and He would be superimposing His will over our dominion. His will is great for us but we have to pray for His will to be done here on earth as it is in Heaven as we are commanded by Christ Himself that this is to be prayed for. He needs permission, not because we are something great but He is giving us the opportunity to partner with Him and prayer is your means to give Him permission. Whether your prayer lines up with who He is, is another matter entirely. You cannot force God to do your will, we need to ask Him to work His will in us. And you are correct, this saying does not come from the Bible but comes from a person who through strong convictions to preach, studied God’s word and prayed and through his experience gave glory to God for answered prayers. We know that God will humble the proud and exalt the humble. Did God humble John Wesley or was he used of God? God will use who will make themselves available and obedient to Him. When we ourselves step out in faith, we are subject to just as much criticism but John Wesley is not here to defend himself or God’s word. God has placed us here for such a time. All of us are fallible and by logic God causes men to stumble. His word is greater than logic. Curious that in this scripture (Isaiah 44:24-25) God mentions that He is the one who created the heavens and earth then mentions confounding the wise and turning knowledge into nonsense. We can always find the answer in His word.