Intercession Is Hard

Scripture

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority,that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 

~1 Timothy 2:1-2, NIV

Quote

“The greatest thing anyone can do for God and man is pray.”

~S. D. Gordon

Joe David mentioned something in his closing prayer last night that shot a blog spark through my mind. It is our tendency to pray more for ourselves than for others. Intercessory prayer is difficult because it demands that we focus on others and not ourselves. I don’t think it is a sin to confess our sins but if all we do is focus on our sin and short coming, we will miss the ministry of intercession which is praying for others. This has been a huge problem in my prayer like. I naturally begin with thanksgiving unless a particular sin has me burdened down. Even If I am only confessing needs, confession and thanksgiving seem to flow without a lot of effort. I am not good on praise and adoration so I rely on David and the Psalms to help me in that area but when it comes to intercession, I am wholly inadequate; pitiful might be a better word.

The scriptures have a lot to say about our ministry of intercession [priesthood]. One of my favorites is James 5:16 — “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” Paul said in Ephesians 6:18 — Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.” In Colossians 4:2–4 — Paul asks believers to devote themselves to prayer and specifically requests prayer for himself and his ministry. Remember [Job 42:10] — God restored Job’s fortunes “after he had prayed for his friends,” illustrating intercessory prayer in action. Matthew 5:44 — Jesus teaches, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” 1 Samuel 12:23 — Samuel says, “Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you.”

One thing is certain; my intercessory prayer life needs reviving. I think a list might help me. Some of my prayer supporters pray for me on certain days which I very much appreciate. I also think certain times in the day are good cues for intercessory prayer. Example: say a prayer for president Trump as soon as you awake. Pray for one missionary everytime you say a blessing. I have learned [slowly] that when people ask for prayer they are usually sincere so just take them aside and pray on the spot. I cannot recall anyone ever refusing to allow me to pray with them who have requested that I pray for them. My prayer today is that the God of mercy and grace will help us all do better at interceeding for others just as our two Royal Priest interceed for us. The blessed Holy Spirit in the heart and Christ Jesus in heaven.

Extra

God is good, what can I say; He gave me two wonderful opts yesterday. I got to share communion with out folks at the POINT and it was a sweet, sweet service. Rick, Doreen and their oldest daughter were with us making the service even more special. I do love communion. We talked about the scarlet worm {Psalm 22:6} again but this time, I don’t think it will be forgotten, not by the women anyway. Then I got to share my testimony last night at DBC…”What I don’t know and What I know.” Then I got to have precious fellowship with old friends as we had a party for Noah and Sidney.

LORD willing, we will be in Madison this morning at 9:15 for an MRI on right shoulder. Bone spur for certain and suspected damage to rotator cuff. Follow up Wednesday.

I hope you have a great week and thanks for reading the blog.