My challenge today is to set forth in the time that has been graciously allotted to me The Introduction To The Basics of Intercessory Prayer. My wife asked me this past week where I received my topic from and my answer was, “We better hope it is from the Lord or we are in trouble.”  The reason that I say that is not because I know nothing about prayer. As a matter of fact our society probably knows more about prayer and has written more books about prayer than any other society in the last 100 years. But the problem that I think that we face is not lack of knowledge on the topic of prayer but lack of conviction in the involvement of prayer. Especially when we speak of the prayers of intercession, or the act of praying for others.

 

It is my firm belief that prayer is the very key to victory in the war that we are fighting to reclaim Powell County for God. All the other things that we are doing are great, they are needed and very welcomed. But I believe the fact remains that they are all but a by-product of Prayer. The power of prayer is the one power on earth that has the ability to unleash the enormous power of Heaven.

 

As a matter of fact Andrew Murray said in his book, “The Ministry of Intercession” , “Christ actually meant prayer to be the great power by which His church should do its work and that the neglect of prayer is the great reason the church has not greater power over the masses in Christian and heathen countries.”  ^{Andrew Murray The Ministry of Intercession, Whitaker House Publishing, 1982 pg.9}

 

Charles Brent said, “A low standard of prayer means a low standard of character and a low standard of service.”  I don’t think that we would be able to find a handful of Christians in our community that would have a hint of an idea of the true power of intercessory prayer. It should hold a very high place in the frame work of the ministry of any local church.

 

Isa 62:6-7

6 I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence,

7 And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. (KJV)

This verse is declaring that God had a people that were going to be in continual prayer unto God until they saw the work done in their community that they had a burden to see accomplished.

 

I have the faith that our community can be turned upside down for Jesus if we can just get across to people the need that we have to stand in the gap for our community. Trying to move our community closer to God without the Saints of God interceding for it will be like trying to open up a locked door without having the key. You may beat and bang until the door crashes in but once inside you will be unsatisfied with the end result.  The willingness of the body of Christ in Powell County to become intercessor’s could very well decide the fate of our city and the eternal abode of our lost friends and families.  The opening line in Lee Thomas’s book, “Praying Effectively for the Lost” says, “The lost will not and indeed cannot be saved unless someone prays for them.”

 

The willingness of the body of Christ in Powell County to become intercessor’s could very well decide the fate of our city and the eternal abode of our lost friends and families.  The opening line in Lee Thomas’s book, “Praying Effectively for the Lost” says, “The lost will not and indeed cannot be saved unless someone prays for them.”

 

Now when some people hear talk like this they will respond with something like, “I pray, I pray all the time.” I pray too, but does that mean we are being the interceders that God needs us to be? No, I often feel like I fail in this type of prayer. Saying we intercede just because we pray is like saying I am a mathematician just because I know the answer to 1+1. That is just the basics to math, there are other areas of the subject that goes much deeper than just simple addition.

 

Likewise, intercession is a much deeper aspect of prayer that has been for the most part neglected and misunderstood. One large misunderstanding about intersession is that only a chosen few of the so-called Super Saints have the ability to be interceders. If we are not careful this type of thinking and teaching can lead people to believe that intercessory prayer is just for the gifted and the rest of us are left out in the cold. I have found nowhere in God’s word that leads me to believe that intercessory prayer is a special gift to just a select few of God’s people. It is the responsibility of all of God people to go to our pray closets on behalf of those that are around us. As a matter of fact, Intersession is able to occur when a child of God is willing to lay aside their own desires, imaginations and problems in order to stand in the gap for others. Richard Foster said; “If we truly love people, we will desire for them far more than it is within our power to give them, and this will lead us to prayer: Intercession is a way of loving others.”  Intercession is not just prayer my friends, it is Love on its knees in prayer for others.

 

So if Saints of God getting involved in intercessory prayer is the key to starting the engine that will turn our city around and get us headed once again towards God, why are we not seeing more people in our local churches enlisting themselves in “The Army of Intercessors ”? We fail to see a larger number of the Christian community taking a more active part in Intercessory prayer for 4 major reasons:

1.) We Fail to See Our Duty

2.) We Fail to See it’s Reward

3.) We Fail to See  the Power of Prayer

4.) We Fail to See the Heart of God

 

 

We Fail to Intercede Because:

1.) We Fail to See Our Duty: If we are not careful we can get a touch of Christian apathy or as one writer put it, “dry rot” and we can begin to believe that we have no obligation to intercede. We may think that we are worthless in the church or because of our age, wealth or medical status that we have been demoted to a pew dweller and will never be able to do anything else. No so, all it takes to be a prayer warrior is to be a Christian. ^{(Sinners praying for me)}

 

Or you might think that you are to busy with other work in the Church to be a interceder, but that is also not the case. It is not only the glorious privilege of any child of God to enter into the throne room of grace and bring with them another person that is in need, it is also our solemn duty.

1 Sam 12:19

19 And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the LORD thy God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king.  (KJV)

Israel has just gotten their wish of a King, Saul has been put into place. And here in the 12 chapter of 1 Samuel, Samuel is warning them of the choice that they have made. He pretty much tells them that they had already a King in God but they wanted a earthly king instead. He warned them of taking their eyes of God and start following after a man. He tells them that as long as they will fear the Lord, they will be okay. But if they rebel against God’s commandments then they are in big trouble.

 

They have gotten themselves into this situation but they have the nerve to ask Samuel to pray for them, what gall they had. But listen to Samuel’s answer;

1 Sam 12:23

God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way. (KJV)

Isn’t that amazing, even though they made their own ungodly choices Samuel still looked at it as a sin not to pray for them. He would have thought of himself as a less of a man of God not to petition God on their behalf.

 

Even though most the problems that we are going to face in people are going to be self-inflicted, they are going to be in the shape that they are in because of bad choices or ungodly decisions, that don’t mean that we are not bound to pray for them. What we need in the churches of today is a good old fashion, Holy Ghost inflicted conviction of the sin of neglecting intercessory prayer.

 

2.) We Fail to See it’s reward: Another reason that we don’t see many interceding today is because they fail to see it’s glory. We are so caught up in our religious society today in that we need to be seen and heard to be important that we have lost the desire to have a little one on one time with God. John Gossip said in “What Brought Christ to the Cross”; “We can do nothing, we say sometimes, we can only pray. That, we feel, is a terribly precarious second best. So long as we can fuss and work and rush about, so long as we can lend a hand, we have some hope; but if we have to fall back upon God… then things must be critical indeed.” Some people think that if we aren’t visibly doing something then we are doing nothing. But sometimes all we need to do is pray. If we are not careful our action without prayer can turn into disobedience.

 

In Acts Chapter 12 we can see a prime example that there was no great plan devised by the Christian Community to bust Peter out of Jail, but;

Acts 12:5

5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. (KJV)

They had a plan alright, they had a PRAYER MEETING and God acted on their behalf and delivered their leader and their friend home safely.

 

There is no denying the fact that God’s hands moves when we get down to business with Him in prayer. C.H. Spurgeon said “Whenever God desires to do a great work, He first sets His  people to pray”  Our work efforts may be fruitless but the fervent prayers of God’s people gets things accomplished.

 

 

3.) We Fail to See the Power of Prayer: Prayer is the most powerful force known to man. Again it is the one power on earth that commands the power of Heaven. Jim Cymbala said; “The devil is not terribly frightened of our human efforts and credentials. But he knows his kingdom will be damaged when we begin to lift up our hearts to God.”

 

Samuel Chadwick said; “The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.”  It isn’t the marches in the street the devil fears, it’s the prayer that goes along with it. It is not the town meetings that the devil fears, it is the prayer that goes on behind scenes of it. It is not the process of rehab that the devil fears, it is the prayer of the Saints of God that have concern for those dear souls that are battling their demons. It is not the emotional songs that we sing or the messages that are filled with gusto that we preach that makes the devil shake in his boots, it’s the prayer that are prayed in preparation that causes him the most grief.

 

4.) We Fail to See the Heart of God: My friend there is a God in Heaven that is able to meet every need that any man, woman or child that has ever drawn a breath could ever have.

Phil 4:19

19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (KJV)

We are told countless times in His word about His tremendous mercy, how He waits to be gracious, He longs to pour out His blessings on His creation. We are told of a measureless love that He has towards us that caused Him to send His only Son to this world that He might die for our sins. Now that sounds like a glorious and wonderful God.

 

But yet it seems that a God that is that wonderful is just setting around in His glorious Heaven and absolutely doing nothing about the plight that we are in. Why? If we have to ask that question, then there is a good chance we don’t fully understand the heart of God.

 

In His own community Jesus was unable to do the mighty works and miracles that He desired to do because they didn’t trust in Him and believe in Him. ^{(Matt. 13:58)} In Matt. 17 after Jesus had cast some demons out of a young boy the disciples came to Him and ask why they was unable to get the job done and He told them it was because of their unbelief. But if they could just have mustard seed faith then they could do anything.

 

I said all that to say this; God has chosen to partner with man in order to minister to the world today. In honoring us with this partnership, He also binds Himself in many instances. God is bound at times because He is willing to take our prayers as the standard of measurement for the working of His power. God can not and will not take the work out of the hands of the church. There is one thing on earth that can cuff the hands of God in a community and that is a prayerless Church. Brownlow North once stated.  “The neglect of prayer proves to my mind, that there is a large amount of practical infidelity. If the people believed that there was a real, existing, personal God, they would ask Him for what they wanted, and they would get what they asked. But they do not ask, because they do not believe or expect to receive.”

It is my thought that if there were a deeper conviction in more people’s lives about the certainty of the concern of God in the way that we lived our everyday lives then their would be a great deal of things that would not take place in our lives and failure to pray would be one of those things.

Now that we have looked at  4 reason that we fail to intercede, let us see how that we can be a more faithful intercessor. We will gather our information from Luke 11:5-10 The parable of the Friend at Midnight.

 

The Essentials to Intercessory Prayer:
1.) We Must See the Urgent Need:

Here in this passage of scripture we see a man had to go to a friends house because he had a unexpected guest arrive that needed food and He had none to give him.

 

If we are going to learn to pray the way that God wants us to we have to open our eyes to the fact of the needs that are right here around us.

 

Who does not have lost friends and family? There are countless of people all around the world that are living as if they have never heard that God has sent His son Jesus to this earth to die for our sins. Every day they are lost souls that are hurled into the eternal fires of Hell and torment without hope of recovery or escape. They need the bread of life.

 

Who can deny that in every church there are supposed Christians that fill our pews that are just as indifferent and spiritually ignorant as the carnal world around them. They are just in as much danger as the drug pusher or prostitute. They also need the bread of life.

 

And who does not know some Christian that is in need? Rather it be sickness, weariness from service, difficulties in their personal life, they may have children that are on drugs or some other vice of Hell. These dear hearts needs the soul feeling bread that only comes from the masters table.

 

If we truly believed that our God and Father was the only true hope that all these problems had, shouldn’t that move us to prayer? A recognition of these tragic lives should instantly cause the people of God to be transformed into ones that are giving their lives praying for others around them.

 

It is very important that we accept the fact that there are many dying as we speak without hope, many fruitless Christians that have no direction and weary soldiers that are hanging on for dear life and prayer is the only thing that can rescue any of them.

 

2.) We Must Have a Love For Others: 

In this parable we see that the friend was not turned away even though the request he made was a difficult one. He was welcomed into his friend’s house with open arms and was allowed to rest his weary body.

 

It warmed my soul to see that the friend inside the home didn’t turn the needy one away just because he had no bread to supply him, but he was willing to sacrifice sleep and rest in order to go and search for his friend some needed food.

 

It is love that causes a mother to lose sleep in order to pray for her wayward children, even though they have disappointed her many times. It is love that will cause a spouse to sacrifice food that they may fast and pray for their lost husband or wife. It was love that caused Christ to cry from the cross for the forgiveness of the ones that was crucifying Him.

 

We often times forget that Jesus was not only sent to this world to talk to us about God, but He also talked to God about us. Jesus was a interceder because of the love He had towards us;

Matt 23:37

37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! (KJV)

True Love must Pray.

 

3.) We must realize we are powerless:

The friend fully understood his lack of ability to fulfill the need of the guest, he more than likely knew before He went to bed that night he didn’t have any bread. But again he didn’t turn him away, he went to work on the problem. It was his inability to provide that caused him to go to another friends door and ask him to supply him with the needed supplies to handle the needs of the traveler.

Luke 11:6

6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?(KJV)

 

It is this very prayer from the lips of a servant of God that will cause God to start throwing into motion the very blessing that is needed for that occasion. Understanding our helplessness in the war that we are fighting is the very strength of our interceding. As we have said before, if there is something that we can physically do, we many times fail to pray.

 

I know not of one Christian parent that would not give their own life so that their child may live, but that is not the way it works. But that same love and that same desperate feeling will cause them to lift that child up in prayer to God our Father and admit that they have no power over the need of their child and beg God for action. That is intercessory prayer.

 

When the realization sets in that we have nothing to give the souls that are  in such desperate need intercession becomes our only hope and refuge. I may have a loving heart, I may have the knowledge, I may have the truth that they seek, I may have the wiliness to offer all that I have to meet their need. But I am powerless to give them the Bread of Heaven.

 

The more we think of the coming judgment, the more my mind ponders on the fact of all the unsaved souls that are going to face that judgment without knowing the savior, the more inadequate that I feel to meet the need, the more willing I am going to be to pray.

 

How I pray that when the thought of spiritual starving, soul hungry, individuals that are engulfed in midnight darkness comes upon us it will remind us that our only hope is prayer.

 

4.) We Must Have Faith In Prayer:

The attitude that this man had was, “What I can’t supply for this needy traveler, I have a friend who can.”  He had total faith that not only would his friend have the means necessary to help him out but that he would also be willing to help him out.

 

It is that same childlike faith that you and I need to have in order to be a successful prayer warrior. In the hearts that this faith truly exist there will be no doubt that prayer will be their source of hope.

 

The word of God is chalked full of promises that will stir our faith in our Heavenly Father

Ps 5:11-12

11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

12 For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield. (KJV)

We need to go to God with confidence and boldness of heart and believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that God will hear our pleas.

 

5.) We Must Be Persistent in Prayer:

When the man in our parable reaches his friends house and begins to enquire about his friend giving what he could not offer, he is met with and unexpected blow. His faith was dealt a bad hand. For his friend replied; “Don’t bother me now, I am in bed with my children and I am not going to disturb them to give food to someone I don’t even know.”  This man of need sure wasn’t expecting to cross an obstacle such as this.

 

But the heart that welcomed a traveler in his home at midnight was not going to allow this to be the fatal blow. He was not going to just turn around and go home and give up so easy. He said, “Hey, I am your friend, I need your help, this guy needs food and I have none to offer him but you have plenty to spare. Come on and help me out, we have been through a lot together.”

 

Blessed is the Saint of God that is not staggered by the delay of God. Sometimes it seems as if God doesn’t hear, it seems as if He says “No, go away I’m in bed” but we can’t quit, we can’t give in, we can’t give up. We must keep on knocking until the door is answered and the need bread of life is given. We have no other hope, we have no other source of victory, we must dig in and be ready for the long haul.

Luke 18:2-5

There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:

3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.

4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;

5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. (KJV)

We need to stay at it until it breaks, God may very well just waiting to see how bad you want it and how much faith you really have in Him being your only source of help.

 

This Bible Lesson posted 4/17/2006 - Pastor Anthony T. Molihan, Stanton First Church of God