GOD NEEDS INTERCESSORS
Ezekiel 22:30-31
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: Country Church Stewardship
1. The pastor of a tiny country church was struggling with a shortage of tithes and offerings. One Sunday he announced, “Now, before we receive the offering, I would like to request that the person who stole the eggs from Widow Jones’s chicken coop please NOT GIVE any of their money in the offering. God doesn’t want money from a thieving sinner.”
2. The offering plate was passed, and for the first time in months, everybody gave.
B. TEXT
“So I sought for a man among them who would...stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them...” Ezek. 22:30-31, NKJV.
C. THESIS
1. I’m here today to talk about the power of intercession. Intercession leads to a lot of ‘believe it or not stories.’ A well-documented one is about Rees Howells. During WW2, Hitler’s General Rommel was about to conquer North Africa. He was right at the gates of Cairo and victory was in his grasp.
2. Rees and a group of intercessors were praying at that very moment that Rommel would be defeated. It seemed like a futile prayer, for the battle was already lost. But God pressed the intercessors to pray.
3. The British had just set up an 8-inch water line for fresh water. On that day they were testing it for 3 hours with salt water. Fresh water was too precious to use for testing.
4. During that 3-hour period, the Germans, who had run out of water, attacked. They shot the line full of holes and began to gulp down the salt water because they didn’t realize what it was.
5. In the hot desert sun of 120o they were soon completely immobilized. They threw down their weapons and surrendered. Had the Germans attacked a couple of hours earlier or later they would have been victorious, but thanks to the prayers of God’s saints, they were defeated. [Glenn Pease]
6. That’s why we’re talking about Intercessory Prayer this morning. You’ve been given a “Prayer Guide” to fill in names so that you can pray at the end of service for them.
I. A BIBLICAL HISTORY OF INTERCESSION
Intercessory prayer has been practiced by all the best of God’s saints.
A. OLD TESTAMENT INTERCESSORS
1. Abraham prayed earnestly for Lot and his family, and “Jewed” God down from a 50 to 10 righteous required not to destroy Sodom, Gen. 19:24-33.
2. Moses often interceded and saved Israel. One time God told Moses, “Let me alone, so that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. And I will make you into a nation stronger and more numerous than they.” Ex. 32:10-14. But Moses interceded and, by prayer, turned aside God’s wrath.
3. Samuel called on God, and God “thundered” against the Philistines and routed them (1 Sam. 7:10).
4. Hezekiah spread out Sennacherib’s letter before the Lord & prayed and God put to death 185,000 men (2 Kgs. 19:35).
5. Elijah prayed, and it didn’t rain 3½ years. He prayed again, and God sent rain on Israel.
6. Jeremiah was called the weeping prophet because of his many crying intercessions.
7. Daniel received many visions when he prayed. Prayer saved him in the lion’s den, and his prayers helped Israel come back from captivity (Daniel 9).
B. NEW TESTAMENT INTERCESSORS
1. But, Church, the best example of intercessory prayer is the Lord Jesus. Was there anyone who interceded as He did? Even on the Cross He prayed for His enemies. Remember, church, it’s our Savior’s example which is the greatest pattern for our lives. If HE needed to pray, how much more us?
2. In the New Testament, Peter prayed on the top of houses; Stephen prayed when stones were falling, and Paul prayed on a storm-tossed ship and in deep prison cells.
C. NOT PRAYING IS UNTHINKABLE
1. Samuel said, “God forbid that I should sin against the Lord, in ceasing to pray for you” 1 Sam. 12:23.
2. IT UNITES US. One man told the Pastor he had a bone to pick with him. The pastor said “Let’s pray first”. When they rose from their knees, he said, “Now, friend, what it is that you’ve found fault with.” The man blushed, stammered, and said, he did not think there was anything at all except in himself.
II. WHY IS INTERCESSION SO DIFFICULT?
A. WHAT IS INTERCESSORY PRAYER?
1. There’s more than one kind of prayer. There’s relational prayer. There’s praise prayer. There’s thanksgiving prayer, etc. But there’s also a deeper, more powerful level of prayer that few enter into – the office of intercession for the lives of people, the well-being of Christ’s church, and the destiny of nations!
2. Prayer is not just a pleasant, calming meditation; it’s often a struggle. Why is it a struggle?
B. WHO IS OUR STRUGGLE WITH? One thing is clear: Our struggle is not against God.
1. WE STRUGGLE WITH OUR OWN CARNAL NATURES
a. Prayer is a struggle because it goes against our worldly and lazy natures. We don’t see our need of prayer. We don’t see what’s at stake if we DON’T pray, nor what can be gained if we DO pray.
b. When Jacob “wrestled with God,” he really wrestled against his old nature. When he finally surrendered, God renamed him, from “deceiver” to “Prince of God” Gen. 32:28.
c. Even our Lord Jesus struggled in the Garden of Gethsemane to surrender His will to the Father’s, and He finally prayed, “Not My will, but Yours be done” Mk. 14:36.
2. WE STRUGGLE WITH OUR UNWORTHINESS
a. We often struggle in prayer because the devil, the accuser, reminds us of our sins. The wonderful truth of the Gospel is that when we repent, we’re washed whiter than snow by the blood of Jesus & He credits us with His perfect righteousness.
b. So when we come to God in prayer, we come robed in the righteousness of Jesus His Son. So have no fear – come boldly to the throne of Grace!
3. WE STRUGGLE AGAINST DISTRACTIONS
a. How many times have you tried to pray and were assaulted by every distraction conceivable? The phone rings, you remember a pressing obligation, someone comes by, or some blasphemy occurs to your mind. And you get sidetracked.
b. If you have distracting thoughts, give them to the Lord. He understands. Then keep praying and don’t let the enemy stop you from praying!
4. WE STRUGGLE WITH DOUBTS
a. Often when we’re praying for someone – say for healing, or salvation, or for a miracle – we suddenly think of how impossible our prayer is of being answered. That’s when we need to remember the words of Jesus, “With God all things are possible!”
b. Remember the father of the possessed boy who said, “I believe; but help my unbelief!” Mk. 9:24. The wonderful thing is that Jesus accepted his small faith and granted his request. God will grant your request too!
5. WE STRUGGLE WITH SELFISHNESS
a. Our normal tendency is to just pray for ourselves. It’s hard to pray for others when we have our own needs. But the Bible is filled with examples of men and women who interceded for their nation and for God’s people to accomplish His will, forgetting their own problems.
b. Think what would have happened if they HADN’T prayed:
- If Elijah hadn’t prayed 7X, it would never have rained.
- If Abraham hadn’t prayed, Lot and his family would have perished in Sodom’s fires.
- If Moses hadn’t prayed, God would have destroyed Israel.
- If the early church hadn’t prayed, Peter would have been beheaded.
c. LIKEWISE, IF WE DON’T PRAY….our loved ones/friends will be lost….our country will become morally bankrupt….our children will face the judgments of calamity, war, and poverty.
III. INTERCESSORY PRAYER = TARGETED PRAYER
A. SPECIFIC & DETERMINED PRAYER
1. Intercessory prayer can be compared with the history of modern warfare. In WW2, the preferred bombing technique was “carpet bombing.” The idea was to drop as many bombs as possible over a given area and hope to hit something. This is like many people’s generalized prayers!
2. But by Desert Storm in 1991, laser-guided bombs and smart bombs were the preferred munitions. There were much fewer bombs, but they were extremely precise, hitting only the intended targets.
3. True intercession is precision-guided prayers. They require a lot more focus and determination, but they’re vastly more effective!
B. EXAMPLE: PRAYER STOPPED A CAR ACCIDENT
1. A lady prayer warrior was awakened 2:00 A.M. with a sense of alarm. The Lord showed her a picture of a family of five she knew, who were traveling home in their van. She saw the front right wheel of their van come off, causing a terrible accident.
2. She began to pray fervently for their safety and continued throughout the night. Upon their arrival the following day, she asked if they’d had any problems with the right wheel. They said “No.” She insisted they go to a garage and get it checked. The mechanic was amazed. He couldn’t see how the wheel hadn’t caught on fire.
3. The husband held up a bag and declared, "The trophies of intercession." It held the old bearings from the right front wheel.' [Cindy Jacobs, Possessing the Gates of the Enemy]
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: Prayer Stopped Missionary Executions
1. A great prayer burden and sense of urgency came on a group of retired missionaries as they gathered for a meeting in Adelaide, South Australia. All felt burdened for Hayden Melsap, then assigned to the China Inland Mission. They went “straight to prayer” & prayed until they all felt a sense of peace & relief.
2. A few years later, when Hayden Melsap was in Australia, the missionaries asked him if he recalled any unusual occasion at that time. To their amazement, he said that on that day & hour, he and two other missionaries were backed against a wall in a courtyard in China, with communist guns leveled at them.
3. Just as the officer was about to issue the command to fire, the door of the courtyard opened and a higher official entered. Shocked to see what was about to happen, he shouted, “Stop!” He stepped up, put his arm around Melsap, and led him and the others to safety.
4. Such is the power of intercessory prayer! [Touch the World Through Prayer, W. Duewel, OMS, p. 85]
B. THE CALL
1. Distribute “PRAYER GUIDE.” Explain how to use it.
2. Let’s come to the altars and intercede for the things and people indicated on the sheet.
