Can God be Moved?

Isaiah 41:21, 45:11

Message No. 0564 | Twitter @GodandUs | www.wisdom-speaks.ca

I watch legal dramas because I believe they are both entertaining and lesson packed. I see lawyers argue cases for their clients and sometimes I see accused people in the witness box, making cases in their own defense. One thing I have not witnessed is a lawyer crying or trying to move the court by emotions. Lawyers state their facts very clearly, avoiding any performance or any action that could divert attention from the points they are trying to make. They must convince (not railroad) the jury or the judge, if they will win their cases.

One of the mistakes that God’s children make is to think that they can railroad God into answering their prayers by emotional performance. They weep, cry and ask God to look at them. This might work with our earthly parents, but God does not operate in the same manner. He cannot be moved by emotional gymnastics and pity tactics. We must tell God exactly what we need and why He needs to answer our prayers. In Isaiah 41:21, the Bible says:

“Present your case,” says the Lord. “Bring forth your strong reasons,” says the King of Jacob.

Just as the court expects lawyers and advocates to do, God expects us to state our reasons very clearly. And just as lawyers quote the law to back up their cases, God expects us to point to the Bible when making our cases before Him. Though God has not forgotten, yet He expects us to remind Him of His Words. When Abraham was arguing for Lot and his family before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, he asked God if He was going to destroy the righteous with the wicked. In Genesis 18:25, Abraham told God:

Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

Even though the Bible had not been written at this time, Abraham knew God so well that He was sure He was a just God and wouldn’t destroy the righteous with the wicked. How did God respond? In verse 26, He said ‘Ummnn, you are right, Abraham’ (my own words):

“If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”

Notice that Abraham did not fall down, rolling on the floor, weeping and saying God you know that Lot is my nephew and it will be so sad for me if you kill him with the Sodomites. No, that’s not the approach that moves God. Look at what God says in Isaiah 45:11:

Thus says the LORD, The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: “Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons; And concerning the work of My hands, you command Me.

If a Judge point-blank ignores the law and gives a judgement that has no bearing with it, an accused person can appeal, and the judge might be reprimanded. Though no one can reprimand God because He is supreme and has the final say in all things, yet, because He is God, He will not ignore His Word and do otherwise. He can’t, because He respects His Words even above His name (Psalm 138:2).

Can God be moved? Absolutely, but by laying down our facts and making our points, backing them up with His Words. We do not have to be lawyers to do this, just learn from Abraham. Now, there is nothing particularly wrong with weeping before God, provided that while doing that you still state your case clearly. King Hezekiah did this in 2 Kings 20:1-6. The Bible shows that after stating his case very pointedly, he wept bitterly. It is important to know that it’s not his weeping that moved God, but the statement of his facts. Oh, how I wish weeping moves God, everyone would be able to obtain answers to their weeping!

Do you want to win your case in the lawcourt? Study the law and find clauses that back up your case. Sometimes precedents and examples of similar judgements delivered in the past could help strengthen your case. Do you want to lose your case in the court? Go there and weep and perform plenty of emotional stuff. Judges don’t operate from the heart; they operate from the book. Do you want to move God and get your prayers answered, study the Bible and bring out your strong points before Him, with relevant portions of the Bible to strengthen your case. In the 1800s, a song writer named Robert Lowry wrote a hymn titled “Weeping will not save me.” I agree. Have a blessed week!

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