Chapter 9.17
Intercessory
Prayer
Old Covenant – New Covenant – Praying in the Spirit
Lord’s Intercession Prayer – High
Priest Intercession
God already knows what you need; your prayer
releases
His power into your life
First
Word
Wikipedia;
Intercession or intercessory prayer is the act
of praying to a deity on behalf of others. Intercessory
prayer is a way for God to release His power, by simply praying
and telling God what He has already told us in His Word to pray. Intercessory prayer causes us to internalize
God’s Word, unite people’s hearts and bring changes and blessings
long term beyond this age.
Pray
Warriors is
a term that I know you have heard that is given to a special elite class of Christians who are called by God to the ministry of
intercession. This is an ERRONEOUS idea as the Book is clear that ALL Christians have been privileged
to have the Holy Spirit in their hearts and ALL are called to be intercessors. To prove a point, when Peter was in prison the
ENTIRE church prayed for him, not just those who
were Prayer
Warriors.
I am SO not a Prayer Warrior; while I rarely pray in Church or Sunday school, I seem
find myself continuously in prayer. When
I hear the sound of sirens on fire trucks or EMS vehicles, I begin to pray for God’s
favor on the lives of those that might be involved as well for as the safety
for their pets. When it storms, I pray for my home and my trees, my neighbor’s homes and
their trees. My prayers are SHORT[1]
and to the point[2]
and then I resume what I was doing.
I will never forget it; as I was presiding
over a very large banquet dinner, I asked a well know evangelist and musician
to “ask God
to bless our meal”. There was a silence, then he prayed, “God bless our meal,
Amen”. Let your
words be few.[3]
It’s in the Book
True
intercessory prayer seeks to glorify God and seeks for His will to be done
regardless of how it affects us. This may surprise you, but to NOT
intercede for others is a SIN against God.[4]
Old Covenant
In the Old Testament, the High Priest was the mediator between God and
man and according to the Laws of Moses, offered Sin offerings and INTERCEDED for the people of Israel[5]
as did the prophets and as seen in the lives of Abraham, Moses, David, Samuel,
Hezekiah, Elijah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.
New Covenant
In the New Testament Jesus the Christ became our High Priest, our Mediator[6] and Intercessor because at the cross the veil in the Holy of Holies was removed that separated
man from God. We can now go directly to
the Father without a Mediator like a high
priest or a pastor.
In the early church, intercessory prayer
for other people's illnesses was important, as healing was a sign of "the power of
God" and is an example for us[7]. The Apostle Paul believed that intercession was
one of the most important aspects of his faith and prayer life; interceding for
others was a recurring theme throughout his work. Paul believed that intercession transforms the
person doing the praying and
creates a stronger bond between the believer and God.[8]
2 Corinthians 3:13-16 – The scripture is
veiled until salvation
13 We are not like Moses, who put a
VEIL over his face so the people of
Israel would not
see the glory, even though it was
destined to fade away.
14 But the people’s minds were
hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same VEIL
covers their minds so they cannot understand
the truth. And THIS VEIL can be removed only by believing in Christ.
15 Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their
hearts are covered with that VEIL, and they DO
NOT UNDERSTAND.
16 But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the VEIL is taken
away.
(NLT)
Interceding in the Spirit
I don’t feel I should omit scriptures in my Word
Studies because they might be controversial. Some Believers have received the
gift of a Prayer Language while others operate in a different gift. So praying in the Spirit
or in tongues is something the scripture addresses for those who have that
gift and I include it here.[9] This prayer
language is a communication between you and God, and no one else. Pray
in the understanding tongue about the things you understand, then pray
in your prayer language about the things you do not understand or do not
know how to pray about. The Spirit will
make intercession for you.[10]
When in public, you may
sometimes feel like praying, praising or singing in the Spirit to God; if so,
you should ALSO pray, praise and sing in the understanding so that those around
you may also be edified. It’s in the Book
1
Corinthians 14:15-17 – Praying in the Spirit and Understanding
15 What then? I WILL PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT (tongues), AND
I WILL ALSO PRAY WITH MY UNDERSTANDING.
I WILL SING WITH THE SPIRIT (tongues), AND
I WILL ALSO SING WITH MY UNDERSTANDING.
16 Otherwise,
if you praise with the spirit (tongues), how
will the uninformed person say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what
you are saying?
(HCSB)
The Lord’s Intercession
The Lord’s Intercessory Prayer was given as a model to mold our thinking
while addressing ABBA Father in prayer. It is
composed of a Confession,
Seven petitions and a Doxology, you will also note it is short, but
hits all the points.
Confession acknowledges
that God is not of this Creation, but is the Sovereign Creator ruling over
every area of life in the entire cosmos with no limit with regard to time and
space.
The 1st petition is that His name will
not only be made Holy to us, but we petition as well that His name will become
Holy to others who are not yet called by His name.
This 2nd
petition begins
with placing God’s interest first; seeking the Kingdom of God, then our
physical needs then moving to our spiritual needs of deliverance from evil.
The 3rd we ask that
God’s Will be done not just in the world, but in our own life.
The 4th is seeking our
daily needful ration of food for our existence.
The 5th is asking for
Forgiveness for our WRONGS as we forgive others who WRONG us.
The 6th is asking that
we not be tested through temptations.
The 7th is praying for
the day when our Lord will put an end to Evil and establish His Eternal Kingdom
of righteous.
The Doxology is praise for the unmerited privilege of
knowing God as our Father and that with confidence we can know that He hears
our petitions.
Matthew 6:9-13 – Model Intercessory Prayer
9 After this
manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father which
art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy
kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us
this day our daily bread.
12 And
forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead
us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the
kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
(KJV)
The Take Away
We
are commanded to intercede in prayer for others and the Book
says it’s a sin against God to NOT participate. We no longer need a Priest or Pastor to
intercede for us or for others; the vail of Moses has been lifted and we now
have direct access to God through the name that is above all names that of
Jesus the Christ.
He has given us
the Holy
Spirit to come along side of us
and help us pray the will of God. We do not have to be a Prayer Warrior; God already knows
what we have to say, so just pray succinctly; short and to the point so He can
release His power into your life.
Satan
accuses us of our sins day and night before the throne of God[11]
where our Savior Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of the father INTERCEDING for us.[12] YEA… WE WIN
Amen
When we use the word Amen, it means; “So let it be”,
the trust and assurance that God can and will bring it to pass. Jesus often used the word Amen to affirm his
own utterances, meaning; "I tell you the truth" or to say it
another way; “So
it WILL be”.
It’s in the Book
[2] Matthew 6:7 – Just get to the point
-- Matthew 6:8 – God knows what you need before you ask Him
[3] Ecclesiastes 5:2 – Let your words be few
[4] 1 Samuel 12:23 – It is a SIN to NOT intercede for others
[5] 1 Samuel 7:5 – Before Christ; the Priest prayed and interceded -- Hebrews
10:8 – Sin sacrifices and offerings were offered in intercession for our sins
[6] Hebrews 7:24-25 – Jesus is our High Priest and intercedes for us
-- 1 Timothy 2:5 – There is only one
Mediator, that of Jesus Christ -- Romans 8:34 – Jesus intercedes for us at the
right hand of God
[7] Ephesians 6:18 – Pray all the time on every occasion you get -- 1 Timothy
2:1-4 – Intercede; pray for all people as well as the President -- Romans 8:26-27 – The
Holy Spirit intercedes for us according to the Will of God
[8] Philippians 4:6 - Pray about everything and THANK HIM for all he
has done -- Ephesians 6:19 – Pray for the right words to
boldly speak -- John 14:13 - Ask for things that glorify Jesus Christ -- Psalm 19:14 - Let words & meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight,
[9] Ephesians 6:18 – Pray at all times in the Spirit if you have the gift --
Jude 1:20 – Pray in the Spirit -- 1 Corinthians 14:15– Pray and Sing in the
Spirit
[10] Romans 8:26 - The Spirit Himself intercedes for us
[11] Job 1:6 – Satan ACCUSES us before the throne of God -- Revelation 12:10 – Satan ACCUSES us day and night
[12] Romans 8:34 – Jesus INTERCEDES at the right hand of God -- 1 John 2:1 – Jesus is our INTERCESSOR, our ADVOCATE who pleads our
case -- Job 16:19-20 – Jesus is my Witness, Advocate, INTERCESSOR, and Friend -- Hebrews 7:25 – Jesus
lives to make INTERCESSION
and to save
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