CHAPTER 19 A WING AND A PRAYER
While I was attending services on Sunday, May 1, 1983 a prophecy was given which stated that while those in the world may jokingly say they were delivered from some difficult situation "on a wing and a prayer," God was in fact going to provide for the deliverance of His people during these trying times and those ahead. And He would make His power and His presence known 'On A Wing and A Prayer.' The wing will be praise and worship, and the prayer will be that of intercession.
In chapters 15,16 & 17 the topic of praise and worship were discussed in some detail. In chapter 18 the importance of prayer and the conditions precedent to answered prayer were examined. The prophecy referred to above would indicate that an important link exists between the two areas. It is the existence of this link, and the type of prayer known as 'intercessory prayer' which we will look at now.
We know we are in a battle every day of our lives. I Tim.6:12 tells us to fight the good fight of faith. While we know that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability to withstand (I Cor.10:13), we also know that this fight, this process of overcoming temptation, is not easy. Indeed, it hurts (Heb.2:18) We are engaged in spiritual warfare with an enemy who will not give up (Lk.4:13), although he has already been defeated (Heb.2:14, I John 3:8, Isaiah 55:11 & Acts 1:9).
Eph.6:11&19 gives us a list of spiritual weapons we use in this battle. As we have previously seen in II Cor.10:4 the "weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world." That which the enemy puts against us can be torn down by the use of these weapons. As we saw in the last chapter, the last recorded and least used piece of armor is prayer. The final portion of Eph.6:18 clearly says, "... and pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." That portion of the verse imparts a directive for general prayer, yet it continues by directing us to engage in a very specific type of prayer. "With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." (emphasis added).
If you have any questions about what it means to 'pray in the spirit' as opposed to praying with your mind, this might be a good time for you to review chapter 2. (The direction of I Cor.14:15 is to do both.) However, the point I wish to make is that prayer in general, and intercessory prayer in particular, is an important part of our spiritual arsenal. Paul tells us in I Tim.2:1-2 that he "urges" us to pray for all those who are in authority over us. He also shows us in Ro.15:30 that this "urging" for intercession does not have its source in his mind, for he says "I urge you brothers, BY OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST and BY THE SPIRIT OF LOVE, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me." (emphasis added)
When the disciples came to Jesus, as recorded in Lk.11:1, they came with this request: "Lord teach us to pray." Now we all know that it was at this time that Jesus taught them the "Lord's Prayer." (vs.2-4) But He did not stop His instruction at that point. Verses 5-8 contain the parable of the man who came to his neighbor's house at midnight, and would not depart after having asked for bread until his neighbor got up and answered the request. That parable is an example of intercessory prayer. The man was not seeking bread for himself, but for his friend who had just arrived. Jesus was directing us to engage in intercessory prayer.
Jesus spent a great deal of time in such prayer. In fact, His longest recorded prayer is in John 17:1-25. Three-quarters of that prayer is intercessory in nature: first for His disciples and then for all believers. Jesus was acting in accordance with the principle of Phil.2:4 which says that we should not only look to our own interests, but to the interests of others. Even now we know that Jesus lives to intercede for us (Heb.7:25). If you will recall the direction of I John 2:6 which says, "Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did," I believe that you will draw the inescapable conclusion that God requires us to be intercessors.
his pattern of intercession is not merely a New Covenant doctrine. Remember, Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb.13:8). Turn to Ez.22:30 and notice that God actually is looking for men who will take the time to intercede. In verse 31 we get the feeling that God was disappointed when He found no one. Perhaps 'disappointment' is not a sufficient adjective to describe God's feelings when He looks for intercessors and finds none. In fact, His feelings are described in no uncertain terms in Isa.59:16 wherein we see that "... He was APPALLED that there was no one to intercede." (emphasis added Have we not, each one of us, at some point, given God cause to be appalled with us for the same reason? God wants to find intercessors, even if it means that He will temporarily hold back from a course of action He has decreed because of the fervent requests of those intercessors (Ex.32:9 & 11-12).
Have you ever taken the time to consider that the solution to Job's problems did not come about until after he had prayed for the very 'friends' who had given him such verbal abuse (Job 42:10)? Stephen also prayed for those who stoned him (Acts 7:60). Yet he was merely walking as Jesus had walked, for Jesus also interceded for those who persecuted Him (Lk.23:34). Remember, Jesus was known as the 'Son of the Most High God' (Lk.1:32 and Mk.5:7). When Jesus prayed to the 'Father,' it was to God's total revealed nature as the "Most High" that he addressed His prayers. We are also to be mature sons of the Most High; but that will not occur until we "... love (our) enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your father in heaven." (Matt.5:44-45 parenthesis and emphasis added)
Before we mention some specific types of intercession, I would like to discuss the link which exists between praise and intercession. We know that prayer is a powerful weapon (Ja.5: 16). In fact, Phil.1:19 shows prayer as working hand in hand with the Spirit of Jesus in order to accomplish a goal. PRAYER IS A SPIRITUAL WEAPON USED TO FIGHT A SPIRITUAL BATTLE IN ORDER TO ENABLE PHYSICAL CHANGES TO TAKE PLACE. We know that in the spiritual realm satan stands condemned, yet he is still active in the physical realm as prince of the earth (John 16:11 & Eph.6:12).
Matt.12:29 asks an important question when it says, "... how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man?" How do we tie up the strong man of this earth? We find the answer in Ps.149:6&8 wherein we are told that we bind the king with fetters and his nobles with shackles of iron as we PRAISE God. Prayer tears down the strongholds, but it is praise that binds up those who would rebuild those strongholds. That is one of the relationships which exists between praise and prayer, but there is an even more important one.
In Ps.141:2 we see that David likened prayer to incense which would be a sweet aroma unto God. This analogy is carried through in Rev.5:8 wherein we see that the golden bowls of incense are in fact the prayers of the saints. In the tabernacle in the wilderness, (which we know is a foreshadow of that which is in heaven - Heb.8:5) incense was found on the Altar of Incense which was located in the middle court. However, in the New Testament reference to the position of the Altar of Incense we see that it has been moved from the middle court into the Most Holy Place with the Ark of the Covenant (Heb.9:3). What justification exists for making this move?
On the day of Atonement the High Priest would present incense in the Most Holy Place (Lev.16:13). The Ark of the Covenant was symbolic of the Father's presence, and the Most Holy Place was off limits to everyone except under very limited circumstances (Lev. 16:2). But now the curtain preventing access to the Father's presence has been removed by the blood of Jesus (Heb.10: 20 & Matt 27:51). It is therefore fitting that now, after the final sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, the Altar of Incense (our prayers) should be permanently before the Father. As such, we are now told in Heb.4:16 (KJV) to approach the throne with boldness. Indeed, Matt.7:7 & 6:33 tell us to actively seek God.
Ps.105:4 tells us to "look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always." Ps.53:2 tells us that He is also looking down from heaven to see if there are any who seek Him, and we already know that God is looking for intercessors. Now, why is it important to seek His face, or come into His presence? I know God hears my prayers (I John 5:14). I also know that I don't have to ask for the same thing for myself over and over (see chapters 4 & 18. But consider this: Jesus was heard because of His reverent submission (Heb.5:7), and for our prayers to be always heard we also must be in the Father's presence. We must seek God. In Jer. 29:13 we see that God promises us that we will find Him WHEN we seek Him with all of our heart (note, we are blessed when we seek Him in this way also - Ps.119:2). He promises us in Ja.4:8 that He will come to us when we first come near to Him. Again, the question needs to be asked, "How do we come into His presence?"
The answer to this question brings into focus the second relationship between praise and prayer. We know from Job 33:14 that there are times when God speaks to us, but we do not hear Him To be ALWAYS heard, and TO PUT OURSELVES IN THE POSITION THAT WE WILL ALWAYS HEAR when God is speaking to us, we must SEEK HIM and DRAW NEAR TO HIM and COME INTO HIS PRESENCE. This is how we do that. "Shout for joy to the Lord all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; COME BEFORE HIM WITH JOYFUL SONGS." (Ps.100:1-3, emphasis added). Job 33:14 (KJV) tells us that God speaks to us twice, but on this topic He has spoken to us at least a half dozen times. PS.95:2 says, "LET US COME BEFORE HIM WITH THANKSGIVING and extol Him with music and song." (emphasis added). Isa.64:15 is rendered as follows in the KJV, "Thou meetest him that rejoiceth." God comes to those who rejoice in Him. It is no wonder then that David entreats us with these words; "May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You..."(Ps.40:16). Earlier in the Psalms we are shown that "...they who seek the Lord WILL praise Him." (Ps.22:26 emphasis added).
While discussing another topic, David said that he could not understand what God was showing Him until he entered the sanctuary of God (Ps.73:16-17) Ps.100:4 shows us that we enter into God's sanctuary through the gates with thanksgiving and into the courts with praise. We see from Isa.8: 18 that God dwells in Zion, and that those enter who Zion will do so with singing and joy (Isa.51: 11 & 35:10).
Return for a moment to Jesus' teaching on prayer in Lk.11:2. Notice that He began His prayer with praise when he said, "Our Father, HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME..." It therefore seems quite apparent that those who come before Him will do so with praise, and it is in His presence that our prayers and our ability to hear His response is maximized. The wing is praise which brings us into His presence, and the type of prayer Jesus emphasized is intercession. Now let's take a closer look at some specific requests made in intercession.
The first type covered in these studies is from Eph.6:18, and was discussed in chapters 2 and 18. This type is prayer in the Spirit for all the saints, ie. in unknown tongues. Unless the topic is revealed to us by God, we do not know what or for whom we are praying, yet we do know that strongholds are being torn down. Since the topic of 'praying in the spirit' has previously been covered I wish to concentrate on 'praying with our mind.' For the most part, this type of intercession can be broken down into two categories. One is for the benefit of spreading the Word; the other is for the benefit of those who already know Jesus, but are seeking a closer walk with Him.
As was mentioned in this study, Paul knew the power of inter cession (Phil.1:19), and he specifically requested the prayerful support of the believers in Corinth (II Cor.1:11). He directed all those who would, to pray for his ministry (I Thes.5:25 & Heb 13:18). In times of persecution he sought the help of believers as he did in Ro.15:31: "Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelivers in Judea." We must remember in all this that Paul was deeply aware of the depth of the spiritual battle.
In I Thes.2:18 he wrote that "... we wanted to come to you - certainly I, Paul, did, again and again - but satan stopped us." While that may seem hard to believe, it says satan stopped Paul from proceeding as he felt he should. However, he did not give up, nor did he cease seeking intercessors to help in the warfare. He asked believers in Thessalonica to "pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you" (II Thes.3:1). In Colosse he sought those who would "... pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message ..." (Col.4:3). Aside from asking that doors be opened for the message, we should also pray that those who proclaim it will do so clearly (Col.4:4) and fearlessly (Eph.6:19)
Those were some specific examples of intercession we can lift up to God for the spreading of the Gospel. There are also some specific requests which we should make for all of our brothers who are new to the Lord, and for those who are seeking to be mature. Remembering our brothers and sisters in the Lord is important. Why else would Paul say "God ... is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times..."(Ro.1:9 emphasis added) "... (N)ight and day I constantly remember you in my prayers" (II Tim.1:3).
We remember our brothers and sisters by "wrestling in prayers" for them that they may "stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured" (Col.4:12). Paul asked God to provide the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that the believers would know God better (Eph.1:17). (Note, when Paul interceded in this way, he would "keep asking" God.) He also asked that "... the eyes of your hearts be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you" (Eph.1:18) One of his strongest desires was that the people he ministered to would be equipped with everything needed to do God's will (Heb.13:21). A never ending prayer was raised up to God that He would fill the believers with all spiritual wisdom and understanding that they may act in a way which was pleasing to God (Col.1:9-10). This included the knowledge and insight needed to discern what is best in order to be pure and blameless (Phil.1:9-10).
This commitment to intercessory prayer is restated in I Thes.3:10. "Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith" (emphasis added). Paul also requested that God would cause the believers' love to abound and overflow for each other (vs.12), and strengthen their hearts that they would be blameless and holy when Jesus returns (vs.13). If this is not stated clearly enough, II Cor.13:7-9 says "...(W)e pray to God that you will not do anything wrong...(and) our prayer is for your perfection...." The request for purity is also brought forth in I Thes.5:23 wherein the prayer is that God will keep the believer blameless in spirit, soul, and body at the coming of Jesus.
In regards to the physical body we see numerous examples of intercession on behalf of those who are sick. In Ja.5:14-15 the direction for intercession on behalf of the sick is clear. There it is written "...is anyone sick? He should call the elders of the Church to pray over him ... the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up." The father in Matt.17: 15 sought Jesus on behalf of his epileptic son, and the father in John 4:47 also sought out Jesus on behalf of his son. Note, as was true in Phil.1:19, prayer and the Lord are again working hand in hand. Divine health is God's perfect desire for us; yet, in His infinite grace, God has provided intercession as a means for those who may not yet be able to stand in the fullness of that teaching (see chapter 7).
There are some other benefits which God has provided through intercession. One was briefly mentioned earlier in this chapter. In I Tim.2:1-2 Paul urged us to pray for those in authority; but the last portion of that verse indicates a direct benefit if we do: "that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." Aside from our own leaders we are instructed to "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem" (Ps.122:6). Paul expressed a similar thought in Ro.10:1 wherein he said "... my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved." Don't forget that God has promised to bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse her (Gen.12:3, 27:29, Nu.24:9 & Jer. 30:16). We can continually seek blessings for Israel with our intercessory prayer.
Jesus' reaction to Jerusalem brings up the last area of intercession which I will address in this study. In Lk.19:41 we are told that "as He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it..." Jesus knew what was in store for Jerusalem (its destruction in 70 AD), and this caused an outpouring of grief from deep within His soul. Concerning His prayer life, we are told in Heb.5:7 that "during the days of Jesus' life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with LOUD CRIES AND TEARS..." (emphasis added) There is something about intercession and the depth of our involvement in it that cannot be explained in any rational human terms.
The term that is used to describe these cries which sometimes well up from deep within the believer during times of deep intercession is 'travail' I have just given two New Covenant references to it, and there is at least one Old Testament notation of it. In Joel 2:17 we read, "Let the priests, who minister before the Lord, weep between the temple porch and the altar. Let them say 'Spare Your people O Lord'"
Not all the priests were allowed to "minister before the Lord" because not all had remained faithful to Him. Only the sons of Zadok (sons of righteousness) were allowed to minister before the Lord (see Ez.44:10-15). The point is, those who truly seek the Lord as He directs, and who spend time in intercession as He desires may well end up `travailing' before Him. Travail is not wrong, neither is it to be expected every time you pray, but there can be no question that it has a Biblical foundation.
We are to seek His face through worship and praise that we may enter into His presence and then lift our prayers as incense unto the Most High God. We are to seek the Most High as did Daniel in Dan.9:17-19:
Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant ... We do not make requests of You because we are righteous, but because of Your great mercy. O Lord listen! O Lord forgive! O Lord hear and act! For Your sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and your people bear Your name.
As Jesus said unto the Father in John 17:11 "...protect them by the power of Your name - the name you gave Me - so that they may be one as we are one." Let us listen to the voice of God as set forth in II Chron 7:14:
... (I)f My people who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, THEN WILL I HEAR from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place (emphasis added)
He will hear as He has promised, and act as He has promised. We are transformed by the renewing of our mind (Ro.12:2), but we should not forget what preceded Jesus' transfiguration. According to Lk.9:28-29 He "... went up onto a mountain to pray. As He was praying, the appearance of His face changed." At that time, after He sought the Father, "...He was transfigured before them." (Matt 17:2) He will return for a praying Church.