Elbow Prints....

One of the aspects of prayer that we have not discussed yet is intercessory prayer. You may ask, what is intercessory prayer? It’s simply praying on the behalf of others. We pray this type of prayer all of the time: A friend who is in need, A child who has chosen the wrong path, A family member who is sick, on and on. But all to often, in many of our lives, this type of prayer can very easily turn into a grocery list of people and needs that we are lifting up to God with no real fervor or passion. “Bless Aunt Sally.” “Be with Uncle Jim in Surgery.” “Protect Billy…” Yet when we look at this type of prayer in scripture, this isn’t the case.

Take a moment and find a bible …………………….open it to Exodus 17:8-13………and read the account that takes place.

While Joshua was out fighting the battle, what was Moses doing? Praying!! Was he just praying “Lord, Protect Joshua…”? NO, he went to the top of the hill and raised his hands in prayer over the battle. While Joshua was engaging in the physical combat, Moses engaged in the spiritual combat. Evidently Moses is the one who had the harder task, for he was the one who was left tired. This is not the only example; Abraham intercedes for the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 18) Moses intercedes for the people of Israel (Ex 32), and the list goes on. Read the accounts….. they were fired up!!

In the NT we are assured that Christ intercedes for us. In Romans 8:34 we read, “Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” Do you think that when Jesus is standing before the Father he is saying, “Oh yea, by the way, don’t forget Jim down there with his surgery today.” NO WAY!!

In the Greek, the word for intercede is “entunchano” which literally means to plead, to appeal. It has a sense of passion that goes along with the prayer. Hebrews 7:25 says, “Therefore he [Jesus] is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede (or to plead / to appeal) for them.” Do you see the power in this? He lives for this!!! Henry Nouwen writes, “When we come before God with the needs of the world, then the healing love of God which touches us touches all those whom we bring before him with the same power.” Just was Jesus is before the Father pleading on our behalf, we have the power to plead on the behalf of others that God would work in their lives. This is not a list of people to run through on any given day but people whose lives can be changed by the power of YOUR prayer. You do not need any special credentials to do this. You do not need the title of Reverend or Pastor or Father to come before God with this type of power. It is open to all. I am half-tempted to remove the words “Pastoral Prayer” from the bulletin at Salem and change it to “Everyone’s Prayer” because that’s what it is. It is Everyone’s Prayer. It is everyone who comes before God with the names of those whom we wish to bring forth. “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant.” (Daniel 9:17)

What is your prayer on the behalf of others like? Is it simply a list to go through or is it something in which you are passionately engaged with? Is that an indicator of your heart? Remember what we said before, all too often we see prayer as a last resort rather than our first place to run. When intercession is a list are we subconsciously saying “Well….I don’t what will happen but it can’t hurt to pray”? Whereas, when we plead before God is it as saying “I know you are there, God. I still do not know what will happen but I know you are in it and you will handle the situation according to your will.”

Beth Moore tells a story about Joy and Mike, two parents who have a very headstrong teenage son. One evening they forbade him to go out with his rebellious friends but he walked out the door anyway. Joy and Mike were heartbroken.

The next day the son angrily asked his mother, “Have you been praying for me again?” She said, “Son, I always pray for you…..but how did you know?” He responded, “Because there were elbow prints on my bedspread!”

Joy’s elbow prints were a result of her passion as she knelt by his bed and begged for an end to his rebellion. Does your prayer life for others have elbow prints? If not, today is the best day to make a pair.

In His Grip
Kevin