Praying for Other’s
The Power of Intercessory Prayer
Philip Yancey in his book on prayer tells of a young American soldier in Iraq who learns that his wife back home has advanced cervical cancer. Doctors gave a bleak prognosis. In desperation he sent an urgent email to his church with the request that everyone in turn forward his prayer request to every praying person they knew.
The email said, “Pray and forward. It only takes a second to hit “forward.” Please don’t delete this, your prayer can and perhaps will save her life. Please pray and ask everyone you know to pray for the HEALING of Cindy, removal of the cancer in her body so she may enjoy all that life has to offer, and continue to be the wonderful mother to our 5 year old son.”
Yancey goes on to ask, “Does prayer operate like a pyramid scheme – the more people who pray, the more likely the answer? Does a sick woman with who happens to have praying friends stand a better chance for recovery than an equally deserving person who does not?” [Philip Yancey. “Prayer: Does It Make a Difference?” (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006) p. 301)
Intercessory prayer is one of those subjects that the more we think about the subject the more we may have to change the way we view praying for others. Tonight I want to deal with three things concerning
“Praying for Others – The Power of Intercessory Prayer.”
First, The Meaning of Intercession
First, let me say that there is a difference between praying for others and real intercessory prayer. While all intercession involves praying for others, all praying for others is not necessarily intercession. You will just have to take my word for it for now, but I hope by the end of the message I will have explained why that is true.
“Intercession, is by nature, where an individual positions themselves between two parties – one with a need and one with the answer – and seeks to bring the two parties together.” [Tom Elliff. A Passion For Prayer. p. 124]
God has given us a biblical pattern for inter-cession in the life of Moses. You may remember that we dealt with some of this earlier in the year (2009) in our study of Exodus (#23) where we examined the elements of effective prayer.
If so you probably remember that while Moses was on the mountain with God a tragic sin was taking place in the valley below. Moses was so long in return-ing that the children of Israel assumed that he would not return. Their leader has seemingly disappeared, and they began to doubt God’s presence and power – which all most defies explanation. The fiery cloud still hung over the camp. They were still eating the manna that God provided every morning. But the people were tired of waiting on Moses.
[During Israel’s stay at the foot of Mt. Sinai, Moses had ascended and descended the mountain numerous times, where he entered into God’s presence to receive instruction. In Exodus, chapters 20-24 he received instruction on how God was to be worshipped. And on one occasion Moses stayed for forty days and nights during which time he received instruction for construction of the tabernacle (Ch 25-31). It was sometime during this period (Israel already had the Ten Commandments) that Israel grew restless.] The Israelites responded by asked Aaron to make them a visible representation of God in the form of an idol.
But Moses did in fact return, right in the middle of the people worshipping their new idol. Moses was so angry that he broke the tablets of the law. Moses called upon the people to make a choice and asked all those who would continue to follow the Lord to come over to him. Then the sons of Levi were commanded to kill the ungodly Israelites, and some 3,000 were killed. The next day Moses again went up the mountain to intercede on the behalf of the people of Israel.
In Exodus 32:30 Moses says, “You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” Moses assumes the position of an intercessor when he says, “I will go up to the Lord” with the specific purpose of making an “atonement for your sin.” When he says he will make atonement he is referring to an act by which the offenses of an individual are covered so that fellowship can be restored between the offender and the one offended. Moses will plead with God to cover the sins of Israel so fellowship between himself and his people can be restored.
True intercession faces the facts; Moses does not minimize the circumstances. He doesn’t plead that there were mitigating circumstances. He doesn’t argue that the people did what they did because Moses had been gone so long. He doesn’t imply that God should "understand" their sinful actions. There are no excuses.
Moses doesn’t imply to God that the Israelites deserve another "chance."He doesn’t plead that they "really aren’t so bad."He knows better. Moses calls the situation what it is: sin.
The word “intercede” the Latin means “to go or pass between” so as we have seen intercession is act whereby an individual positions themselves between two parties – one with a need and one with the answer – and seeks to bring the two parties together.”
Secondly, The Purpose of Intercession
What is it exactly that we hope to accomplish by interceding for someone with God? What is that we want to happen? Is intercessory prayer us placing our burdens on God’s heart or is it allowing God to place His burdens on our hearts?
•True Intercession Desires to Find the Will of God
Tom Elliff in his book, A Passion for Prayer makes a point about intercession that I believe most Christ-ian’s miss – “The major focus of the intercessor is finding and cooperating with the will of God.” [Elliff. p 125]
Christians sometimes in talking about intercession will say something like, “I am praying that Sally will receive physical healing.” Or “I am praying that Joe will get this job he is applying for.” Or perhaps the ultimate is when one prays for the prodigal child, “Lord, please bring them to their senses and bring them home but don’t let them get hurt.” Although those prayers may express the desires of our heart it may not be what God wants for that individual at that time. Sometimes unknowingly we try to push God into handling a situation in the way in which we wish to see it handled.
Elliff addresses how one should then intercede when writes, “How should we pray for our friend who may be experiencing a grave physical illness? First, acknowledge the problem as specifically as possible, then request sufficient grace to enable the individual to maintain a close and useful relationship with God.” [Elliff p. 127]
•True intercession is the desire to see the object of our prayers come into a close fellowship with God by whatever means and circumstances he decides is best.
The world’s greatest intercessory prayer was the prayer that Jesus prayed in John 17 for his disciples and all those in the future who would believe. In that prayer Jesus prayed, “I do not pray for these alone (the Disciples), but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; (21) that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:20-21).Notice with me specifically what Jesus prayed for, he prayed for their unity “that they also may be one in Us” and usefulness “that the world may believe.” Jesus prayed that God’s purposes would be accomplished in the lives of His disciples. Having this view of the purpose of intercession will change how we pray. Yancey in his book says that “crudely put, I once envisioned intercession as bringing request to God that God may not have thought of, then talking God into granting them.” [Yancey. p. 303] We are all quick to jump into prayer with our own strong ideas of what should happen and pray for “that” result. But the truth is that when we enter into intercession for another person we are seeking for God’s will to be accomplished in their lives and that He will draw them into a close and useful relationship with Him.
Notice then not only the Purpose of Inter-cession but…
Third, The Process of Intercession
In looking at how to go about praying a prayer of intercession I want to look at one Old Testament example from Moses (Exodus 32) and one New Testament example from the Apostle Paul (Colossians).
•The Intercession of Moses
First, I want to return to the account given in Exodus 32 to see how Moses interceded for Israel. In Exodus 32:9-10, we read that the consequence of Israel’s sin was that God told Moses “… I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! (10) Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.”
Two grave possibilities faced Moses, that the people would be destroyed, and that even if God chose not to destroy them He still may not choose to forgive them. These thoughts drive Moses to his knees in inter-cessory prayer. Moses rejects the proposal that Israel be set aside and even destroyed in order that a new people might be constituted. This was for Moses a severe test; he was confronted with an opportunity to choose between his own glory and the well-being of the people under his care.
Moses in true intercession positions himself between God and His people. Moses is so concerned for the people under his charge that he offers his own life as a substitute for the people. In verse thirty-one it says that Moses returned to the Lord in prayer and in verse thirty-two he prays, “Yet now, if You will forgive their sin - but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.”
In Psalm 106:21-23 David looks back on the events recorded in Exodus 32 and writes, “They forgot God their Savior, Who had done great things in Egypt,(22) Wondrous works in the land of Ham, awesome things by the Red Sea. (23) Therefore He said that He would destroy them, Had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach, To turn away His wrath, lest He destroy them.” I want you to focus in on the words in verse twenty-three, “had not Moses, his chosen one stood in the breach…” Moses stood between God and the people and he pled their case with the Father.
The prayers of Moses saved the children of Israel. Prayer does make a difference. Exodus 32:14 is problematic for believers because it says, “So the LORD relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.” In what sense does God repent or relent? Does God change his mind? But what about Numbers 23:19 which states, “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”
John Davis in his commentary on this passage says, “The Lord was touched by the intercession of Moses, so much that he “repented of the evil which he had thought to do unto his people’ (v. 14). The repent-ance of the Lord has long been a problem to comment-ators. Obviously, it does not mean that God changed His mind as a result of a mistaken calculation or that God is unsure…. This word denotes a change in the actions of God as a result of a significant change among those with whom God is dealing.” [John J. Davis. The Gods of Egypt: Studies in Exodus. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1988) p. 297]
I wish I could give you a conclusive answer to that dilemma, but I cannot. But it does appear that;
there are some blessings that God will not give us unless we ask Him
there are other blessings God will not give us unless our hearts
are right
there are some trials that God will not deliver us from until we
have learned the lesson He was trying to teach us.
•The Intercession of Paul (Colossians)
The Apostle Paul who himself was a man of prayer, shows us something of the process of inter-cessory prayer in his prayer for the church at Colossae (Colossians 1:9-11) “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; (10) that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the know-ledge of God; (11) strengthened with all might, accord-ing to His glorious power, for all patience and long-suffering with joy”
Pray That They Know God’s Will For Their Lives (v.9) “we…do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will”
Pray That They Do God’s Will In Their Lives (v. 10) “…pray… you may walk worthy of the Lord”
Pray That They Will Be Productive With Their Lives (1:10) “…pray… you may be…..fruitful in every good work”
Pray That They Will Grow In Their Relationship With God (v. 10)
Pray For They Will Have God’s Power In Their Lives (v. 11)
[Gleaned From John Maxwell. Partner’s In Prayer. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1996) pp. 68-72]
Conclusion
There are two things I do not want to do this evening. First, I don’t want to give you a formula for prayer. There are no three simple steps to better prayers. But praying effectively is not a matter of praying louder or using more "holy sounding" words. Effective prayer has nothing to do with how tight we close our eyes or how hold our head. I was once criticized by someone in the congregation not have my eyes closed and for looking around during a pastoral prayer. The irony of the situation was that if they had not had their eyes open they would have never known.
Effective prayer is not in found in the mechanics of the prayer, prayer is effective if it connects with the heart of God. We must come to Him as the wise and loving Father that He is.
The second thing I don’t want to do is present myself as a model of what a prayer warrior should look like. I struggle with prayer just like you do. Like you I am often guilty of wanting what the Father can give me, rather than wanting the Father Himself. Like you, I often don’t see the big picture. It is my hope that we will all learn better how to pray this evening.
I would like to conclude by making a few practical suggestions?
1.Make a prayer list of people you will pray for. Be
diligent. Be sensitive to God’s leading. Take the time to put yourself "in the shoes" of the person you pray for. Sense their heartache.
2.Pray for the Church and the leadership. I am so
pleased that we have a group of ladies who gather on Sunday morning before the service, just to pray.
I wonder what would happen if everyone here began praying fervently that God would begin to work powerfully in our services. Pray that our ministries would reach our neighbors and the World. Pray that we would represent Him well in our community and around the world.
3.Pray for Our Country. I know this is hard to do.
There are so many things to pray for. Pray for our leaders to be wise and moral in Washington. Pray for God to place His people in positions of authority and leadership. Pray that God turn this nation back to Him.
4.Pray for our Missionaries. Many of our missionaries
folks are "out there" all by themselves. Pray that they might be shielded from discouragement. Pray for God to protect them and their families. Pray that God would open doors and meet needs so that His name might be advanced.
5.Pray for those who do not know Christ. Pray
specifically for those that you know of, that God touch their hearts. Pray that God would pursue them and not leave them alone until they come to Him. Pray for opportunities to share your faith. Pray for the right words. Pray for the Holy Spirit to bring conviction and to produce faith to believe.
6.Learn to pray for God’s will to be done. I don’t mean
to just say the words “thy will be done” but I mean we need to really desire His will to be done because we know that it is best. When we pray we must always realize that we don’t have all the information, we don’t see the big picture. We don’t even understand every-thing we do see, clearly. So we must always pray with the realization that God knows better than we do.
