WEDNESDAY'S WORD - INTERCESSION - 05/22/19

   

"Prayer must be broad in its scope - it must plead for others. Intercession for others is the hallmark of all true prayer. When prayer is confined to self and to the sphere of one's personal needs, it dies by reason of its littleness, narrowness and selfishness." - Edward McKendree Bounds - American Author 

 

This weekend was our 30th class reunion at the University of Pennsylvania. (I know...) On Sunday there was a memorial gathering and a mini reunion concert by our iteration of the PENN Gospel Choir. We sang old songs from our college days. Our former Director, Carl Bright, also taught us a song he'd written entitled, 'Pray for Me,' and asked me to sing one of the leads. The chorus' lyrics say , "Pray for me, Pray for me, Pray that as I go on, I'll be all God wants me to be. And when I do wrong, just remember this song. I need you to pray. I want you to pray. I need you to pray for me." It was simple yet powerful. My verse was, "Don't give up on me. Don't give up on me. No matter what you see, don't give up on me. In the midst of my mistakes, all I want to say is, I need you to pray. I want you to pray. I need you to pray for me." The song's admonition is when you experience bad or uncharacteristic behavior from someone, your first response ought not be criticism, but prayer.

 

We never know what others are going through.That's why Paul instructed Timothy, "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men." (1 Timothy 2:1) Supplication is the act of asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly. Prayers are solemn requests for help, earnest hopes and wishes. INTERCESSION is the act of intervening on behalf of another AND the action of saying a prayer on their behalf. Thanksgivings are expressions of gratitude to God. I love that action is associated with intercession. So often, we'll post a prayer emoji or just type the words, 'praying' without even doing that much. Intervening is part of intercession. To intervene means to come between so as to prevent or alter the course of events.  You're not just asking God to do something, you're deciding to be a part of seeing a more positive outcome. You will stand in the gap between what is and what God says should be, until you see it.  

 

In Ezekiel 22, the LORD declares judgment on sinful Israel for her idolatry, abuse of power, slander and other wicked practices. God through His prophet laments, "I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one."  God is looking for intercessors. Sometimes we fail to intercede because we're too busy 'discerning,' criticizing, or judging a person or their situation. We all have something in our lives that others could condemn, but that's not the best use of our time and energy. Corrie Ten Boom shared, "Discernment is God's call to intercession, never to faultfinding." There is power in intercession. "Intercession is the truly universal work for the Christian. No place is closed to intercessory prayer: no continent, no nation, no city, no organization, no office. No power on earth can keep intercession out." Richard Halverson