“Oh, what infinite importance is the place the intercessor holds in the Kingdom of God! Is it not indeed a matter of wonder that God should give men such power?” (Andrew Murray, 1828-1917)
William lives in a nursing home. A stroke left him partially paralyzed, so he’s confined to his bed. It’s hard to imagine what it would be like to wake up to such difficult circumstances day after day.
I occasionally stop by to see my former neighbor, and it’s hard not to be surprised when I walk into his room and find him with a cheerful spirit. How would I respond if I had to live tethered to a bed?
He seems to be a true believer, so he and I exchange prayer requests from time to time. When I mention someone that I’ve asked him to pray for, he’s quick to say, “I’ve been praying.”
The Apostle Paul would have appreciated William, a man who has proven that he takes seriously the responsibility to pray for others.
In a letter to the church at Corinth, we see an example of Paul’s dependence on intercessory prayer:
We had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many. (2 Corinthians 1:9-11, emphasis added).
Paul needed help - prayer help.
How could these believers who lived a great distance from Paul help him as he faced life-threatening opposition to the message of Jesus Christ? By praying. It seems like a simple thing, but we can’t let that negate its importance.
It was not unusual for Paul to call on his fellow believers to pray for him. To the believers in Rome, he wrote “strive together with me in your prayers to God for me” (Romans 15:30). To those in Philippi, he rejoiced that “this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:19). And to his “beloved brother and fellow worker” Philemon, Paul wrote of his desire to come see Philemon and other saints who met in a home. He expressed hope to Philemon that “through your prayers I will be given to you” (Philemon 1:22).
Undoubtedly, Paul recognized that when saints pray, God responds and answers those prayers. That is a weighty truth when you think about it, and there’s even more weight added to it when we consider that what the apostle wrote was directed by the Holy Spirit. God wanted us to know of Paul’s belief in intercessory prayer.
It’s a precious thought that you and I can help someone miles away (or in the adjoining cubicle) by taking time to pray for them. Our prayers link us to the LORD God Almighty. He hears us. And He responds in a way that is perfect and best.
On August 11, 1861, British pastor Charles Spurgeon delivered a message on intercessory prayer to those gathered at London’s Metropolitan Tabernacle. He offered this exhortation:
“O brethren, let us unite with one heart and with one soul to plead with God for this neighborhood! Let us carry “London” written on our [chests] just as the high priest of old carried the names of the tribes. Mothers, bear your children before God! Fathers, carry your sons and your daughters! Men and brethren, let us take a wicked world and the dark places thereof which are full of the habitations of cruelty! Let us cry aloud and keep no silence and give to the Lord no rest till he establishes and makes his Church a praise in the earth.”
You might be confined to your bed like my friend William, or you might be on the move from one town to the next making deliveries. You might be a busy mom or a soon-to-be graduate. Wherever life has you, I encourage you not to take lightly your responsibility to intercede for others.
Brethren, pray for us (1 Thessalonians 5:25).
