5 Minutes with Jesus is a daily devotional series for people in the midst of real life, whether facing anxiety, grief, questions of purpose, or simply needing encouragement and connection. Hosted by Sheila Walsh, each five-minute episode offers Biblical truth, honest reflections on faith and emotions, and closes with a moment of prayer.
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| Sheila Walsh: Why Do We Pray? | 5 Minutes with Jesus | June 12, 2026
- God's won't cancel his eternal purposes,
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- But he delights in hearing and responding to his children.
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- That's why it's important to pray daily for wisdom.
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- God promised.
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- If any of you lacks wisdom,
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- You should ask god, who gives generously to all
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- Without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
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- So we keep praying.
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- We keep reading god's word, and we keep asking him
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- For wisdom.
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- Let me ask you this.
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- Does god ever change his mind because of our prayers?
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- This is a big question i'm always asked.
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- Does god ever change his mind because of what we've prayed?
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- Can we change his mind?
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- Some people believe that there's no point
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- In praying for a particular outcome,
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- Because god has already decided what he's going to do.
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- So they ask, why pray?
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- Well, let's look at that.
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- It's actually quite a difficult question to answer
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- Because there are moments
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- When it seems that god does change his mind, and moments
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- Where it's made abundantly clear that he does not like.
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- Think about this in scripture
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- We have examples of moments where god changed his mind
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- On an outcome.
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- You might remember that jonah was sent to nineveh
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- To tell the people there
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- That because of
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- Their great sinfulness, he was going to destroy their city.
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- We read this in jonah chapter three.
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- On the day jonah entered the city,
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- He shouted to the crowds, 40 days from
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- Now, nineveh will be destroyed.
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- The people of nineveh believed god's message,
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- And from the greatest to the least,
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- They declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.
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- When the king of nineveh heard what jonah had to say,
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- He stripped off his royal robes and called all the people
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- To fasting and prayer.
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- But then in verses nine and ten, we read.
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- Who can tell?
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- Perhaps even yet god will change his mind
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- And hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.
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- When god saw what they had done and how they put a stop
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- To their evil ways,
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- He changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction
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- He had threatened.
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- God spared the people
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- Because of their change of heart and genuine repentance.
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- But then again, malachi chapter three, verse six,
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- We read these words, i am the lord, and i do not change.
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- And the numbers 23, verse 19 we read.
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- God is not a man, so he does not lie.
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- He is not human, so he does not change his mind.
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- Has he ever spoken and failed to act?
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- Has he ever promised and not carried it through?
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- The more i study god's word,
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- The more i grasp the wisdom revealed in isaiah chapter 55.
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- For my thoughts are not your thoughts.
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- Neither are your ways, my ways, declares the lord.
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- As the heavens are higher than the earth,
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- So are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts
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- Than your thoughts.
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- If you miss most of what i'm saying today, please hear this.
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- God is and we are not god.
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- God is god.
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- You and i are not.
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- I read a fascinating article online from bob russell,
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- A retired pastor, titled does god change his mind?
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- He writes about being on
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- A cruise ship, which obviously had designated ports of call.
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- But then he asks this imaginary question.
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- Imagine one day
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- You meet the ship's captain and ask,
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- Would you be willing to do me like a big favor?
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- When we approach the island of san martin,
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- Would you sound the horn three times?
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- I have relatives who live on the island,
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- And i told them i tried to signal them
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- With three blasts when we arrive.
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- Would you do that for me?
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- Well, if the captain is a benevolent,
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- Accommodating leader, he just may change his mind
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- And alter the normal practice because of your request.
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- The odds would
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- Certainly increase if the captain were your father.
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- You matter to him.
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- Well, on the other hand,
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- If you asked him to completely bypass
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- Saint martin, he didn't know the request.
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- Because that's a predetermined stop.
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- I think he's saying that's what prayer is like.
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- God's won't cancel his eternal purposes,
- 00:04:13.565 --> 00:04:16.368
- But he delights in hearing and responding to his children.
- 00:04:16.368 --> 00:04:20.839
- That's why it's important to pray daily for wisdom.
- 00:04:20.839 --> 00:04:23.975
- God promised.
- 00:04:23.975 --> 00:04:25.177
- If any of you lacks wisdom,
- 00:04:25.177 --> 00:04:27.612
- You should ask god, who gives generously to all
- 00:04:27.612 --> 00:04:30.749
- Without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
- 00:04:30.749 --> 00:04:34.653
- So we keep praying.
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- We keep reading god's word, and we keep asking him for wisdom.
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- Let's pray.
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- Lord, i love the fact that we get
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- To talk to you about everything,
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- That you don't just care about the big, monumental decisions
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- In our life.
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- You care about us all because of our relationship with you.
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- Thank you that we get to call you father.
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- There.
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- We're not just your servants, but your friends.
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- Teach us how to live as family.
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- In jesus name. amen.
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