Praying for Intercession

 

Scripture

 2 Chronicles 16:9

⁹ For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the entire earth, to strengthen those whose heart is true to him.  (NRSV)

Ephesians 6:18

¹⁸ Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.  (NRSV)

 

Devotion

Today, we continue with our Lenten Wednesday series on spiritual disciplines that can help draw us closer to Jesus.  Our subject of the week is intercessory prayer.

One of the ways we show our devotion to God is by praying for others--even people we do not know.  Have you ever stopped to wonder why we do this though?  Just what are we doing when we pray for Christ to intercede in someone else's situation?

From a theological standpoint, intercessory prayer does a  few things.  First, it acknowledges that the things are not as they should be.  We cannot begin to address the world's suffering in Jesus's name if we cannot admit that something is wrong.  Learning to lift those things up to God help us "see" them and turn our hearts and minds to the ways things should be.

Second, intercessory prayer reminds us that God is loving enough and powerful enough to come to people's aid when we turn to the Almighty to for help.  This reminder is particularly powerful when a problem or issue seems too big for us to handle.  Is someone hurting in mind, body, or spirit?  We can trust that while the kind of healing they receive might not be quite what we expect (or even want), that God will give them what they need.  Are people being treated unjustly?  We have faith that God will work to break the chains of oppression.  Does war and violence ravage the land?  We can old fast that though the wrong seems oft so strong, Christ will bring true peace on Earth.  The prayerful reminder that God's eyes range over the Earth to strengthen those in need can bring hope, comfort, and purpose in the midst of despair.

 Third, prayers of intercession encourage us to get outside ourselves and do our part to be Christ's hands and feet at work in the world.  In the words of my critics, "saying that someone is in your thoughts and prayers is not enough."  Prayers of intercession invites the Holy Spirit that burns within us to help us be Christ's hand and feet at work in the world.  Once the Holy Spirit responds to that invitation, it is up to us to follow its direction.  The part we play on Jesus's behalf may seem small in the grand scheme of things, but we can trust that it is part of God's plans to intercede in the cases we have lifted up before the Almighty.  And with God to inspire our work, then we know that the work we've done to "stand in the gap" for others will help turn things around.

Making intercessory prayer a regular part of our days can feel daunting when the world's problems seem overwhelming or we don't know exactly what to ask.  Thankfully, a professor blessed my classmates and me by giving us an object to help us build up the practice during a class on spiritual disciplines.  The rosary ring pictured at the top of this post is designed for Christians to spin around their fingers.  Each of the 10 raised dots is an invitation to offer up a prayer, while the raised cross encourages us to begin/end the circle with the Lord's Prayer.  My professor encouraged us to spend a week going around the ring once a day as we asked God to intercede on 10 specific situations of our choosing. 

 This practice was intimidating at first, but it quickly grew on me.  Within a few days, I found myself going around the ring multiple times a day choosing a category (e.g. peace, healing, etc) for each revolution.  After the week ended, I decided to keep up with the practice.  3 years later, I still carry the rosary ring in my purse.  I no longer use it every day, but having it with me helps me still my racing mind and refocus on asking God to come to people's aid when the world's problems seem overwhelming.

If intercessory prayer is something that you don't practice much outside of worship, I invite you to spend the next week praying for Jesus to intervene in a set number of situations each day.  If 10 things feel too much, try to focus on 5...or 3...or even 1.  Ty to make the prayer for someone or something else instead of for yourself.  And when you are done making your request, I invite you to open your heart to the Spirit's guidance on what you may be able to do to help.  As you do so, you can trust that Jesus hears the longings of your heart.  And even if we have trouble seeing what he is doing, we can trust that Christ will respond to our supplications for all God's saints.

 

Prayer

Jesus, you know the great needs of our world.  Be with ____________  today.  Make your presence with them known by ______________.  May your  Spirit move in me so that I may take part in your holy work.  Amen.