INTERCESSORY PRAYER – YOUR SHRINE NEEDS YOU!
Intercessory prayer has an image problem. You could be forgiven for thinking it is not the most exciting of titles for an article so well done for getting this far! In spite of all the reverence that surrounds prayer, some people dismiss it as a weak alternative to practical action. They think that offering to pray for someone is often nothing more than a graceful way to excuse ourselves from an awkward situation: it’s an exit line. Let us now
try to dispel this myth. Intercessory prayer simply means to go between God and His people, to go on another’s behalf or to plead for another person or situation.
When I was young, my mother used to ask me to pray for certain things, perhaps a neighbour who was ill or a friend who was in need. I used to think, why? Why is this necessary? If God is good, if He knows about these problems, if He has the power to fix them, then why does He need me to pray? Why does He wait for me to ask Him before He acts? I used to wander whether God was a little contrary but I prayed anyway because I loved my mother and that was what she wanted me to do. With hindsight I am not too sure how effective my prayers were coming from a heart that was not very trusting and yet I am certain that God did not dismiss them for He meets us where we are.
The answer to my childish questions was, of course, God wants us to intercede for others because He would like us to rule and reign with Him. He does not want puppets or sophisticated toys for His own amusement. He created us in His image and likeness so that He could communicate with us and have a two-way relationship with us. We can see how God regards man in psalm 8: 4-6:
“What are human beings that you spare a thought for them,
or a child of Adam that you care for him?
You have made him little less than a god
You have crowned him with glory and beauty.
Made him lord of the works of your hands.”
In Genesis, God created Adam and Eve with a capacity and a drive to make a difference. He said to them: ”Be fruitful and multiply, fill the
earth and subdue it, rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and all living creatures that move on earth.” Gen.1:28. He then gave Adam and Eve the freedom to be creative by telling them to name the birds, beasts and wild animals thereby encouraging them to take charge and rule and reign with Him. Interestingly, this was before the fall, before things went wrong. We talk of Jesus coming to redeem mankind but He also came to redeem the original purpose for which mankind was created.
We find a pattern unfolding throughout the Old Testament of God wanting to work in partnership with His people. God tells Noah he is tired of their generation going the wrong way and He wants to turn it around so He asks Noah to partner with Him to build an Ark. Again, God asks Jonah for his cooperation in preaching repentance to Nineveh. Jonah proves to be a most unwilling partner but he consents eventually. Also, God works with Moses who bargained with Him to prevent the Israelites being destroyed because of idolatry. Amazingly, God relented and no punishment was brought. Hence we see God determined to make us players, to work through us and sometimes He will even allow Himself to be persuaded to a change of mind. Richard Foster, who wrote a book on prayer, says that sometimes God is looking at a couple of options and either of them could flow consistently from His character. He could have been justified in wiping out the Israelites but Moses persuaded Him to do otherwise. So God wants us as partners but it is a responsibility and we must realise there are consequences if we do not accept it. In Ezekiel, 22:30 God says: “I looked for a man to stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land so that I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.” No one took up God’s offer to stand in the breach that sin had made between God and Israel so He punished the House of Israel. As we see, God takes man seriously. We are sometimes guilty of a false humility when we say to God: “I am nothing, I cannot do this” but behind that is a desire to abdicate. Stunningly, you never see this with Mary, the Mother of God!
The New testament carries on this theme of partners and co-workers but it also gives us sons and daughters. The Spirit testifies that we are God’s children and, if we are children, we are heirs with God and co-heirs with Christ. In Galatians 4: 7, St. Paul states “…you are no longer a slave but a son and if a son then an heir.” Rob Clarke, the Christian speaker, likens it to God calling us to be partners in the family business. He expands by saying that in a sense, though it cannot be said as an absolute, God refuses to work independently or in isolation, but only in response to our prayers. He rules the world through the prayers of his people because he has adopted us as his sons and daughters. Now it is always a challenge to get the balance of this partnership right, as we want to take ourselves seriously but not too seriously. The partnership is a bit like the picture we have in our home shrine. In it there is a tiny insignificant figure sitting in the corner of a room praying, but his prayers are magnified through the towering, imposing presence of Jesus. My faith in intercessory prayer is always strengthened every time I reflect on that picture.
Let us take a look at prayer in the life of Jesus. He said he could say and do only what he heard and saw the father do. He therefore had to spend a lot of time listening and seeing and he did. There was a recognisable rhythm in the life of Jesus. He would withdraw to meditate and then go out to minister. Again and again this pattern repeated itself. The public life of Jesus was supported by his private life of prayer with the father. The Acts of the Apostles is filled with prayer meetings because every forward thrust that the early church made was immersed in prayer. At Pentecost the apostles prayed for ten days and preached for ten minutes and three thousand people were saved. Today, we pray for ten minutes and preach for ten days and are ecstatic if any one is saved. You see the power is in the prayer! Prayer is not a substitute for God’s work or a preparation for God’s work. Prayer
try to dispel this myth. Intercessory prayer simply means to go between God and His people, to go on another’s behalf or to plead for another person or situation.
When I was young, my mother used to ask me to pray for certain things, perhaps a neighbour who was ill or a friend who was in need. I used to think, why? Why is this necessary? If God is good, if He knows about these problems, if He has the power to fix them, then why does He need me to pray? Why does He wait for me to ask Him before He acts? I used to wander whether God was a little contrary but I prayed anyway because I loved my mother and that was what she wanted me to do. With hindsight I am not too sure how effective my prayers were coming from a heart that was not very trusting and yet I am certain that God did not dismiss them for He meets us where we are.
The answer to my childish questions was, of course, God wants us to intercede for others because He would like us to rule and reign with Him. He does not want puppets or sophisticated toys for His own amusement. He created us in His image and likeness so that He could communicate with us and have a two-way relationship with us. We can see how God regards man in psalm 8: 4-6:
“What are human beings that you spare a thought for them,
or a child of Adam that you care for him?
You have made him little less than a god
You have crowned him with glory and beauty.
Made him lord of the works of your hands.”
In Genesis, God created Adam and Eve with a capacity and a drive to make a difference. He said to them: ”Be fruitful and multiply, fill the
earth and subdue it, rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and all living creatures that move on earth.” Gen.1:28. He then gave Adam and Eve the freedom to be creative by telling them to name the birds, beasts and wild animals thereby encouraging them to take charge and rule and reign with Him. Interestingly, this was before the fall, before things went wrong. We talk of Jesus coming to redeem mankind but He also came to redeem the original purpose for which mankind was created.
We find a pattern unfolding throughout the Old Testament of God wanting to work in partnership with His people. God tells Noah he is tired of their generation going the wrong way and He wants to turn it around so He asks Noah to partner with Him to build an Ark. Again, God asks Jonah for his cooperation in preaching repentance to Nineveh. Jonah proves to be a most unwilling partner but he consents eventually. Also, God works with Moses who bargained with Him to prevent the Israelites being destroyed because of idolatry. Amazingly, God relented and no punishment was brought. Hence we see God determined to make us players, to work through us and sometimes He will even allow Himself to be persuaded to a change of mind. Richard Foster, who wrote a book on prayer, says that sometimes God is looking at a couple of options and either of them could flow consistently from His character. He could have been justified in wiping out the Israelites but Moses persuaded Him to do otherwise. So God wants us as partners but it is a responsibility and we must realise there are consequences if we do not accept it. In Ezekiel, 22:30 God says: “I looked for a man to stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land so that I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.” No one took up God’s offer to stand in the breach that sin had made between God and Israel so He punished the House of Israel. As we see, God takes man seriously. We are sometimes guilty of a false humility when we say to God: “I am nothing, I cannot do this” but behind that is a desire to abdicate. Stunningly, you never see this with Mary, the Mother of God!
The New testament carries on this theme of partners and co-workers but it also gives us sons and daughters. The Spirit testifies that we are God’s children and, if we are children, we are heirs with God and co-heirs with Christ. In Galatians 4: 7, St. Paul states “…you are no longer a slave but a son and if a son then an heir.” Rob Clarke, the Christian speaker, likens it to God calling us to be partners in the family business. He expands by saying that in a sense, though it cannot be said as an absolute, God refuses to work independently or in isolation, but only in response to our prayers. He rules the world through the prayers of his people because he has adopted us as his sons and daughters. Now it is always a challenge to get the balance of this partnership right, as we want to take ourselves seriously but not too seriously. The partnership is a bit like the picture we have in our home shrine. In it there is a tiny insignificant figure sitting in the corner of a room praying, but his prayers are magnified through the towering, imposing presence of Jesus. My faith in intercessory prayer is always strengthened every time I reflect on that picture.
Let us take a look at prayer in the life of Jesus. He said he could say and do only what he heard and saw the father do. He therefore had to spend a lot of time listening and seeing and he did. There was a recognisable rhythm in the life of Jesus. He would withdraw to meditate and then go out to minister. Again and again this pattern repeated itself. The public life of Jesus was supported by his private life of prayer with the father. The Acts of the Apostles is filled with prayer meetings because every forward thrust that the early church made was immersed in prayer. At Pentecost the apostles prayed for ten days and preached for ten minutes and three thousand people were saved. Today, we pray for ten minutes and preach for ten days and are ecstatic if any one is saved. You see the power is in the prayer! Prayer is not a substitute for God’s work or a preparation for God’s work. Prayer
is
God’s work. If you get it right, if you are faithful to it, everything else falls into place.
When we are involved in intercessory prayer we are often engaged in spiritual warfare. The author, Ronald Dunn, tells us: “In a sense the primary target in intercession is not the person or the problem or the situation. The primary target is the power behind these things and there are evil powers trying to thwart God’s work at every turn.” St. Paul says we do not fight this battle with weapons of flesh but must have spiritual armour and spiritual weapons. He tells us what we need in Ephesians 6: 13 – 18 and in summary says “Stand firm… praying with all prayer and
supplication.” Prayer is the warfare! It is the battle upon which the spiritual war is waged. The battle is won or lost here. Dunn says “Before we ever step onto the battlefield of preaching or teaching or witnessing, the outcome has already been determined on the battlefield of prayer.” This is vividly portrayed in Exodus 17: 8-13 which beautifully captures intercessory prayer and is one of my favourite episodes in the bible.
The Amalekites attack the Israelites in the valley of Rephidim
. Moses says to Joshua, “Get your men and go down in to the valley and fight Amalek and I will go on top of the mountain and hold up the staff of God in prayer.” So Joshua follows Moses’ orders and leaves to fight. Meanwhile Moses is on the mountain with the staff of God and a strange thing happens. As long as Moses keeps his arms raised Israel has the advantage: when he lets his arms fall the advantage goes to Amelek. Eventually Israel is successful but we need to ask the question where was the battle decided? In the valley with Joshua? No, it was decided on the mountain with Moses. The victory in the valley is won by the intercession on the mountain. Ronald Dunn comments: “ The church could win more battles in the valley if it had more intercessors on the mountain lifting high the staff of God.” Prayer is the warfare. The battle for lost souls, for new family groups, for family days, for October days, for the evangelisation of the shrine is won by prayer and intercession. Dunn says, “Evangelism is not the attempt to win the battle – it is the mopping up operation after the victory has been won by intercession.” God is still looking for intercessors today to stand in the gap before Him for the sake of the land. When Jesus returns I want Him to find me on the mountain praying, holding up high the staff of God. Will He find you there too?
I’m glad my mother asked me pray intercessory prayers when I was a child because it not only helped those I was praying for but it encouraged me to think about my faith. I do not understand everything about prayer and at times I have seriously struggled with it. However, whether I understand or not I know this much: God assures me that my prayers will make a difference and he should know because Prayer was God’s idea!
When we are involved in intercessory prayer we are often engaged in spiritual warfare. The author, Ronald Dunn, tells us: “In a sense the primary target in intercession is not the person or the problem or the situation. The primary target is the power behind these things and there are evil powers trying to thwart God’s work at every turn.” St. Paul says we do not fight this battle with weapons of flesh but must have spiritual armour and spiritual weapons. He tells us what we need in Ephesians 6: 13 – 18 and in summary says “Stand firm… praying with all prayer and
supplication.” Prayer is the warfare! It is the battle upon which the spiritual war is waged. The battle is won or lost here. Dunn says “Before we ever step onto the battlefield of preaching or teaching or witnessing, the outcome has already been determined on the battlefield of prayer.” This is vividly portrayed in Exodus 17: 8-13 which beautifully captures intercessory prayer and is one of my favourite episodes in the bible.
The Amalekites attack the Israelites in the valley of Rephidim
. Moses says to Joshua, “Get your men and go down in to the valley and fight Amalek and I will go on top of the mountain and hold up the staff of God in prayer.” So Joshua follows Moses’ orders and leaves to fight. Meanwhile Moses is on the mountain with the staff of God and a strange thing happens. As long as Moses keeps his arms raised Israel has the advantage: when he lets his arms fall the advantage goes to Amelek. Eventually Israel is successful but we need to ask the question where was the battle decided? In the valley with Joshua? No, it was decided on the mountain with Moses. The victory in the valley is won by the intercession on the mountain. Ronald Dunn comments: “ The church could win more battles in the valley if it had more intercessors on the mountain lifting high the staff of God.” Prayer is the warfare. The battle for lost souls, for new family groups, for family days, for October days, for the evangelisation of the shrine is won by prayer and intercession. Dunn says, “Evangelism is not the attempt to win the battle – it is the mopping up operation after the victory has been won by intercession.” God is still looking for intercessors today to stand in the gap before Him for the sake of the land. When Jesus returns I want Him to find me on the mountain praying, holding up high the staff of God. Will He find you there too?
I’m glad my mother asked me pray intercessory prayers when I was a child because it not only helped those I was praying for but it encouraged me to think about my faith. I do not understand everything about prayer and at times I have seriously struggled with it. However, whether I understand or not I know this much: God assures me that my prayers will make a difference and he should know because Prayer was God’s idea!
Would you like to work in partnership with God to pray for the evangelisation of the Shrine? Would you like to join an intercessory prayer group and commit to praying either in the Schoenstatt Shrine or in your own home shrine once a week? Do you think God is calling you to this? Please contact: Joan Roddy 0161 301 4875/ Father Duncan 01204 572 077. |
No comments:
Post a Comment