What do you all make of this?
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." - Philippians 2:5-8
"But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." - Matthew 20:26-28
If Jesus is God, then God came as a servant to man, to minister to man. In several cases, Jesus relented when asked to do something. The miracle at Cana, for example, when His mother wanted Him to change the water into wine. The Canaanite woman who wanted her daughter healed, but was told by Jesus that He came but for the house of Israel, yet relented after she persisted.
"And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" - Luke 18:1-8
In this parable, we have the same kind of persistence. The judge did not want to comply with her request. It was not his will, yet he eventually relented. Then there is a parallel in regards to God's eventual vengance because of the cries of His people.
"And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." - Genesis 32:24-30
Jacob didn't let the man go until he was blessed. And Jacobs says he had seen the face of God. Did he wrestle with God? And did God bless him because of Jacob's insistence?
"And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.
And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people." - Exodus 32:9-14
Again, another example of how God repented of His intentions.
So the question remains, how would things have been different if the people in each of these cases didn't act on their persistence to change God's mind? Was it God's Sovereignty to change his mind on the whim of these people?
Isn't this what prayer does, to intercede with God that God would move His hand in a particular situation? And this would imply that lack of prayer would stay God's hand? Why pray at all if this is not the case?
I think this is the OP's contention.