This article was originally written by Lowell Snow. Snow serves on the ABSC Task Force on Prayer, Revival, and Spiritual Awakening.
Almighty God wants to partner with you. Do you remember how Jesus comforted the apostles in the upper room the night before He was crucified?
“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever…for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:16-18 NKJV
Notice that Jesus says that He will pray for His followers after he gets back to Heaven and the Holy Spirit will implement those prayers. Take a look at this same truth expressed by Paul.
“…It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.” Rom 8:34 NKJV
Many have missed a great truth by misunderstanding the word intercession as it relates to Jesus. You may think that when you pray, your prayer goes to Jesus who then turns to the Father and relays your prayer to Him. That is not the meaning of intercession. The Heavenly Father doesn’t need hearing aids. He can hear your prayer just fine. In fact, when Jesus was asked by his disciples to ‘teach us to pray’ who did He teach them to pray to? The Father.
The Greek word translated intercession is actually a secular word that means to have a meeting to discuss an issue. In scripture, it refers to prayer on behalf of another person. Think about that as it relates to Jesus interceding for you. Can you see Jesus and the Father sitting on their thrones talking back and forth (having a meeting) about your problem?
Visualize it like this: you and your prayer partner are praying together about a big problem. Jesus steps up, puts a hand on each of your shoulders, puts his head between the two of you and listens to your prayers. Then He begins to talk with the Father about the issue you have been praying about. Wouldn’t you love to hear that conversation as they discuss how to accomplish the greatest good as they help you with your problem?
Hearing that prayer and getting your prayers in agreement with it, is the highest level of prayer we can achieve in this life. It is the No Higher Power that we’ve been working toward in this study of Jesus’ Great Commission of Prayer.
Remember that triangle of prayer that we left incomplete last month? Jesus completes it.
The agreement in prayer that Jesus is teaching was never intended as a way for Christians to manipulate God. It has always been about the followers of Jesus joining God’s symphony to get in harmony with Him.
You may be thinking that I have gone to the opposite extreme from the name-it-and-claim-it crowd and abandoned belief that our prayers have any purpose beyond some psychological benefit to ourselves. As we discussed in earlier segments of this study; when we begin praying about a problem, we are often selfish and short sighted. However, as we persevere in the strong fellowship of prayer and we begin to see things from God’s perspective and want what Jesus wants, our prayers become more and more powerful.
God invites you to partner with Him as a valued member of a team. As you and your prayer partner pray together, read scripture, and share insights with one another you will begin to realize that Jesus is interacting with you by way of His Holy Spirit. He has joined your prayer partnership and is working alongside you.
Does that make sense to you? Do you see that this is the highest and most powerful form of prayer? It is not something you accomplish over a weekend. It is the hard work of prayer and is God’s Plan for Praying in Difficult Times.
To go back and read part four, click here.
To go back and read the beginning, click here.