THE MINISTRY OF
INTERCESSION
In our Living Well series, we have talked about the
importance of having a renewed vision of who God is and his mighty works. We
learned that living well involves living a godly life, which means a life that
is pleasing to God. To grow into spiritually mature adults, we need to cultivate
two spiritual disciplines: Reading God's word daily and having a consistent prayer life.
Last week we saw Prayer as communing with God. We talk
to God about all our concerns, desires, and anxieties and pause to listen to
God for his guidance and direction. If we are honest, we all know the
importance of Prayer; we desire to pray and attempt to pray. But we soon give
up because we find it hard to pray; sometimes, we don't know what to pray.
We feel guilty about not praying or praying enough
when we hear a sermon on Prayer. So, we resume, and the same pattern continues.
We give up and stop praying altogether. But it doesn't have to be that way. We
all can grow and develop a consistent prayer life.
Today we want to look at the Ministry of Intercession.
What is intercessory Prayer? Are all Christians called to intercede, or
only a few chosen ones? What models do we find in the scriptures? What and how
do we pray? Before we go further, let me address a misconception.
The scripture commands us to "Pray without
ceasing" (I Thess 5:17). Andrew Murray addresses this
misconception, "How can we pray without ceasing when the cares of daily
life surround us? In his book, Helps To Intercession, Andrew Murray explains,
"We may as well ask how a mother can love her child without ceasing, how
the eyelid can hold itself ready to protect the eye, or how we can breathe, feel
and hear without stopping.
These ceaseless activities are the functions of a
healthy life. And if our spiritual life is healthy, under the power of the Holy
Spirit, praying without ceasing will also be natural. Does praying without
ceasing mean continual acts of Prayer, in which we are to persevere till we
obtain, or the spirit of prayerfulness that should keep us lively all day long?
It includes both.
Does praying
without ceasing mean Prayer for ourselves or others? Both. Those who confine Prayer
to themselves are doomed to failure." [1] The Apostle Paul reminds
the early Christians of the dual functions of Prayer. Philippians 4: 6-7,
"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what
you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's
peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your
hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
If we want to experience the peace of God in our
individual lives, we are to pray for it continually. How about peace in our
families, harmony in our friends' marriages, and our society in general? It
depends on the ministry of Intercession in which the apostle Paul encouraged
the young pastor Timothy and the Ephesian believers to get involved.
I.
What is Intercession?
Intercessory Prayer is the act of praying or mediating
on behalf of others. The role of mediation in Prayer was prevalent in the OT.
Here are some examples of the power of Intercession. God shared with Abraham
His intentions to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for their sins. In Genesis 18, we
read about Abraham's bold Intercession on behalf of the sinful people.
Moses' passionate Intercession spared the lives of his
brother Aaron and the stubborn and rebellious Israelites. Deut 9:18-20, "Then,
as before, I threw myself down before the Lord for forty days and nights. I ate
no bread and drank no water because of the great sin you had committed by doing
what the Lord hated, provoking him to anger.
I feared that the furious anger of the Lord, which
turned him against you, would drive him to destroy you. But again, he listened
to me. The Lord was so angry with Aaron that he wanted to destroy him, too. But
I prayed for Aaron, and the Lord spared him."
Because of Moses' relentless Intercession, God did not
destroy the Israelites. Our intercessory prayers can alter the destiny of
people and even nations. Jesus, the ultimate intercessor, modeled this dual
function of Prayer and calls us to follow His example.
II.
Jesus, the Ultimate Intercessor
Though Jesus was God's Son, "He offered prayers
and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from
death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God."
(Hebrews 5:7). He prayed for Peter's faith to be strengthened when Satan
tempted him. (Luke 22:32). In His high priestly Prayer in John 17, Jesus prayed
for himself, the disciples, and those who would be saved through their
ministry.
Jesus, too, had his share of unanswered and yet-to-be-answered prayers. He prayed that the church might be united as He and the
father were united. (John 17:21). This Prayer is yet to be fully fulfilled. In
the Garden of Gethsemane, He offered up this agonizing Prayer twice, "Father,
if you are willing, please take this cup away from me. Yet I want your will to
be done, not mine."
Thankfully that Prayer was never answered; otherwise,
we would not have the gracious gift of salvation. Yet times, God may not answer
our prayers to accomplish greater purposes. When He was praying such intense
prayers, the disciples were sleeping. Luke 22:39-46.
We see the same thing happening. Jesus is interceding
for us in heaven (Romans 8:34). On earth; his church has fallen asleep. We must
wake up from our slumber to watch with Him and share His burden for Intercession
for the church and the world. God, please wake us up.
III. The Ministry Of Intercession. (I
Timothy 2:1-8)
Paul wanted the whole church in Ephesus and its young
pastor Timothy to be involved in the ministry of Intercession. What and how are
we to Intercede for others? Firstly, without exception, we are to pray for all
people. Second, we ask God to help them.
Third, we intercede or mediate on their behalf.
Fourth, thank God for them. Fifth, pray for rulers and their governments to
rule well so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and
dignity. What is the primary purpose of intercessory prayers? Whenever we pray
for others, we are doing God's will, who wants them to be saved if they are not
already, and if they are already saved, strengthened in their faith, this we do
without ceasing. Intercession is the ministry of Jesus, so let's join His team
of intercessors worldwide and pray.
How can we learn to pray without ceasing? Begin by
setting apart some time every day, say ten or fifteen minutes, in which you say
to God and yourself that you come to Him now as an intercessor for others."
God is using his children's passionate Intercession and bringing about
significant changes worldwide in recent years. Here are a couple of examples.
"Ecumenical leaders said that Prayer and a
commitment to peaceful change helped open the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, without
bloodshed." [2]
On this Sanctity of Life Sunday, we have much to be grateful to God for. "There
was a prayer Tanya Britton said in the hazy first moments of the morning and
the stillness of the night. She's said it on her knees before her church's gold
tabernacle and slumped in the embrace of her living room sofa.
The words have morphed, sometimes touching her lips
and others echoing only in her mind, but one way or another, they've repeated,
decade after decade.[3]"Whatever I do, let it
be for the end of abortion," 70-year-old Britton prays. "Let it be
that one child is saved today. Let it be that Roe v. Wade is overturned."
God heard all those prayers, and the rest is history. Through our prayers, God
can change the destiny of individuals and nations. There is power in Intercession.
Let's arise and release that power through the Ministry of Intercession.
