Tag Archives: prayers

DID YOU KNOW (1) – …THAT INTERCESSION IS NOT A “SPIRITUAL GIFT”?

Christian Life, ,

DID YOU KNOW (1)

…THAT INTERCESSION IS NOT A “SPIRITUAL GIFT”?

It’s amazing to me that intercession has become the special ministry of a select few instead of the privilege of every child of God. What is even more astonishing is that it is now, according to some, both a title and a calling. Is there any verse or passage in Scripture that confirms this idea? I have yet to find one.

In fact, the Bible says the opposite. Prayer (and intercession is one kind of prayer) is the honour and privilege of all God’s children.

I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer without anger and disputing (1 Tim 2: 8).

The Greek word for “men” here is aner which refers specifically to males. Does this mean that only men may pray? Paul affirms in Gal. 3:28 that there is neither … male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. We assume, therefore, that prayer is the privilege of all God’s children regardless of colour, culture, or gender. 

Although people of every religious persuasion “pray”, there is no true prayer outside of God’s family. Prayer is the way God’s children who are flesh and blood and live physical lives in a physical world, interact with the Father who is spirit and dwells in the unseen realm.

Prayer is the only way in which we can communicate with Him. Physical we may be, but we have His Spirit within us. We relate to God spirit to spirit as His sons and daughters. Our spirits communicate with His Spirit who interprets our prayers to the Father.

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. Romans 8:26-27

Prayer is a mystery. Through intercourse with God, which the Bible calls “prayer”, we participate in the realm of the unseen, hearing the voice of the Spirit within us and responding with or without words to the one who knows us more intimately than we know ourselves. We participate in the “groaning” of the universe which, like humanity, is under the curse of sin, awaiting the completion of the redemption Jesus accomplished on the cross.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies…

It seems, then, that prayer is far more intense than simply talking to God. Prayer is the child’s participation with the Father in our role as “rulers” over His creation and the outworking of His purposes to bring about the restoration of all things.

Prayer is the role of God’s sons and daughters who are members of His family and citizens of His kingdom. Prayer enables us to work with Him to carry out His will on earth and bring in His eternal kingdom. Prayer is not the attempt of worshippers, as the pagans do, to manipulate God to do what we want or to appease Him through fear so that He will not destroy us.

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children (Rom. 8:15-16).

Does any other religion, including the cults which have corrupted the truth, offer an intimate relationship between their god and his devotees as father and children? In what way do pagan deities offer their devotees the opportunity of participating with them in the fulfilment of their eternal purposes? Do pagan gods have any plans? Where is their religion taking them?

Of course, there are no answers to these questions. There is only one God in whom all history is wrapped up and makes sense. God not only began history – He will also conclude history as He determined in the beginning.

Rev. 5:1-9 describes the scene in heaven where the scroll of history could not be opened until the Lamb stepped forward. No one knows the meaning of history outside of Jesus. He is the only one who can interpret history according to God’s purposes.

Prayer is the all-encompassing way in which we commune with God. Prayer has many facets – what Paul calls “all kinds of prayer” – and pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests (Eph. 6:18a). He enumerates the “all kinds of prayer” in his instructions to Timothy.      

I urge, then, first of all that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone… (1 Tim. 2:1).

Did you notice that intercession is included in the “all kinds of prayer” and that all God’s people are to engage in intercession as part of our resistance to the enemy?

Why, then, is intercession singled out and made a ministry for some when we are all instructed to pray for all people, and especially for God’s people (Eph. 6: 18b)?

Prayer in all its facets, is the privilege and obligation of all God’s people because it is the way God has ordained for us to have personal and intimate fellowship with Him.

Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

A Perfect Son

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A PERFECT SON

During the days of Jesus’s life of earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission. Son though He was, He learned obedience from what He suffered and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him, and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek. (Heb. 5: 7-10)

What a holy moment! The writer allows us a glimpse into the anguish of the son of God. Isaiah called Him ‘a man of sorrows and familiar with grief’ and yet He was also described as a man of joy, anointed with the oil of joy above His companions. Jesus experienced the intensity of sorrow more than any other person because, firstly, He felt the pain of His people who were cut off from the Father and, secondly, He felt the power of temptation that threatened to cut His off from the Father.

What is this writer implying? That Jesus was threatened with death but He escaped it because God heard His prayers? But that did not happen. We know that He was crucified, so that cannot be what the writer meant. In what way was Jesus saved from death? The threat of death hung over Him from the moment of His birth. He was ‘the last Adam’, born of a human mother, but born with the nature of Adam before the fall. Unlike us who are born with nature of fallen man, He was able to sin but also able not to sin.

His entire human life was a test of His submission and obedience to the Father. Where Adam failed, He dared not fail. To qualify as a perfect high priest and sacrifice, He had to be the perfect Son. If He were to be an acceptable sacrifice, He has to be without sin so that, like the Levitical high priest on the Day of Atonement, He had to emerge from the Holy of Holies alive as a sign that His sacrifice was accepted.

Jesus knew the intensity of sin’s power to lure Him away from perfect trust in the Father and perfect obedience to the Father’s will. His entire life was a test of obedience, the battle in Gethsemane being the zenith of that struggle against sin. In spite of the spectre of the horrible experience that lay before Him, and the bloody sweat that poured from His pores like the precious oil pressed from the olives, He submitted to the Father’s will.

Jesus was God’s Son. He was God. He was the exact replica of God in human form. He has all the power, all the knowledge, and all the attributes of God but He chose to live as a man, never once employing His divine power as God during His earthly life. His power came from the Holy Spirit, God’s equipment who came upon Him at His baptism. He lived in perfect union with the Father, entrusting Himself to Him for every need and every situation.

This was the only way in which He could qualify to be the Saviour of humankind. He knew what it was to be weak and to have to trust His Father instead of acting as God. He had many great battles with the enemy. We know nothing of His childhood when, as a young, vulnerable and impressionable boy He had to call the devil’s bluff and trust His Abba. We have just one example of this warfare when He was tempted to act as God and to act independently of His Father in the wilderness. He passed with flying colours.

How did He overcome? Through His constant fellowship with the Father in prayer. He stayed in touch with the Father so that He would know and do His will. He listened to the voice of the Spirit. He drew strength from the Holy Spirit. He learned obedience from what He suffered. He learned the meaning of obedience by being obedient through every test. He felt the strength of Satan’s pressure on Him but He resisted and overcame every time. He could challenge His accusers with the words, ‘Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?’  What a challenge! What a testimony!

Yes, Jesus was amply qualified to be both our king and our high priest. His perfect submission and obedience to the Father set Him apart as the perfect Son and gave Him the right to be the source of eternal salvation for everyone who believes. He is now and forever the eternal high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

The Disposition Of A Man Of God

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THE DISPOSITION OF A MAN OF GOD

“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:3-6.

Don’t you just love Paul! God could not have chosen a better way to record His word for us than in stories and letters about real people, people we can relate to because they were just as ordinary as we are. With all his accomplishments, Paul reflects sanctified humanness in his letters.

 

Thankfulness, joy, confidence – these are the attitudes and emotions of a man who had walked a long and difficult road with Jesus. Even more telling was the fact that he was penning this letter from inside the royal palace guard in Rome, probably shackled to a Roman soldier, or at least under heavy guard as a dangerous criminal.

 

Why would Paul be regarded as a dangerous criminal? Because of his influence. It would have been well known that this one man had traversed a large section of the Roman Empire, sowing seeds of subversion against Nero Caesar, undermining his claim to be Lord, Saviour, the Son of God and the Prince of Peace. These were all false and arrogant claims, of course, because he was no god at all, only a deranged and ruthless despot. He murdered at will, including his own mother and innocent believers in Jesus because they would not honour him, Caesar, as Lord.

Was this really what Paul was doing? Was it his intention to undermine Rome’s authority and destabilise the empire? Of course not! Paul was preaching the message of another kingdom, superimposed upon Rome that would bring people under God’s authority once again, and transform them into model citizens of Rome. Yes, he stood against cruelty, injustice and lawlessness, but not to undermine Caesar’s rule. His aim was to reconnect people to the living God through the cross of Christ so that society would be transformed by people who lived righteously and at peace with one another.

The message of Jesus had first of all changed him. He himself had been a ruthless killer – hunting down Christians and dragging them off to Jerusalem to be condemned and executed by the Jewish high court for their faith in Jesus. But the risen Christ had intervened, and one encounter with Him had changed his life forever. His walk of faith in this Jesus, “through many dangers, toils and snares” as the hymn describes it, had taught him to trust Him and to rejoice in every good thing and in the worst of circumstances.

So now, incarcerated in a top-security prison in Rome, Paul was full of gratitude and joy, because he had left a trail of Jesus-followers who would perpetuate his work where he was no longer free to go. He was delighted with the transformation in their lives, from pagan idolatry to faith in the living God, and from lawless and ungodly living to chaste and upright lives because his message was powerful, able to change men’s hearts.

He was confident that the change in them because of their faith would continue and be completed when Jesus came to receive them home. Why? Because it was not about a one-sided effort. They were in partnership with the God of the universe and the Holy Spirit who resided in them. This was the guarantee that what God started in them He would finish.

Unfortunately, Jewish and Gentile unbelievers didn’t see it that way. Believers in Jesus were counter-culture traitors who should be hounded and exterminated as vermin. However, the very torrent of persecution they unleashed against them produced even stronger faith, courage and hope in the followers of Jesus because they looked beyond this life to a life to come in the very presence of God. The hotter the hatred against them, the more secure they became in God.

Paul was able to revel in these beloved believers in Philippi, and to praise them for their faith and loyalty through difficult times. He encouraged them with his persistent prayers and expression of confidence that they would persevere, not matter what, until God completed what He had begun because they were not alone in their struggle.

We can also take heart from Paul’s declaration of confidence in God. We may not be in the same circumstances as these Philippian believers but we have our own adversities to contend with, and our own tests and temptations to endure. Will we give up in the struggle or will we hold on to the hope that, when it’s all over, we’ll still be on the winning side, purified in our faith and full of thanksgiving and joy because we made it to the end?

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

The Simple Truth

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THE SIMPLE TRUTH

“‘Believe me, I do my level best to keep a clear conscience before God and my neighbours in everything I do. I’ve been out of the country for a number of years and now I’m back. I took up a collection for the poor and brought that with me, along with offerings for the Temple. It was while making those offerings that they found me quietly at my prayers in the Temple. There was no crowd; there was no disturbance. It was some Jews from around Ephesus who started all this trouble. And you’ll notice they’re not here today. They’re cowards, too cowardly to accuse me in front of you.

“‘So ask these others what crime they’ve caught me in. Don’t let them hide behind this smooth-talking Tertullius. The only thing they have on me is that one sentence I shouted out in the council: “‘It’s because I believe in the resurrection that I’ve been hauled into this court!'” Does that sound to you like grounds for a criminal case?'” Acts 24:16-21 (The Message).

Paul was accused of being a rabble-rouser by teaching Jews to disregard Moses and the Law of God, by stirring up riots against Jews all over the world and by defiling the Temple. Tertullius made these accusations with no explanation, evidence or witnesses. He expected the governor to take his word for it without producing a single person to corroborate his story.

Paul knew exactly why he was on trial. The real reason was disguised by an accusation designed to get the attention of the Roman authorities. Rome had no interest in religious squabbles between rival factions. That was not their problem unless it sparked trouble and disturbed the peace. The Jews were well-known for being volatile over their religion. Any sign of trouble had to be nipped in the bud.

Tertullius and his clients had no interest in the real cause of the rioting, as long as it was about their arch-enemy, Paul. This was a golden opportunity to get rid of him once and for all. Get the governor on their side and his doom was sealed.

It was now up to Paul to show the governor how ridiculous and untrue their case against him was. His defence was clear and unembellished. He simply told the truth. This is what happened and this is how it happened. He was fully aware of the underlying cause of their hatred and antagonism — his belief in the resurrection which connected him to the Man who prophesied His own death and resurrection and fulfilled His prophecy to the letter!

Slowly but surely Paul built up his defence with far greater skill than the Jews’ lawyer had used to lay his case before the court. He had to because it was up to him to show Felix the real reason for these accusations against him. The Jews were hiding behind a smoke-screen of lies because their issue with Paul would never hold up in a court of law.

Paul began by defending his character; he could say with absolute honesty that his conscience was clear regarding their accusations because he lived by a good conscience, always. He explained the reason for his return to Jerusalem and his presence in the Temple, all verifiable facts if anyone cared to check them out.

Then, in one sentence he ripped open their hidden agenda — and he had the reaction of the high priest to prove it. Firstly, when he was on trial before the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, he was slapped in the face for bearing witness to a good conscience. Secondly, it was his declaration concerning the resurrection that sparked the furore between Pharisees and Sadducees and the outburst from some of the religious boffins: ‘He is not guilty!’ So really, this trial was a farce and the quicker Felix recognised that, the better.

It was now up to the governor to decide whether he was going to follow his conscience or what was to his advantage. That’s always the choice, isn’t it?