This morning we want to prepare for the coming New Year with the most important topic a Christian church can entertain – the ministry of Intercessory Prayer.
What I want to place before you this morning is based upon Scripture and has formed the most firm belief inside me that the most important service we can attempt for God in this coming year does not involve fund raising, service projects, repairs or new buildings. The most important thing we can put our minds to is prayer.
I truly believe that – apart from worship – if every other thing we do, Sunday School, Men and Women’s groups…everything else were put on the scrap heap, the one thing that would make this church an effective soul-winning, ministering, loving and God-pleasing church would be intercessory prayer. I believe that Intercessory Prayer is the life’s-blood of Christian ministry that is the foundation for all else; it is the base upon which all ministry must be built. Without prayer all ministry efforts are futile and should be scrapped!
It is important to understand the nature of this ministry, and the benefit to our church family and community. Intercessory prayer is standing in the gap – taking a matter to Jesus on behalf of a fellow-believer, or a neighbor – or nation in need. It is important for us to see how critically-indispensable intercessory prayer can be for all aspects of life in 21st Century America.
Our speaker this morning is an old and dear friend of mine – Paul the apostle. He wants to remind the family of God about prayer; not just personal or public prayer, but intercessory prayer. Paul teaches us HOW we should pray for others. Note if you will, the text contains four nouns that scream to be verbs in our lives….
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 1 Timothy 2:1 (NRSVA)
This morning I wish to take those four words and show you how they build the columns of a house of intercessory prayer. This is how we stand in the gap for our brothers in Christ, our friends, neighbors, community and world:
First Word: Supplications – We Bind
The prayer translated "supplication" comes from a root word that means "to bind." In praying we are binding ourselves to the will and way of God. We promise to be instructed by His character and His claims on our life. This comes out of a sincere recognition of our deep need for Him.
Near the end of Jesus’ ministry when He started talking about picking up crosses and death – the cost of discipleship, the crowds thinned-out. Jesus asked the disciples: Are you going to leave me too? Peter had the right answer, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. (John 6.68b).
How does that work out in the life of an intercessor? It means willingness to accept the answer that God gives – even if it’s not the answer we want. One lady shared how her daughter demonstrated that willingness to be an intercessor, bound to God’s will:
One night my 11-year-old daughter Eva noticed I was distracted as I tucked her in to bed. I told her about a friend’s teenage daughter whose hair was mysteriously falling out and I encouraged Eva to pray for Amy. Her simple words, "Jesus, please hold Amy’s hair on her head," touched me.
As the doctors experimented with different treatments, Amy continued to lose her hair. Eva continued to pray the same prayer.
After six weeks the doctors determined Amy had alopecia, an extremely rare disorder where hair loss is unpredictable but can be complete and permanent. When I told Eva, she took my hand and closed her eyes. This time her prayer was different. Dear Jesus, if you won’t hold Amy’s hair on her head, would you please hold Amy? Tearfully, I realized how sometimes God doesn’t move mountains; he moves us. [1]
When you hit your knees as part of an Intercessory Prayer Ministry Team, recall often that we seek first the kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6.33); we bind ourselves to it!
Second Word: Prayers – We Bend
When Paul says I exhort …supplications and prayers …This word "prayers" is the prayer of prostration, or worship. It is important to remember that prayer should be more than a monologue. Listening is perhaps more important than talking to God.
The late president, Richard Nixon had a godly Quaker grandmother. Her advice to him when, as a nine year old he asked why the Quaker meetings were so silent...
"What thee must understand, Richard, is that the purpose of prayer is to listen to God, not to talk to God. The purpose of prayer is not to tell God what thee wants, but to find out from God what He wants from thee." [2]
Listening to God is a matter of getting it right about the attitude of bending, as the concept of worship demands. Bruce Wilkinson has taken some heat for his books concerning the Prayer of Jabez. Some misinformed folks have taken that prayer as a kind of mantra to be repeated constantly so they can get what they want.
The author recently told [3] how one of the tabloid articles had placed the prayer of Jabez in a cut-out shield and told people how to position the shield on a lottery ticket to win the lottery – or place it under a pillow at night and sleep on it to get that special guy or girl. That is not the worship of God; that is not prostration in prayer. It is worship of self – and it is sin. Intercession is not hoping to change the heart of God, so that God changes the circumstances of a brother’s life, so he gets what he wants. But we rather bend towards Him – seek Him, so that we might understand how we are to act in the circumstances whether God changes them or not.
The church in Florida to which my daughter belonged was meeting in an Elementary School. They had grown to around 300 in attendance, but property is so expensive in that area it would take about $4 million to purchase the 15 acres they need. They were praying for land, and the pastor of a small struggling mission (about 25 people) in that area came to the pastor of my daughter’s church, offering to merge with their church family. Their land -- about 15 acres, with an option on 5 more, and the building – in the area they needed to reach – was given to my daughter’s church, debt-free, ready to build a new building. When you bend in His direction, he opens doors wide!
We bind ourselves to His will; bend ourselves to His way, and…
Third Word: Intercessions – We Be
Grammatical correctness is difficult to frame here. However, the word translated "intercessions" is one of those nouns that really screams to be a verb! To intercede in Bible times meant to plead with the king on behalf of a friend. In our application, the real sense is to be; it is to be involved – in the middle, standing in the gap.
In the newspaper Estee Lauder said that most women don’t wear enough perfume. They always think they should just dab a little on the wrists, and the pulse points. NOT SO, says the lady. "The best way to apply fragrance is to spray the air in front of you and walk into it. Wearing perfume is a little like loving – you can’t be stingy. You have to use it abundantly."
It just may be that Estee Lauder has given the best illustration of interceding in prayer. We must fill our entire existence with the presence of God, and the problem our brother faces, and walk in it, abundantly! Beloved, if you’re interested in the laid-back, conservative life that takes no chances, then “being” or getting involved with those for whom you pray is not for you. And neither is the resultant blessing you get as an intercessor.
Bound to His will, Bent to His way, Being in His presence, and…
Last Word: Thanksgivings – We Beam
The word is “eucharista” which is literally “the thanksgiving.” It is the act of gratitude. Once again, prayer is active – part of a lifestyle, rather than a ritual. Part of every believer’s daily (hourly) living ought to be an active, vibrant attitude of gratitude for God and fellow men and women.
Let’s face it, if we are of the belief that everything happens under the control of God, and He is working it for good (Romans 8.28), then we must be thankful for all of it; we must be thankful even when we cannot understand what God is doing in our lives.
There are things I didn’t understand when I was younger.
• I couldn’t understand how some childhood bullies I knew were not incinerated by lightning for their ways. How could I be thankful for them?
• I didn’t understand why my Dad had to work the graveyard shift. He was working at night when I wanted him home. But my lack of understanding at that point doesn’t change the fact that it was his love for his family that made him work just to keep food on the table. I admire him now, understanding his sacrifice. I admire his being there at ball games to cheer for me when he was probably exhausted from working those late hours.
• I confess -- it is difficult for me to be thankful for mosquitoes and chiggers, but I will praise Him now (and ask Him why when I get home).
Bind to His Will, Bend to His Way, Be in His Presence, Beam with Thanksgiving….a lifestyle of intercession!
What Is the Value of an Intercessory Prayer Ministry?
Brian Roennfeldt is a pastor who lives in Australia. Listen to his testimony:
My wife, Angie, went to a rough high school. There were few Christians there apart from one teacher, Mr. David Bunton, who taught manual arts.
Years after Mr. Bunton left his position, dozens of his former students became believers. Many have entered the ministry and become pastors and missionaries. I tracked down Mr. Bunton, who is now 70 years old and retired. He was stunned and choked with emotion when I told him of the many conversions since he had taught at that high school.
I wondered how his influence had brought such a harvest. He told me that many times he had prayed softly over his classes as he sat back in his desk and watched them work. But apart from this, he’d done nothing to influence these students toward Christ. The only common point of spiritual connection the students shared was that they were prayed over by their teacher. [4]
Conclusion
Please note that these four words…nouns that scream to be verbs (Bind, Bend, Be, Beam) are not simply methodology, steps to getting your prayers answered.
Rather they are different realities of the importance prayer plays in our relationship with God and His creation. It is our attitude, Bound together, listening, active and thankful. That is the kind of person from which God wants to hear!
I am calling us to prayer this morning – and not just for this morning. What I am calling us to do is place the ministry of prayer on its high priority in the life of this church.
Now, if you’re thinking….Fine…I haven’t got time in my life for an extra sneeze and now he wants us to do something else….well, you’ve barked up the wrong tree, Lassie! If that were the case I would have to agree with you; I don’t have any more extra time than you. But, I’m not asking us to find extra time – what I’m calling us to do is lay down some other things and make the main thing the main thing. I am calling for us to lay aside the time wasting rituals and routines, and whatever selfish things prevent us from praying…and get back to praying.
Here’s what I expect from Christian people – dedication to Christ. In the garden Jesus asked his sleepy disciples, couldn’t you even pray with me one hour? Jesus expected at least that much, and I do not believe that’s too much for us…not when there’s a world in crisis and a culture all around us that is getting darker every hour.
Just a week ago Sheela Wright shared how an acquaintance of hers was broken down on the side of the road in broad daylight in Asheboro; men stopped but not to help – they beat him and stole his money. We must fight against this darkness with the most powerful weapons Christ has granted to the church…our commitment and prayer!
What will you lay down in order to help form prayer teams that are more than a mere nod to formal prayer – or worse, something we can write down so we’ll have something else to report as a “ministry” of this church at charge conference?
• Will you lay down a night of TV during the week?
• Will you put aside ball games?
• Will you put off the world for the sake of the Kingdom?
• Will you put off comfort for the sake of combating the darkness?
If you’re looking for a ministry with instant gratification – the prayers go up, the room always shakes…being part of our Intercessory Prayer Ministry Team isn’t it!
If you’re looking to be involved in a ministry with pizzazz, a real out-front platform performing, top-billing way to have your name printed in all the denominational publications, being part of our Intercessory Prayer Ministry team isn’t it!
If you’re looking for a way to do something that doesn’t cost, won’t hurt your heart at times, and will never put you in harm’s way or sometimes leave you with questions and frustrations, standing in the gap in our Intercessory Prayer Ministry is not for you!
On the other hand, if…
• you are a person who has a relationship with God the Father, because, in faith you asked His Son, Jesus to forgive your sins, and the Holy Spirit has placed you in the body….
• and you recognize that it is time to get in the battle, and the front of the battle is where you are called, and you’re ready to follow your Captain Jesus wherever He leads…we say,
• Come…come and die with us. Die with us in the prayer room.
• Come stand in the gap for your brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.
• Come stand in the gap as we pray for marriages and children.
• Come stand in the gap as we storm the gates of Hell against drugs, alcohol and all the habits that enslave and impoverish and kill in our communities.
• Come stand in the gap for your neighbors.
• Come stand in the gap for our President and all leaders.
• Come stand in the gap for missionaries around the world.
• Come stand in the gap against sin, powers of the air, wickedness in high places.
• Come stand in the Gap!
Come now and stand in the GAP!
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ENDNOTES
1] Elisa Morgan in Christian Parenting Today. Christian Reader, Vol. 34.
2] Chuck Colson, Born Again
3] A Commitment to Prayer, ALAN PERKINS, SermonCentral.com
4] PreachingToday.com, Brian Roennfeldt, Perth, West Australia
