Intercessory Prayer and The Importance of Presence by Kyle Stroble

 There is a scene in the movie “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” where the Grinch is up on his mountain shouting down at Whoville. With an open phonebook in his hand, he goes down the line of Whoville residents to declare his utter disdain for them all. The Grinch’s hatred of the Whos is universal, even though there are some he personally despises. Nonetheless, his overall hatred is not personal in any real way. He doesn’t know these Whos he names from the phonebook – their evil is simply intrinsic to their residing in Whoville. But imagine that the movie continued past the Grinch’s “conversion.” Imagine at the end we find a happy Grinch, now at peace with his Whoville neighbors. Wouldn’t it be odd to find him doing the same activity, but now proclaiming his love? Wouldn’t it be unusual, in a way that his earlier activity wasn’t, to open a phonebook and go down the list shouting his love and praise for the Whos personally…by name…from a phonebook. I think this would be more than odd, it would be impossible. Love, unlike hatred, has an intrinsically personal inclination within it. Love, real personal love, is not generic in the same way hate can be – hate in this regard has an inclination toward bigotry in a way love cannot. Love cannot be proclaimed in an abstract way, but it must connect in reality between people.

It may seem odd to start a post about intercessory prayer with the Grinch, but I think it helps to unveil how odd much of our intercession can be. If you are like me, it is easy to rack up lists of people to pray for. I feel guilty about not praying for more people, I see my Facebook feed generating prayer request after prayer request, and suddenly my prayers become a lot like the Grinch’s shouting. I am not with these people in prayer; in fact, I am barely able to internalize their plight. Rather, I am lobbing prayers at God for someone who is far from my heart. In many ways, this kind of intercession struggles with a threefold absence: 1. I am absent from the person I am praying for, and am really just naming requests as I work my way down a list; 2. I am absent from myself, since I am not actually entering into the real heart of the request; and 3. I am absent from God, because I am not with him with these requests, I am just sort of throwing them at him from afar. This is the real danger for intercession. This is when intercession becomes little more than shouting a list at God.

As of late, I have been asked to speak about Beloved Dust, the book I recently co-wrote with Jamin Goggin. When I do, I often speak about prayer – a central theme of that book (hear one of my talks on prayer here). When I speak, I tend to focus on the main theme of Beloved Dust, which is what it means to “be with God who is always with you.” Inevitably, someone asks me about intercessory prayer, and claims that my understanding of prayer cannot account for it: Being with God in prayer seems to make sense for personal prayer, but not for praying for others. But I don’t think this is right. To pray for someone entails that I am present in three key ways. First, that I am present both to them and their condition, second, that I am really present to myself and my own relation to them, upholding them within my own spirit, third, that I am present to God who is with me and them in all of this. Without this threefold presence, I am not actually interceding. Without this presence, I am barely even praying, but am attempting to offer-up a magical formula on their behalf. This is the reality of list-praying; it hopes for magic: to generate some effect by saying the right words in the right way. But this isn’t prayer.

That said, we can, and should, pray for those we do not know, and we can, and should, really be with them in the midst of it. Maybe we hear of a family who are friends of friends, and a real tragedy that has struck, and so we turn to prayer for them. We do not know them personally, but we can personally enter into their circumstances. We can still be with them in prayer, if we enter into their tragedy in the Lord. But more often, in my own case, I simply offer a lazy attempt at a prayer at God. But this pushes against the reality of God’s presence, and our own presence with God in prayer. It is important to recall that our lives are hidden with Christ who is in God (Col. 3:3), and that Christ is our true high priest who intercedes for us before the Father (Heb. 4:14, 7:25).

All of our true prayers are caught up in the intercession of Christ. This is what frees us in prayer to lament. We often call out to a God that does not make sense to us. As we experience the brokenness of the world, and the brokenness of our own souls, we cry out. This is what makes list-praying so dangerous – it never gets around to being with the other person. How odd is it that I can, in intercessory prayer, come alongside someone who is hurting and not hurt with them. How is it that I can praise God for something in someone’s life and yet not really praise within my soul? But this is how list-praying forces us to pray. List-praying is withholding yourself from the other person who you’ve given yourself to in prayer. Think about Paul’s giving himself to his churches even though he wasn’t able to be with them, and how this can serve as a model for our intercession. Notice Paul’s encouragement to the Colossians:

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. (Colossians 2:1-7 ESV)

What might it look like to be “absent in body,” yet present “in spirit” when we pray for others? What might it look like if we entered into the plight of others, and really gave ourselves to them and their hurt, praise, sorrow, excitement and lament? The Christian life is being with God who is always with you. But being with God is a communal reality, because you are adopted, and therefore you are caught up into a new family of God (Eph. 2:18-19). You have brothers and sisters who are yours, and you have a God who is calling you to himself in love. God calls you to himself, and to others in love, which is why Jesus prays to the Father that we can be one, as he and the Father are, so that everyone would know that we are loved by the Father (John 17:20-23). To pray in this love, therefore, is to enter into it as you really are. In light of this, it may be helpful to listen to Paul again, this time asking for prayer:

And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. Brothers, pray for us. (1 Thessalonians 5:14-25 ESV)

The call to pray without ceasing is almost hidden within a call to be with one another, to seek each other’s good, to encourage the fainthearted and weak, etc. This is important. Holding each other in prayer before God is central to the Christian life – a life lived with God who is always present to you. To live with God who is always with you necessarily means that you live with his people, who are a part of his body. This is why Paul says, “there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together” (1 Cor. 12:25-26). This is our call in prayer, to suffer together, to lament together, to rejoice together, to weep together, or to simply uphold each other in the silence of sorrow. Whatever is going on with us, and within the people the Lord has brought around us, we are called to take part in their experience. “Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you” (2 Cor. 13:11).

            As in all our prayers, we should end with “Not my will but yours be done.” But this is not simple hand-waiving to the imitation of Christ; it is calling out our limited understanding and God’s infinite knowing. But in intercession, we do not leave it there. As interceders, we are partaking in an office properly held by Christ Jesus and the Spirit. Our intercession, therefore, turns to supplication: “Christ Jesus, our great high-priest, have mercy. Hear our prayers O Lord, be with this one in your grace and peace. Intercede Jesus. Not our wills, but yours be done.”

 

For more on living with God who is always with you, and the nature of prayer, see Beloved Dust: Drawing Close to God by Discovering the Truth About Yourself (Thomas Nelson, 2014).

DO YOU PRAY FOR LOST SOULS? IF SO, HOW? By Sam Storms

 Enjoying God blog. December 27, 2021 | By: Sam Storms

I assume that you, like Paul, pray fervently for the salvation of close family members or colleagues at work. In Paul’s case, they were the many Jewish men and women of his day who had openly and persistently denied that Jesus was the Messiah. He expressed his profound and persistent sorrow and grief over their lost condition back in Romans 9:1-3. In Romans 10:1 he declares unashamedly that his “heart’s desire and prayer to God” is “that they may be saved.”

Paul doesn’t say anything about the nature of this prayer. He doesn’t give any details about the wording that he might use. We don’t know beyond his general affirmation precisely in what way he would ask God to save them, but my suspicion is that he prayed that God might ravish their hearts with his beauty and that he might unshackle their enslaved wills and cause them to come alive!

When you pray for lost souls, what specifically are you asking God to do? Do you ask God to orchestrate circumstances in their life that might open the door for someone to share the gospel with them? Do you ask God to put a Bible in their hand or another book or a gospel tract? Do you ask God to stir their hearts to ask relevant questions, such as: What happens when I die? Does my life have any meaning? Do you ask God to plant in their hearts an uneasiness with their lost condition, such that they begin to ask questions about whether or not there is a God and what is my relationship with him? Although those are certainly legitimate things to bring to God, I want to suggest that there is far more that we should make the focus of our prayers.

A person in need of conversion is “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1); he is enslaved to sin (Rom. 6:17; John 8:34). Paul says that Satan, the god of this world, has blinded the minds of lost people that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4). In one of his more graphic portrayals of the condition of the unsaved, Paul describes them as being “darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity” (Eph. 4:18-19). We saw earlier in Romans 8:7 that the unbeliever is “hostile to God” (Rom. 8:7). These are just a few of the reasons why we must then ask God in prayer to make the lost person alive and release his will from bondage and enlighten her mind and soften their hearts so that hostility is effectually replaced with affection and rebellion is actually turned to submission.

As noted, although Paul doesn’t give specific information on the content of his prayer for unsaved Jewish people, I believe he would pray that God might do for them what he did for Lydia: he opened her heart (which would have otherwise remained “closed”) so that she gave heed to what Paul said (Acts 16:14). I will pray that God, who once said, “Let there be light!”, will by that same creative power utterly dispel the darkness of unbelief and “shine in their hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6).

I will pray that he will “take out their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26; 11:19). And with all my praying I will try to “be kind and to teach and correct with gentleness and patience, if perhaps God may grant them repentance and freedom from Satan's snare” (2 Timothy 2:24-26). I trust that you will pray, “Lord, circumcise their heart so that they love you” (Deut. 30:6). Pray: “Father, put your Spirit within them and cause them to walk in your statutes” (Ezek. 36:27).

J. I. Packer described our prayers for lost souls in his book, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God.

“You pray for the conversion of others. In what terms, now, do you intercede for them? Do you limit yourself to asking that God will bring them to a point where they can save themselves, independently of Him? I do not think you do. I think that what you do is to pray in categorical terms that God will, quite simply and decisively, save them: that He will open the eyes of their understanding, soften their hard hearts, renew their natures, and move their wills to receive the Saviour. You ask God to work in them everything necessary for their salvation. You would not dream of making it a point in your prayer that you are not asking God actually to bring them to faith, because you recognize that that is something He cannot do. Nothing of the sort! When you pray for unconverted people, you do so on the assumption that it is in God’s power to bring them to faith. You entreat Him to do that very thing, and your confidence in asking rests upon the certainty that He is able to do what you ask. And so indeed He is: this conviction, which animates your intercessions, is God’s own truth, written on your heart by the Holy Spirit. In prayer, then (and the Christian is at his sanest and wisest when he prays), you know that it is God who saves men; you know that what makes men turn to God is God’s own gracious work of drawing them to Himself; and the content of your prayers is determined by this knowledge. Thus by your practice of intercession, no less than by giving thanks for your conversion, you acknowledge and confess the sovereignty of God’s grace. And so do all Christian people everywhere” (pp. 15-16).

Many of you no doubt spent time these past few days of the Christmas season with friends and family members who do not believe in Jesus. As you reflect on them and your time together, in what way do you pray for God to save them? I hope this brief article has provided a measure of guidance as you intercede for them at the throne of grace.

Shameless Boldness by Spencer Sweeting

" It’s easy to feel powerless to make a difference in a world of pain, disease, injustice, and other forms of brokenness. But as Christians, we are not without power. The Lord’s Prayer exhorts us to invite God’s Kingdom, where the fullness of His goodness and justice exists, to come here; to ask God to provide for our physical needs; and to request His protection against spiritual warfare. But Jesus goes even further: “Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’ Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s shameless boldness, he will get up and give him as much as he needs” (Lk. 11:5–8, CSB). 

What provokes the friend’s abundant provision? The audacity of the one who asks. God loves to respond to our shameless boldness—not because of anything we’ve done, but according to His compassion. Scripture repeatedly teaches that prayer is a powerful means for effecting change, and this has been lived out in The Alliance from the very beginning of our movement. Skye Jethani puts it this way: “We are not merely passive set pieces in a prearranged cosmic drama, but we are active participants with God in the writing, directing, design, and action that unfolds. Prayer, therefore, is much more than asking God for this or that outcome . . . In prayer, we are invited to join him in directing the course of his world.” 

 When we feel overwhelmed by our world’s brokenness, may we have the audacity to intercede for God’s provision, intervention, and salvation. Let us pray as Jesus did with the persistence that Jesus urged. This is how we’ve been invited to participate in God’s renewal of our world." adapted from an article by Spencer Sweeting, pastor, North Springs Alliance Chu

Different Types Of Prayer Craig Keener

Our Prayers Outlive Us: A Quote by E.M. Bounds

“God shapes the world by prayer.” E. M. Bounds

“Prayers outlive the lives of those who uttered them; outlive a generation, outlive an age, outlive a world.” E. M. Bounds

The Watchman

My Dad served in the Navy during World War Two. After basic training, he was assigned to patrol the beaches of California at night. Japanese submarines were known to be off the coast. Consequently, diligence and alertness were required of those on Shore Patrol. One of his additional duties was to guard a checkpoint on a Naval Base in San Diego. As a Seaman second-class, he had the authority to refuse to let anyone (no matter their rank) without proper documentation through his gate. One day an officer tried to get through the checkpoint without his ID. Even though the officer threatened my Dad with court-martial, he refused to let him enter. My Father had to draw his weapon. The highly agitated officer did not want to comply with the command of his subordinate. The incident was investigated, and my Dad was fully exonerated.

Seaman second-class Sparks (who later became first-class} was later assigned to The USS Lexington aircraft carrier in the Pacific. One of his jobs on his ship was as a night watchman. And on one particular night, he saw a Bible on a table open to Isaiah chapter 21. Below are some of the verses from the chapter:

“For thus the Lord said to me:
“Go, set a watchman;
let him announce what he sees…” (Isaiah 21:6 ESV)

“Then he who saw cried out:
“Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,
continually by day,
and at my post I am stationed
whole nights.” (Isaiah 21:8 ESV)

“…Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?
The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come.” (Isiah 21: 11-12 KJV)

While reading the Bible, my Dad realized that he was a watchman that night.

As followers of Jesus, he calls us to “watch and pray” (Matthew 26:40.) God has given us much more spiritual authority than most of us realize. We should never let fear back us down from our assignment as prayer warriors.

“And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.” – Ezekial 22:30

A spiritual Watchman watches out for the welfare of others through intercessory prayer. Just like a military sentry, we must remain at our post in prayer – spiritually alert on behalf of others. When a person, Church, or nation starts drifting away from God, we become vulnerable to the enemy’s attack. A Watchmen’s call is to warn those we are spiritually responsible for and to pray for revival.

God calls some to stand watch over Nations, geographical regions, cities, and Churches. We all have different assignments. But the Lord expects all of us to pray for those in positions of authority(1 Timothy 2:1-4.) Those who watch and pray sometimes receive revelation or spiritual insights before conflict arises. Such spiritually sensitive people should be accountable to elders in a local Church. It’s important to share with leadership what you believe the Lord is revealing to you. Then leave it to the elders to pray over. It’s their responsibility to accept or reject your guidance.

As we engage in intercessory prayer, we become sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading. And God may reveal to us the schemes of the devil (Ephesians 6:11.) I believe God gives us insight so that we can pray God’s kingdom into the situation. As a person of prayer, you can influence the culture around you – if you are diligent and refuse to give up. God is sovereign, but there are some things he will not do until we ask him ( James 4:2-3.)

Our goal is to become discerning, not suspicious. And discernment comes from time spent with God in prayer. Knowing and obeying Scripture is essential to our roles as prayer warriors. We must embrace a wartime mentality while realizing that we are at war with spiritual entities, not people. Philosophies and ideologies that contradict God’s truth are weapons that the adversary uses to destroy societies.

No matter the sphere of spiritual influence that God assigns you, know that your prayers on behalf of others will make a difference.

The Spirit Of Intercession by A.B.Simpson

 “And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Rom. viii. 27). 

The Holy Spirit becomes to the consecrated heart the Spirit of intercession. We have two Advocates. We have an Advocate with the Father, who prays for us at God's right hand; but the Holy Spirit is the Advocate within, who prays in us, inspiring our petitions and presenting them, through Christ, to God. We need this Advocate. We know not what to pray for, and we know not how to pray as we ought, but He breathes in the holy heart the desires that we may not always understand, the groanings which we could not utter. But God understands, and He, with a loving Father's heart, is always searching our hearts to find the Spirit's prayer, and to answer it. He finds many a prayer there that we have not discovered, and answers many a cry that we never understood. And when we reach our home and read the records of life, we shall better know and appreciate the infinite love of that Divine Friend, who has watched within as the Spirit of prayer, and breathed out our every need to the heart of God." 

- Days Of Heaven On Earth, J.B.Simpson, p.154