Friday: Further Thought ~ Prayer Power: Interceding for Others
Further Thought:
Read Ellen G. White, “The Privilege of Prayer”, pages 93-104, in Steps to Christ; “Work for Church Members”, pages 19-24, in Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7.
When we pray for others, God honors our commitment to Him and our dependence on His apower by employing all of the resources of heaven to transform human lives.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
As our prayers ascend to His throne, angelic beings spring into action at His command. “Ministering angels are waiting about the throne to instantly obey the mandate of Jesus Christ to answer every prayer offered in earnest, living faith”. — Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 2, p. 377. We have the assurance that not one prayer is lost, not one is forgotten by God. They are stored up in heaven to be answered at the time and place that He knows best. “The prayer of faith is never lost; but to claim that it will be always answered in the very way and for the particular thing we have expected, is presumption”. — Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 231. What encouragement this gives us as we intercede for our spouses, our sons and daughters, relatives, friends, and working associates that do not know Christ. Not one sincere prayer is ever lost. We may not always see immediate answers in those we pray for, but God is moving upon their hearts in ways we will know only in eternity.
Discussion Questions:
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When I was in kindergarten Sabbath School I learned this little song:
J, O, Y. J, O, Y.
This must surely mean.
Jesus first,
Yourself last,
And others in between!
It must have been easy to sing because I can still remember it now.
Putting others ahead of ourselves, not only in intercessory prayer but in our words and actions is the most important consequence of our relationship with Jesus.
"By this shall all men know..." You know the rest.
My understanding is that the response from heaven is conditioned by our faith-relationship with the Father. God does not 'hear' everyone's prayer, but He always knows the heart of the one who prays. He also does not accept everyone's works. Matt.7:22,23
Ellen White says: "..the prayer offered in earnest, living faith", and .."The prayer of faith is never lost; but to claim it will be always answered in the very way and for the particular thing we have expected, is presumption".
Matt.6:8 - If we consider that God knows what we need before we ask, we would be well advised to ask to know what He knows about us that we need, but are not yet aware of.
The intercessory prayer is along those same lines - we do not really know what the person or situation we pray about 'needs' in the eyes of the Father, but we trust that He will respond to the fervent prayer of the righteous, faithful believer; and we always trust in God's Will to be done, even if it looks different from the response we expected, or is delayed (which is also a reponse).
Jesus offers us a prayer-template that will help us to balance our prayer between praise, need, forgiveness from our heart, and the acknowledgement of dependency on Him for everything we need in our live.
A faithful, praying heart filled with God's love for others, this prayer cannot fail to solicit a response from our loving heavenly Father.
Prayer Power: Interceding for Other
#3 What are some of the hindrances to a more effective life of intercessory prayer? many times people say-
1. I am tired.
2. God does not answer my prayers.
3. The person knows better than to do that.
4. Nothing wrong with them, they can pray for themselves.
5. They are far gone.
6. Let them learn the hard way, next time they will not do that thing.
7. Teach them, tough love.
8. Whatever happens to them it is God teaching them a lesson.
9. I learn, they can learn also, they will have faith like us.
Song says- somebody prayed for me, they had me on their knees, they took the time to pray for me. I am so glad someone prayed for me.
Does our Christian life determine answer to our prayers? A faithful Christian gets result when he/she prays but and unfaithful Christian prayers is not answered. Is it true?
Every prayer is heard but not every prayer is answered verbatim or in the timeline as requested by the petitioner. The comments below are from a Web site, “Pray With Me” . I think they accurately reflect a reasonable response to your question.
“God answers prayer when it is according to His will. Anyone, a devoted follower of Christ, a casual acquaintance with Christ, or a stranger to God and his will, all can rest assured that God indeed hears their requests.
However, God reserves the right to sit in judgment on that request. He weighs the true motives; He determines the purpose for the prayer, and He sees the outcome from the beginning. This is an awesome thing about our sovereign Lord; He controls the universe. He can choose what He answers, what He denies, and what He leaves on the table for later.
Yes, sometimes God does answer the prayer of unbelievers. Sometimes he also denies the prayers of believers. The important question to ask is this: Is the prayer within the will of God?”
Prayers and the praying person is one of the mysteries that humans do not fully understood. You can be a christian and praying constantly but your prayers might not be answered. Someone else don't have to be a christian and their prayers are answered.
Hi Sarah - We know that all believers live in the Kingdom of God during their lifetime here on earth. Matthew Chapter 13, Mark Chapter 4 and Luke Chapter 13 speak to this life in the Kingdom of God. All of us attempt to remain faithful and conduct our lives according to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
No one knows the mind of God, but we all know that He knows the intentions of our heart and considers us to be His children.
I am certain that God's response to prayer is always based on the need - the desire of the heart - of faithful and unfaithful Christians according to His Will.
His response is based on what He determines to be in the best interest of the persons involved. If the person is 'deliberately' unfaithful, this might be a sign that he/she has not committed the life to God completely; trusting Him with all our life is what He encourages us to do.
James 5:16 - We know that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Praying for others is an attitude of reaching out and empathy practice, which everyone should exercise. As tithes and offerings, the real help might be on switching the focus from the "self-centered" ME to MY NEIGHBOR.
Jesus gave us His best example of prayer. When He was on the cross He said, Father, forgive them,they know not what they do.Luke 23:34.Jesus prayed even for His enemies. Are we willing to do this?