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Tag: intercessor

  • How to pray for other Christians

    How to pray for other Christians

    Series: Colossians (Part 2) By Rosie Moore.

    When you pray for other Christians, what do you say? Have you ever felt that you don’t have the words to express yourself? Join the club! Sometimes the best I can come up with is, “Lord, please bless the whole family and keep them safe!”

    In our intercessory prayers, it’s easy to succumb to nebulous platitudes which lack original thought, or to resort to a litany of one “gimme” after another. One of the ways to avoid shallow and vague prayers is to pray Scripture back to God, allowing the Bible to guide us as we express our own thoughts and situations. If our prayers are based on Scripture, we can be assured that they will be pleasing to God. Today, let’s look at Paul’s prayer for the Colossian Christians in Colossians 1:3-12.

    Praying Scripture.

    In this prayer, Paul says that since he heard of their conversion, he and Timothy have prayed non-stop for the new Christians in Colossae. In his prayer, Paul gives us insight into what we should most desire and therefore ask for when we pray for our Christian family and friends. Paul provides five petitions which we can personalise as a model for our own prayers:

    3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

    9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:3-12).

    1. A prayer of thanks.

    Paul starts by expressing thanks to God for their faith and changed lives after responding to the gospel preached faithfully by Epaphras (Col 1:3, 12-14). He specifically mentions the Christians’ love for all the saints. Thanksgiving for the gospel and its transformative power in the life of a believer changes our perspective and sets the scene for other requests and petitions.

    Specifically, Paul thanks God, “the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” for rescuing His people from one kingdom and transferring them to another. Divine rescue from the “domain of darkness” reminds us of the horrific danger that every lost person is in before God made us saints in the kingdom of his loving Son (Col 1:12-14). Paul is boasting in the Lord for redeeming a group of people who were totally incapable of rescuing themselves from a kingdom marked by fear, slavery and darkness. He is boasting in the cross.

    It’s important to start our prayers by expressing thanks to God for the cross, because we often drift into shortsighted, insular petitions that are focused on day-to-day problems and self-centred desires. A prayer of thanks lifts our eyes beyond the ceiling to see that the greatest privilege a believer enjoys is our deliverance from the slave market of sin by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus. We can never thank God enough for the gift of salvation and the blessings attached to our status as forgiven saints in Christ.

    In his prayer of thanksgiving, Paul is reminding the Colossians that they are now ruled by different values and priorities, since they have become heavenly citizens and co-heirs in God’s household. They are now people of light, not darkness.

    1. A prayer for knowledge.

    Next, Paul prays for his Christian friends to know God’s will and grow in spiritual wisdom and understanding (Col 1:9-10).

    Here, Paul is not praying for mere head knowledge, nor for some divine download or special revelation reserved for super-spiritual, elite Christians. Paul is praying for the faith and practice of ordinary Christians to be one and the same, for consistency between their creed and deed. He is praying for practical wisdom in those who know God. In verse 10, Paul prays for a knowledge of God that translates into four specific outcomes:

    • A life worthy of the Lord Jesus.
    • A life which pleases God in every way.
    • A life of good works and fruitfulness.
    • A life which is forever growing in personal relationship with God.

    This prayer teaches us that when we pray for Christian friends and family, we should pray that their knowledge of God would lead to sanctification and fruitfulness in their lives. After all, didn’t Christ say that righteous works are the supernatural fruit of genuine saving faith (Matt 7:16)? We are saved not by good works, but for good works. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:8-10).

    Paul expressed a desire that the Colossian Christians be deeply changed from the inside out, because he understood that the greatest good of the Christian life is not the absence of pain, but Christlikeness (1 Thess 5:23-24). In his book “The Discipline of Grace”, Jerry Bridges writes that this is the goal of sanctification:

    “The goal of sanctification is likeness to our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that we “are being transformed into his likeness”. In Romans 8:29, he said that God “predestined [all believers] to be conformed to the likeness of his Son”. Christlikeness is God’s goal for all who trust in Christ, and that should be our goal also. Both words, transformed and conformed, have a common root, form, meaning a pattern or a mould. “Being transformed” refers to the process; conformed refers to the finished product. Jesus is our pattern or mold. We are being transformed so that we will eventually be conformed to the likeness of Jesus.”

    If sanctification is God’s purpose and priority for our lives, we ought to pray for a Christian to embrace his complete identity in Christ in the rough and tumble of life. For no gap to arise between a believer’s talk and walk. For redeemed sinners to rest in God’s provision as they struggle against stubborn sins. For a believer to keep on repenting and keep on believing the gospel they first heard. For a brother or sister not to be a forgetful hearer of the Word, but an obedient doer of the Word (Matt 5:24-27; James 1:21-22.)

    In view of the many Christians living in habitual sin and the recent exposure of celebrity megachurch pastors, perhaps Christians ought to pray less for the “blessed” life and more for the “transformed” or “holy” life.

    1. A Prayer for power.

    In Colossians 1:11-12, Paul prays for God’s power to strengthen the Christians. Wouldn’t every Christian love to be struck by a lightning rod of God’s power? But again, notice the reason why Paul prays for divine power on their behalf.

    Divine power is not a means to personal gain, fame, and fortune. Nor is it an escape button or an excuse to “Let go and let God”. God’s power is needed so that the Colossian Christians would develop four character traits to live a fruitful Christian life:  Endurance and Patience, combined with Joy and Thanksgiving. Only the Holy Spirit who lives within and empowers us to become like Christ, can develop godly character where it is lacking in us. “The one who calls you is faithful, and He will do it” (1 Thess 5:23-24).

    1. A prayer for endurance and patience.

    Do you, like Paul, pray for the Holy Spirit to develop endurance in fellow Christians, particularly when they are facing adversity? (Col 1:11) Another word for endurance is perseverance. Perseverance produces proven character (Rom 5:3-5).

    Perseverance of the saints is an important doctrine. In Hebrews 12:1, the writer instructs believers to get rid of everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles, to run the race of faith with perseverance. Mature believers are characterized by perseverance (Titus 2:2) which is demonstrated in doing good and in prayer (Rom 2:5-8; Eph 6:18). When speaking about endurance and patience, the Bible uses words like discipline, strive, work out, train, flee and pursue (Luke 13:24; Phil 2:12; 1 Tim 4:7; 2 Tim 2:22). The Christian life is not a passive ride. It requires great endurance.

    And so, when we pray for each another, we need to ask God for the power and patience to endure. As sinners, we are prone to look for the easy way out, and our unredeemed flesh is attracted to simplistic formulas for instant godliness such as “Just let Jesus take control”. These formulas fail because they promise victory apart from the daily grind of self-discipline, which produces endurance over a lifetime. There are no shortcuts to spiritual maturity. It requires Spirit-empowered endurance and patience.

    Patience is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22-23), not a virtue that comes naturally to most of us. We are commanded to learn patience (1 Thess 5:14; Psalm 37:7; James 5:7-8), as it pleases God (1 Peter 2:18-20). Paul says that we are to be “joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer” (Rom 12:12). In a world of instant gratification, we need to pray for patient endurance to grow in one another.

    1. A prayer for joy and gratitude.

    “…being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 

     Do you pray for fellow Christians to have joyful, thankful hearts, regardless of their circumstances? A joyful heart is a gift from God, not something we can muster up on our own (Gal 5:22). It is a joy energized by the Holy Spirit (1 Thess 1:6). This is the kind of happiness that is not dampened by suffering or hard circumstances (Habakkuk 3:17-18; James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:3-9).  And if Paul is anything to go by, this kind of joy is the fruit of investing in the lives of others (Phil 2:1-18).

    It is only the Holy Spirit who can empower us to “rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil 2:17-18; 3:1; 4:4; Psalm 32:11).

    And so, like Paul, let’s pray for one another without ceasing (Col 1:9), using the deep prayers in Scripture to guide us in our requests. Paul’s prayer in Colossians chapter 1 is a God-given template for this purpose. Let’s remind ourselves that we are nothing and can accomplish nothing without prayer. It is also the greatest gift we can give one another.

    “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstance; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess 5:16-18).

     

  • Abraham the Advocate

    Abraham the Advocate

    [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_text]The dictionary defines an Advocate as a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause, a protector or patron. A person who puts a case on someone else’s behalf, who speaks for, argues for, pleads for.

    In Genesis 18, at the ripe old age of 99, Abraham humbly but boldly approaches God like an Advocate approaches the bench of a High Court Judge on behalf of a guilty accused (Gen 18:27). Armed with a new name and a secure covenant, Abraham begins to live out God’s promise to make him a blessing to all families on earth (Gen 12:2-3; 17:5).

    In this extraordinary interchange, Abraham does not only plead for his nephew Lot and his family to be saved, but also for the contemptible Canaanites who live in Sodom. Like an Advocate for a monstrous criminal, Abraham pleads with God to save his disgraceful client. He begs the just Judge to spare the city’s wicked inhabitants on account of the righteous few who live among them.

    In this unique chapter, Abraham points us to the Lord Jesus Christ, the only righteous Advocate qualified to represent sinners in the High Court of heaven. We get a glimpse of our great High Priest, who intercedes and prays to God on behalf of every believer. May this image remind us that we will never face any difficulty alone, as Jesus is pleading our case in the throne room of heaven (Rom 8:34).

    My prayer is that this text may encourage us to live as God’s royal Priests (1 Peter 2:9), soft-hearted and bold like Abraham, always ready to serve and intercede in prayer on behalf of our family, friends, city, nation and world– even our worst enemies (Matt 5:44). Only the gospel can spare sinners from the judgment to come (2 Peter 2:6; 9).

    Our text today is Gen 18:22-33:

    22 So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. 23 Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” 26 And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

    27 Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” 29 Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” 31 He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” 32 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” 33 And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

    Abraham the Intercessor

    In Abraham’s role as pleading priest, he unwittingly provides a peek preview of the Great High Priest who pleads on behalf of believers in the throne room of heaven. Abraham is also an archetype of Christ’s royal priesthood in every generation (1 Peter 2:9). If we are children of God, we are called to be intercessors in our community, no matter how evil it may be and regardless of people’s foolish choices (eg, Lot in Gen 13:10).

    The Canaanite community of Sodom and Gomorrah were not nice people (2 Peter 2:6; Gen 13:13; Ezekiel 16:49). Genesis 18:20 tells us that their sin was grave and their offence great. The “outcry against Sodom” paints a picture of cities without moral boundaries, where the cries of the oppressed and violated were heard by no one except God. Genesis 19 paints a sordid portrait of their vicious debauchery. Many modern contexts spring to mind, where powerless victims of abuse have no protectors, and atrocious evil runs wild.

    Yet Abraham poses the question to God five times: “Suppose I find a few righteous people in the city, will you destroy the whole city?” The ‘righteous few’ shrinks from 50, 45, 40, 30, 20 to finally 10 people (Gen 18:24; 28, 29; 30; 31; 32). Each time, God’s reply is laced with grace and mercy, despite the depravity of Sodom. “For the sake of the few, I will not destroy the whole city.” These are not Abraham’s people he is pleading for, but violent, degenerate Canaanites who had previously captured Lot and his family (Gen 14). His appeals on behalf of a pagan city are unique to the Old Testament.

    But then Abraham abruptly stops before the punchline! I can imagine him studying the fingers on his two hands as he pleads for God to save the city for the sake of 10 people. He never finishes by asking God what would happen if he found just ONE righteous person in Sodom. Perhaps Abraham realized that he would not find ten good men if he scoured the cities from top to bottom. Perhaps he knew that even Lot, his wife and two daughters had been tainted by what they saw and heard, living day after day in Sodom (2 Peter 2:8). But perhaps the truth dawned on him that “there is no one righteous, not even one. No one seeks God. All have turned aside. No one does good, not even one” (Rom 3:10-12). Perhaps Abraham instinctively understood, even without the law or scriptures, that “all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory” (Rom 3:23). I believe that Abraham knew there was no truly righteous person to be found in Sodom, or on planet earth for that matter.

    The Ultimate Go-Between

    Abraham could not have foreseen the appearance of one truly righteous man qualified to represent and save the many who deserve judgment– even Abraham himself. He could not have imagined that Yahweh, the just Judge of all the earth would send His Son to earth to die for the guilty, to be their High Priest and Advocate, their Bridge—the ultimate Go-Between and only Mediator between man and God (1 Tim 2:5; John 14:6; Heb 9:24).

    What a wonderful picture this story paints of Jesus as our great High Priest, interceding for us in the throne room of heaven! He who stood like a rock through every temptation; passed every test with flying colours; triumphed through every trial and stayed on the cross when He could have saved himself—that same Jesus is praying for you and me as we face our own trials! He is fighting as our Champion who has conquered death itself. As our Advocate, He is campaigning on our behalf, pleading our case before the Father even when we give him good reason to disapprove and find fault with us. We stand acquitted, forgiven and freed from judgment, only because we are represented by the perfect Mediator of a better covenant than Abraham ever had. What a powerful rebuttal when Satan accuses us! Read how the writer of Hebrews describes it:

    22 This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.

    23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but Jesus holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. 26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. (Hebrews 7:22-26)

    It is good to know that our high priest lives to make intercession for us, but even better to know what He is praying for.

    What Jesus prays on our behalf

    In the High Priestly Prayer recorded in John 17, the Lord Jesus gives us a peek into some of his pleas for all Christians throughout the ages. Jesus prays:

    That we will be kept safe from the evil one (John 17:15); be kept holy in the world (John 17:16); that we would be sanctified by holding tight to the truth of God’s word (John 17:17; 19); that God would equip and send us out into the world as his emissaries (John 17:18); that we would be credible witnesses as we abide in Christ’s love (John 17:21; 26); that we would be united with other believers and together shine God’s love for all the world to see (John 17:23), and that we would get safely to heaven to enjoy Christ’s reign forever and ever (John 17:24).

    Now that we know Jesus’s prayer requests for us, let us plead and pray these same prayers on behalf of ourselves and those we care about. Even on behalf of our enemies and those we despise. Let us behave as Christ’s priests in our generation, knowing that it is only by grace that we have been called out of darkness to proclaim his wonderful acts to the world (1 Peter 2:9).

    What more can we possibly need for this life that the prayers of Jesus haven’t covered?

    Pray

    Lord, rescue me from the sin of self righteousness. I am no better than Lot or any of the people of Sodom. Help me not to be a critic, a fault finder or a disapprover, but give me eyes to see the grace you have lavished on me to make me your child. Make me your pleading priest in my home, my city, my nation and my generation. I want to be a bridge to lead people to Jesus, the only one who is qualified to take sinners into your presence. Give me energy, boldness and grit to keep interceding in prayer for those who need you. I know you invite me to wrestle with you in prayer and do not despise my sincere appeals. Give me your grace to pray for my enemies and those that hurt me. When all is said and done, may I entrust my future to Jesus, the guardian of my heavenly inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade (1 Peter 1:4).

    In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

    Meditate on these great words of the hymn “Before the throne of God above” Click here to listen.

    Before the throne of God above
    I have a strong, a perfect plea:
    A great High Priest, whose name is Love,
    Who ever lives and pleads for me.
    My name is graven on his hands,
    My name is written on his heart;
    I know that while in heaven he stands
    No tongue can bid me thence depart
    No tongue can bid me thence depart.
    When Satan tempts me to despair,
    And tells me of the guilt within,
    Upward I look, and see him there
    Who made an end of all my sin.
    Because a sinless Savior died,
    My sinful soul is counted free;
    For God, the Just, is satisfied
    To look on Him and pardon me
    To look on Him and pardon me
    Written by Charitie Lees Bancroft (1841–1923)

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min_height=”none”][fusion_title size=”2″ content_align=”left” style_type=”default” sep_color=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]Other devotions from the God Walk…[/fusion_title][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_recent_posts layout=”default” hover_type=”none” columns=”3″ number_posts=”6″ offset=”” cat_slug=”devotion” exclude_cats=”” thumbnail=”yes” title=”yes” meta=”no” excerpt=”yes” excerpt_length=”0″ strip_html=”yes” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=””][/fusion_recent_posts][fusion_text]– more devotions –[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]