Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
- Isaiah 53:12
Who then is the one who condemns? No one. 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.
- Romans 8:34
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
- 1 Timothy 2:1-4
“The Swiss theologian Karl Barth once said, ‘To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.’ Prayer is the means by which we push back the curse that’s infected the world and infected us.
“When we engage in intercessory prayer, we are loving others on the basis of heaven’s resources. Prayer is heavens highest security clearance—free access to stroll right into the heavenly vault, gather up whatever we can carry, and hand it out to the world. We are rulers, calling the shots for how heavenly resources are distributed, and intercession is a way of saying, ‘Oh, we’ve gotta have some here. Look, there’s something missing over there.’ It is the distribution of Gods resources in the familiar environments that comprise our disordered world—-among coworkers, roommates, neighbors, and strangers; at bars, cafes, and soup kitchens; at high-rises, housing projects, homeless shelters, and prisons. P. T. Forsyth writes, ‘Prayer has its great end when it lifts us to be conscious and more sure of the gift than the need, of the grace than the sin.’
“Intercessory prayer simultaneously restores our world and restores the God-given identity that was breathed into us first. It is the active experience of restoring creation.
“All that being true, and it absolutely is, the worst-kept secret in church history is that most people, even most Christians, don’t really like prayer. Don‘t get me wrong, we still do it, mainly out of guilt or obligation or because we know it’s good for us, making prayer the spiritual equivalent of eating celery. But what if. according to Jesus, you’ve never really prayed?”
- Tyler Staton, Praying like Monks, Living like Fools
For those who have read the past two Praying Like Monks posts and saw Adoration and Confession, you might have thought he was following the ACTS formula” Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. Rev. Staton replaces Thanksgiving with Intercession. If we could misspell intercession with an “E”, the acronym would be ACES, I suppose. In following the ACTS format, I have found myself in the Thanksgiving portion repeating what I said in the Adoration portion, but intercession is a part of supplication, at least for those who intercede.
I left that last sentence in the quote as a tease. Rev. Staton goes on to explain that intercessory prayer hinges on two important concepts. First, “Thy will be done.” And the Second, “Thy kingdom come … on earth as it is in Heaven.” There is an inherent case of the first every time we pray, but of the second? ,,,
We are interceding for someone else out of love. Sure, I am on a prayer team, and I get a prayer list. Ummm, I type the list, but … There is an obligation there. But, if I did not first love, I would not have signed up for the team. While only about ten people out of the forty come to the meetings each month, I have been faithful in coming, almost always the only male team member in attendance. I do so out of love for the people we pray for and the other members of the team, even those that never show up to the meetings.
Now, I will admit that I became the secretary out of anger and frustration. We had a church secretary, no longer there, that made monumental mistakes with the list. A six-page list often became eight pages due to formatting errors. I had no desire to have my phone ring day and night with prayer requests, or make hundreds of phone calls because someone had a disease that runs its course in a week or ten days, and they’ve been on the prayer list for six months… I was just trying to volunteer to do the typing.
MSWord is a great tool, but you must understand what it is doing, or you fall prey to “issues.” I had been a desktop publishing expert before MSWord thought it could rival that type of software (and for most people, it can), so knowing what goes on behind the stroke of a key is something I understand.
Back to the topic: But we show God’s love in praying for others. We could give them money if that is their problem, but then they will spend it and ask for more. But we cannot heal them, at least most of us. Only God can save them. Even if we could go with them on a mission trip to protect them, who is there to protect us?! Loving them enough to go to the One who can do all those things is prudent, logical, and showing that love.
But what of the concept of intercession? Jesus is at God’s right hand interceding for us. But isn’t it like a lawyer in a courtroom?
What would the lawyer truly say if he was doing the interceding and could not tell anything but the truth?
“I am a member of the bar, but what does that mean? I am standing before Almighty God who knows the mistakes I made just getting to the courtroom. We are not pleading ‘not guilty.’ I hardly know this person and I know they make mistakes. But, in healing this person, who trusts in you, that healing brings a touch of your glory and your kingdom to this earth. If this person loves you, they will glorify your name. If they have not been saved, this healing gives them a sign of your glory and a little more time to see Almighty God in everything. As always, may your will be done.”
Or we could say, “Lord, I pray for Wolfgang Schmindelfritzen. He has prostate cancer. He has had successful surgery and they are doing radiation. Please, heal him. Thy will be done.”
Okay, other than the lawyer using a lot more words, is there much difference? It’s back to what someone says about evangelism. “I am not lording it over the other person. I am just a beggar telling another beggar where to find some bread.” And someone in intercessory prayer is expecting the person being prayed for to pray themselves, but when two or more are gathered in God’s name then God is right there with them. So, we pray too. And we do so in love.
Lord, guide me. There are so many people who pass on a burden to pray for them. You know what it is in their hearts, and it may not be what we are being asked to pray for. You know more than we ever could, but we love them. Then, there are those who we hold dear to our hearts. We know they would never burden us with a prayer request, but sometimes, we can see the pain in their eyes. We can’t help but pray for them. And then there are those who would be violently angry if they knew we were praying for them. Protect us, oh, Lord. Their hatred can never stop our prayers. In Your name I pray. Amen.
Note: I have not violated any confidentiality regarding Wolfgang Schmindelfritzen. I simply made up the name. “Schmindel” and “Fritzen” are “dingy” and “fries” in German. If you know someone named Wolfgang Schmindelfritzen, you might want to check up on him and see that he is okay.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
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