Ephesians 1:11 tells us that God “works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.”  Christians have long battled with the concepts of predestination and free will, but when we do this, I believe we’re making it more complicated than God intended it to be.  

The purpose of God’s will doesn’t change.  We cannot change God’s mind, we cannot change His plans, we cannot change His will for our life or for anyone else’s or anything else that happens in the universe.  He simply is (Exodus 3:14). 

What if you make a mistake?  Can you alter God’s perfect plan for your life?  No.  Of course you can make a mistake (or a thousand), and end up somewhere you could have - should have - avoided, but God is the God of the second (and third and fourth and fifth…) chance (Micah 7:18).  You can alter your trajectory with a bad decision, but even if your bad decision is monumental, you cannot change His purpose.  

What about prayer, can my prayers change God’s plan?  Again, no…but hear this:  Your prayers can change things.  Your prayers can change circumstances.  Your prayers can change people.  Your prayers can change you.  But God?  Your prayers can’t change Him.  He is “immutable” - the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).  

Here’s a very simplified visual that helps me: I like to picture God’s will as a big circle and His purpose at the center of His will.  Outside of His will is another circle with a lot of arrows/spokes pointing inward to His will.  You are on one of those spokes.  God will allow the spoke you’re on to change because no matter which spoke you’re on, His purpose in your life will be fulfilled (Isaiah 14:24).  Your action or inaction can determine the circumstances by which His purposes are fulfilled, but God has an infinite number of spokes.  In 2 Samuel 22:31-37, the Bible tells us that God is perfect, that His word is flawless, and that He is our Rock.  He keeps us secure, he prepares us, and he provides a “broad path” for our feet so that we don’t slip.  There is freedom in the path – for better or for worse, we can, to some degree, choose how to navigate the path, but God won’t allow us to fall off of it.  You are not powerful enough to mess up God's plan for your life.  Read that last sentence again.

The Bible tells us story after story of people who missed God’s first plan for their life, but they’re still in the Bible being used by God and bringing glory to His name.  God still used them for His purposes.  David had an affair with Bathsheba and had her husband killed…but he was still the ancestor of Jesus.  Jonah fled God’s call…but was swallowed by a whale and brought back for God’s purpose.  Abraham had a child by his wife’s maid…but God still made him the father of nations.  Paul persecuted Christians for years…but became one of the greatest evangelists in the history of our faith.  You can mess up your circumstances, but you can’t mess up God’s plan for your life or anyone else’s. 

God has brought us to a “spacious place” (Psalm 18:19) where free will exists…where we have the opportunity to make choices for ourselves.  Of course God’s desire is that we seek Him and allow ourselves to be pliable to His plan and to fulfill His purposes, but He doesn’t need our help.  And when we mess up?  Well, He’s the redeemer, isn’t He?   He gives us the ability to “approach the throne of grace with confidence” in prayer, but take heart:  God won’t answer a prayer that pulls you outside of His will.  Pray for what's next, and know that His plans for you are good (Jeremiah 29:11), and He already knows what He's got for you, so be comforted that your worrying about it won't change a thing (Matthew 6:25-34).  Seek Him, and His purposes will become clear.  When we sincerely pursue Him, we will find freedom in His purpose (2 Corinthians 3:16-17).