Intercessory Prayer - Exercise in Persistence

 7^th Sunday after Pentecost

July 24, 2022

Fr. Phil Eberhart

 

 

Intercessory Prayer – Exercise in Persistence

 

 

Is there anyone else here that suffers from guilt over not praying enough?  There are a pile of should’s and oughts that get added onto our spiritual lives, and this is one of the most common.  We know that we should pray – that we ought to pray about things – first or at all.  But we just get so busy going, going going and doing, doing, doing, that we just forget.  We forget God!

 

And that is a pickle when we get there.

I was talking to a friend the other day about a program that is on going in our diocese, and he admitted that he was frustrated with banging his head against a stone wall – lots of energy, lots of effort, lots of time and talent and treasure expended --- no results!!

Then it dawned on him he should pray about the program.  Whoa!!

All of a sudden, when he turned the program over to God, stuff started working!  Help came out of the woodwork!

 

This week I was personally convicted by Stacey and Jerry as they talked about their “secret place” time with God.

PRAY ~  LISTEN  ~  OBEY

 

This morning our scriptures point us in a very specific direction!  We see the story of the Intercession of Abraham for Sodom & Gomorrah.

We hear Jesus teach the disciples how to pray as He does.

And Paul gives us the context for such a life of prayer – a life of alignment with God’s purpose and lived in His power.

Get you pencil or pen out because I will give you some ways to mark up your bulletin this morning.  We are going to be reading with a highlighter, underlining and circling some words and thoughts.

 

Let me preface this by saying that as we enter into prayer we are entering into Jesus’ present ministry!  Scripture tells us that Jesus “ever lives to make intercession for us.” 

We readily admit that God has a plan for our lives and that it is good, but we rarely get still enough, especially in our culture of distraction here in the West – in the US of A – to actually hear what God is saying.

A few weeks ago we read the calling of Samuel as a young boy, as a pre-prophet!  It says in those days “the Word of the Lord was rare!”

So Samuel had to learn as a young man to recognize the voice of the Lord God when God was speaking to him.  Several times he mistook the voice in the night for Eli’s.  Finally Eli got it, and told Samuel to respond to the voice:  “Speak Lord for your servant is listening.”

 

Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.   Not a bad place to start, eh?

In our OT lesson Abraham was doing the speaking.  Over and over and over, with God apparently nodding His head and agreeing along the way!  We get a pretty good picture of what Jesus talks about in the Gospel reading when He says: 

[Luk 11:8 ESV] I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.

 

Interestingly, God isn’t put off by Abraham as He pleads for the righteous in the city.  And each request is readily granted to Abraham.  I’ve always been struck by this passage and the persistence – the impudence – of Abraham in approaching God in this way; but God seems perfectly OK with it.

 

When Jesus took up the request of His disciples to “teach us to pray” He gives them some pointers – a model prayer – and then immediately launches into a story of someone who goes across the street to get bread at midnight from a neighbor who is in bed.  The picture is one of a rare kind of persistence – the word that is used here in the Greek only occurs in this verse in the whole Bible!!  It can be translated “without shame” or “shameless.”  It is shameless impudence that is being highlighted by Jesus! What does that mean?

 

Our stance and approach toward God is not to be one of meekness, of embarrassment, of asking timidly or weakly for His mercy and grace, for His direction and empowerment.  We are to “Come boldly before the throne of grace.”

 

[Heb 4:14-16 ESV]  Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

 

The position of intercession is one which we are to take up with boldness.  Abraham stood in God’s way as He was about to destroy the cities – he was the in-between one – the “intercessor” who was standing “in the gap” between God and Man.  Prayer is often not a comfortable place.  It requires us to know our station, and yet to approach God with boldness. 

 

And what is our station here?  Turn in your bulletin to the reading from Colossians – or to your Bible if you have one with you.

Get your pen out and I want you to circle or underline the instances of the words IN HIM or WITH HIM in these few verses.  Take just a minute to do that.

 

 

 

Second Reading:    Colossians 2:6-15

⁶ Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, ⁷ rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

⁸ See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. ⁹ For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, ¹⁰ and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. ¹¹ In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, ¹² having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. ¹³ And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, ¹⁴ by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

9 times in 9 verses.  The same is true of several other passages by the way, as Paul is clear that all that we are and do in the Kingdom and for the King is done “IN HIM”  and  “WITH HIM.”  Take a look at Ephesians 1 some time! 

We are all familiar with John 15:5 right?  “Apart from me, you can do nothing!”

The secret sauce here is abiding IN HIM and moving WITH HIM.  Abraham was not twisting God’s arm!  Abraham was interceding in ALIGNMENT with the will of God.  He took the place of intercession because God gave him a heart of compassion;  I’m certain that his love for his nephew, Lot and his family played a part in that.  But God allowed Abraham to enter into this place and granted each request without an argument.  Abraham was praying – he was interceding, according to the will of the Father.

 

So how do we enter into that place?

 

Do you remember that I’ve said many times, “when you see a need, you’re in the game!”  Stepping off the bench and onto the field, means you are stepping into Abraham’s place of intercession!

You are stepping into the place of Jesus, right along side Him in His intercessions!  He welcomes you there.  And the first thing you need to do is find our from Him what He is praying for!  What direction does God want to go here?

When God highlights someone to you; you see someone in need and feel that twinge from the Spirit of God, pray right then!  God what do you want me to do or say?  How can I be Your Presence in this situation?  How can I be a blessing?

That is what it means to ABIDE IN HIM!  Every moment, every circumstance, every person we meet!  We are “on mission” with Him.

We are the presence, the fragrance of Jesus, to those around us.

I want us to finish here this morning by re-reading the last part of the Gospel from Luke 11.  Will you turn to it and read with me?

Let’s begin at verse 9 and read to the end:

⁹ And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ¹¹ What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; ¹² or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

God is inviting us into His mission in the world and He is promising us that He will be with us,  IN US, as we go.  We’ve heard it over and over and over again:   Willingness … Availability … and Obedience.  Stacey told us that God is looking for those who are Faithful… Available… and Teachable!  And that obedience is the deal!  What God is asking us to do, we can’t do alone!  We can’t do anything apart from Him and we are called to do what we do TOGETHER WITH HIM because we are IN HIM. 

 

Let me say it again in the words of Paul:

⁹ For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, ¹⁰ and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

 

Jesus said, ALL AUTHORITY has been given to me in the whole world,

Therefore GO!

 

Father in Heaven,  We hallow Your Name.  Make your Name Holy and wholly renowned through us.  Jesus, we want to make You famous.  Let your Kingdom come – reign among us here on this earth, just like you do in heaven.  Let Your will be done in our lives.  We give them over to You fully this day.

Save us, Lord God, from the time of trial and the day of temptation. Put the world, our flesh and the Devil under our feet.

Give us what we need to live for you:  Our daily provision, like the Manna you provided day by day in the wilderness.

Apart from You, Lord, we can do nothing.  Be our sufficiency, our competence, and the one who brings fruit, more fruit and much fruit.

Let your glory be ours, as Jesus prayed, as we are One In Him and One with each other, that the whole world may know.

For the sake of the Kingdom of God and the Fame of Jesus Name, we pray.

Amen.