Ephesians 6:18h
Intercession
Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall
Eph. 6:18h (Holman) . . .and intercession for all the saints.
As your pastor, I plead with us all, pray for one another, for at least four reasons. One, intercede because Jesus does. Believers are to imitate Christ, who is the ultimate mediator. In Heaven, Jesus "ever lives to make intercession" (Heb. 7:25b). To be like Jesus, we must pray for others. C. D. Meigs expressed it well:
Lord, help me live from day to day in such a self-forgetful way
That even when I kneel to pray, my prayer shall be for others.
Others, Lord, yes, others, let this my motto be,
Help me to live for others, that I may live like Thee.
In us, Christ lives to mold us into His own image, which includes shaping us to pray for others as He does. To be like Jesus, we must intercede, having a desire to make requests for others.
Two, intercede in order to avoid selfishness. A vital result of praying "in the Spirit" (v. 18) is that He keeps our prayers from being mired totally in selfishness.
Making specific requests for ourselves is okay, but often we fall into the trap of asking only for ourselves. When this happens, our prayers become selfishness.
Prayer ought to be unselfish, for it is the language of God's kingdom, which is a community, a band of comrades, spiritual brothers and sisters. Prayer is the communication link of a society whose life-blood is sociableness.
Christians are not only individuals, but also members of a body. We belong to, and should give ourselves to, one another. The bond among believers is never stronger than when we pray for each other. We all need the mutual prayer support.
I fear we are too often isolationists. We go home, close our doors, and hide too much. This is one reason public worship is critical. It gets us together, keeps us from alone-ness. Intercessory prayer also helps us here.
This is a major reason why we should tell others we are praying for them. When we give to the poor, we are to do so "in secret" (MT 6:4), but this does not apply to intercession. We don't want to be self-righteous or ostentatious about it, but the Bible clearly lets us know it is okay to tell others we are praying for them.
Moses let the people know he was praying for them (Deut. 9:25-26). Samuel did too (1 Sam. 12:23). Jesus told Peter He had prayed for him (Luke 22:31-32a). He let the disciples know He prayed for them (John 17:9), and let us know He would pray for us (John 17:20). Paul, in at least nine letters, let individuals and churches know he prayed for them (Rom. 1:8-10; 10:1, 1 Cor. 1:4, Eph. 1:16; 3:16, Phil. 1:3, Col. 1:3, 1 Thess. 1:2, 2 Thess. 1:11, 2 Tim. 1:3, Pm. 4). Intercede, and then tell each other you are praying for them. Love can fly on the wings of this.
Intercessory prayer is not a burden to aggravate us, but rather a precious blessing from God, given to draw us out of our own selves. Preoccupation with self is the root of much mental sadness. Intercessory prayer is a God-given aid, to help relieve mental illness. When sad, turning in on ourselves in unbounded pity worsens our plight. Praying for others helps lift us from the sad mire of ourselves.
Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones relates a pertinent story. Immediately prior to the Spanish Civil War, psychological clinics in Spain were filled to overflowing. Once the war began, these clinics essentially emptied. The same phenomenon occurred in Britain just before World War II. As people's attention was turned away from their own personal problems, their mental health drastically improved.
Self-centeredness is not only sinful, but also destructive and detrimental to self. Ironically, selfishness undermines the purpose for which selfishness exists.
It is meant to make us happy, but results instead in misery. Intercession can help reverse this, and enable us to have a wonderful experience of mental healing.
Three, intercede because prayer works. It changes circumstances, heals the sick, and alters lives. At some point, we Christians must all deep down confront our own inner selves, do we really believe in the power of prayer? We are often like the saints who gathered to pray for Peter's release from prison. When Rhoda told them Peter was at the gate, they said, "You are out of your mind!" (AC 12:15). They did not believe God had answered them, nor were they expecting Him to.
Get gut-level honest, do we really think God wants to move in people's lives? As a result of our prayers, can a fellow saint overcome temptation, a student be made to stand, a businessman be kept from cheating, or a politician be given clear vision? Yes, but we must truly believe it, or we will not intercede. If our faith falters when we think of interceding, let us cry out with the father of the demon possessed son, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief" (Mark 9:24).
Four, intercede because we care about people. Let the hurts and needs of others get under our skin. Paul, speaking about his prayers for, and his pride in, the church at Philippi, revealed his inner motivation, his inward secret to success in the matter of intercession, "I have you in my heart" (Philippians 1:7).
Paul mastered the essential trait of being able to absorb into his innermost being the hurts and needs of others. He taught us the need to "weep with them that weep" (Romans 12:15b). Paul, having learned this, practiced what he preached.
Letting himself hurt for others, Paul confessed he carried "the daily pressure upon me of concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern" (2 Cor. 11:28b-29 NASB)?
When we see someone bearing a large load, we usually feel inclined to stop and offer to help carry it. Seeing an obvious need impresses itself on our sympathy.
Truth is, everyone we see today carries a heavy load, and bears a burden, but since it is unseen, we often forget to help them bear it. Find the load on those we meet, and use intercessory prayer to help lift it. Have a heart tender for others.
When we harden our hearts toward others, we stifle the very feeling of pain that can drive us to effective prayer. As we choke out sensitivity toward others, we cheat ourselves by suffocating what could kindle in us many wonderful prayers.
Some who could be among our church's most powerful prayer warriors are yet undiscovered, their potential prayers lying dormant under the crust of a hardened heart. How sad to stand someday before God and hear Him say we were meant to be one of His most powerful prayer warriors, but it all went for naught because we refused to hurt. If we have hardened our hearts due to awful pain, the very fact itself indicates we are capable of strong feeling; God gave us a sensitive spirit. Don't squelch sympathy, for if we refuse to feel, we lose a choice blessing.
One way Paul proved he cared about people was by being intentional in his praying for them. He obviously organized some kind of a plan, a system, a method.
Paul was prolific in his intercessory prayers. Speaking of his prayers offered for others, he claimed he prayed "always" for Philemon (Phil. 4), and "without ceasing" remembered Timothy in prayer "night and day" (2 Tim. 1:3). The only way he could have fulfilled all these claims would have been to have a systematic approach to prayer. He either had a written list, or committed them all to memory. Whichever way it was, the main thing is; he obviously had some type of system.
Often we fail in intercession not because we don't want to pray, but because we don't plan to. Without foresight, and unless we plan otherwise beforehand, we constrict our prayers, narrowing them down to our own little circles.
In the matter of intercession, "the power of prayer is gained by systematic discipline" (Westcott). Emphasize the word "systematic." For years I have kept a prayer folder containing various lists of names--family, fellow staff, church members, people with special requests, etc. Nothing has been more helpful in keeping me faithful in intercessory prayer. I also pray over prayer requests turned in on connection cards each Sunday. These customs keep my circle of prayer from constricting to me, my four, and no more.
Posts
