Prayer - 4
LET’S PRAY FOR EACH OTHER
based on John 17:1,6-12,15,17-18,20-23
I’d like to introduce you to Naomi Peters. Naomi was a member of Graystone Presbyterian Church years ago back when I was active in that congregation. Naomi was a widow, who had raised a couple of kids. She lived a very simple lifestyle, partly because, I suspect, she had very little to live on.
But Naomi was a woman of prayer. She was what we would call a prayer warrior. She’d spend chunks of time each day in conversation with God.
Upon learning that I was going off to Seminary she sat down with me one evening to talk about it. She apologized for not being able to provide any monetary support … however she promised to pray for me each day that I was in Seminary. And she did.
3½ years later, after graduating from G.C.T.S. and Princeton Theological Seminary, I was ordained at Graystone Church … and Naomi was there to share in the celebration.
Seminary was tough. Greek, Hebrew, Theology were extremely difficult. But I honestly believe that one of the major influences of my completing those 2 graduate degrees was Naomi Peters interceding for me in prayer.
I want to challenge you today to become intercessory pray-ers.
I suspect that one of the most important things we do when we gather on Sunday mornings is the Prayers Of The People. It’s when we pray for each other. We intercede for each other.
We’re in the 4th week of a 5-part series on prayer. We’re learning essential lessons about prayer from Jesus. And today’s study is all about intercessory prayer. In fact, our text this morning is one long intercessory prayer that Jesus prayed. He prayed this prayer for His disciples … and He prayed it for you.
Jesus is praying to His Heavenly Father, and He’s talking specifically about His disciples, but then He adds something that ought to give each one of us goose bumps. “I pray not only for them, but also for those who believe in me because of their message.” (John 17:20)
So my question is … “have you believed in Jesus because of the message in this Book?” Because if you have, then Jesus was looking down the corridor of time and He’s interceding for you.
But there’s something else I find amazing about this prayer that we’re going to be looking at … it’s the selflessness of it. Think of the context. Jesus and His disciples have finished eating the Last Supper and are about to head out to the Garden of Gethsemane.
Jesus knows that His arrest, His torture, His crucifixion are only hours away. And facing that unimaginable pain, He unleashes one long intercessory prayer for you and for me. Amazingly unselfish.
Some Bible scholars refer to this prayer as the real Lord’s Prayer. They call it the real Lord’s Prayer because that title has been given to another prayer, “Our Father, who art in Heaven …,” which we commonly refer to as the Lord’s Prayer.
But Bible scholars say, “no, that the ‘disciple’s prayer.’ That’s the prayer Jesus taught His disciples to pray. If you want the prayer that Jesus Himself prayed, the real Lord’s Prayer, it’s found in John 17.”
So, listen to Good News this morning, from the Gospel of John, to you who have gathered here at Community Church. Within your hearing, now comes the Word of the Lord.
“After Jesus finished saying this … (for the past 3 chapters Jesus has been doing some powerful teaching, I mean John 14 is the greatest chapter in the Bible).
“After Jesus finished saying this, he looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father … I have made you known to those you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me. They have obeyed your word, and now they know that everything you gave me comes from you. I gave them the message that you gave me, and they received it; they know that it is true that I came from you, and they believe that you sent me.
‘I pray for them … and my glory is shown through them. … I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world. Holy Father! Keep them safe by the power of your name. … While I was with them, I kept them safe … I protected them …. I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but I do ask you to keep them safe from the Evil One. … Dedicate them to yourself by means of the truth; your word is truth. I sent them into the world, just as you sent me into the world. …
‘I pray not only for them, but also for those who believe in me because of their message. I pray that they may all be one. Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they be one, so that the world will believe that you sent me. I gave them the same glory you gave me, so that they may be one, just as you and I are one: I in them and you in me, so that they may be completely one, in order that the world may know that you sent me and that you love them as you love me.’”
(John 17:1,6-12,15,17-18,20-23)
May the Lord grant that we may engage in contemplating the mysteries of His Heavenly wisdom with really increasing devotion, to His glory and to our edification. Amen
Jesus had been giving His disciples their final instructions. Some really good stuff, and then, with them still sitting around the table, Jesus breaks into prayer. In one breath He’s talking to them, and then in the very next breath, He’s talking to His Heavenly Father.
Picture this … they’re all sitting there listening in on His prayer. What does this tell us about how we learn to intercede? … We learn how to intercede by hanging out with people who are interceding.
Isn’t that how we learn how to talk? When you were a little toddler, how’d you learn how to talk? You learned how to talk by being surrounded by talking people. You listened and you listened and you listened and one day you decided to give it a shot yourself.
What were the 1st words out of your mouth? … “I’m sick and tired of smashed squash … somebody order a pizza!” No, you said something like, “Mama.” You might not have even been looking at Mom when you said it. You may have been looking at Daddy and said “Mama.” But no one cared … they thought you were brilliant.
“Did you hear what he/she just said? ‘Mama!’”
When you become an intercessory pray-er, you don’t have to say anything brilliant. You don’t even have to speak in full sentences. You listen to other people talk to God, and you think, “I’m going to try that.” People learn how to pray by praying.
So if you’re one of those individuals who think, “Well, I just don’t pray out loud.” Then how are the people around you going to learn how to pray?
If we took that attitude in regards to talking, “hey, I just don’t talk out loud at home” … our kids would never have learned to talk!
So the way we learn to pray intercessory prayers is by listening to others … and then jumping in.
Now I know that some of you are already tuning me out because you’re thinking, I could never do this. I get in a group and there’s somebody who prays this flowery prayer … and I feel awkward trying to do that.
Well, how would you like to be one of the disciples? You’re Peter, James, or John, and you’re listening to the Son of God talk to the Father, and then Jesus looks at you and says, “okay, it’s your turn.”
So don’t be intimidated. The way we learn how to pray, is by listening to others interceding to God.
Here’s a 2nd question … who do we intercede for?
How many of you have ever used a drive through window at a fast food restaurant? … How many of you have ever used a drive through teller at a bank? … How many of you have ever used a drive through car wash? … How many have ever used a drive through pray-er? …
There’s a Church down in Aurora that once a year provides drive through praying. The Fourth Street United Methodist Church sits on a busy street and they get a couple of their members standing out front with placards … “Free Prayer.”
People pull into their parking lot, roll down their windows, state their concern, and someone reaches in, puts a hand on their shoulder, and prays for them.
When I read about that, I thought … what a neat idea! I could see us doing this. We have Kirchoff Road, for Heaven’s sakes! Put out the free prayer signs … and pray for the people as they drive through.
Here’s a better idea … how about instead of praying for a handful of strangers once a year, what if every day we interceded for the significant people in our lives?
Who did Jesus pray for? He prayed for His disciples. “I have made you known to those you gave me out of the world.
They belonged to you, and you gave them to me. They have obeyed your word, and now they know that everything you gave me comes from you. I gave them the message that you gave me, and they received it; they know that it is true that I came from you, and they believe that you sent me. I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those you gave me, for they belong to you.” (John 17:6-9)
Jesus is praying for His close friends, who also happen to be the future leaders of the Church, so I guess we could argue that He’s praying for Christian leaders.
And we read a few verses later that He’s looking down the corridor of time, and praying for all who would become His followers … He’s praying for unbelievers who will become believers.
Here are some categories of people to pray for …
• Friends
• Christian leaders
• Unbelievers
Let me make an observation here. I think most of our intercessory prayer ends up being for “squeaky wheel” people. Right? “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.” We apply the “grease” of our intercessory prayers mostly for people who have major problems.
Stop and think about it. Who do you pray for? I’m guessing for many of us, in order to get onto our prayer lists something bad has to happen. Right?
In order for you to recognize that there’s something that needs to be prayed for … somebody’s got to lose their job, or have a heart attack, or suffer chronic pain … and then it dawns on us … we better pray for them.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t be praying for people in those sorts of situations … I’m just saying that we ought to be praying for significant people in our lives even when they’re not in dire straits.
Years ago I went to a leadership conference. I don’t remember who the speakers were. I don’t remember the subjects covered. But I’ve never forgotten one of the points that was made. One of the habits that successful people practice is that they can separate the important from that which is merely urgent.
You see, many of us get caught up with that which is merely urgent, while important things get left undone.
There are 4 kinds of activities in our lives. On one end there are activities that are both important and urgent. For example, if it’s April 14th and we haven’t paid our taxes yet … it would be a good idea to do so. That’s important and it’s urgent. We have 24 hours to get those taxes in the mail.
At the other end are those activities that are unimportant and non-urgent … and unfortunately that’s where we spend a lot of our time. For example, reading the newspaper. The newspaper was out on the end of our driveway this morning. Whether or not I read that newspaper today is neither important nor urgent.
It’s a nice thing to do, if I have the time. But it’s not critical and it’s not pressing.
Now between those extremes are 2 other activities. There are those that are unimportant, but they seem to be urgent. They’re screaming at us … “Do this!” Even though the reality is they’re not that important.
We’re out and about doing some chores and the Bears are playing, and we keep looking at our watch, “I got to make it back for the 4th quarter.” We’re racing against the clock. It’s urgent … but is it important?
No! No, if we miss the 4th quarter, if we miss the game, it’s not a life and death situation. Unimportant, but screamingly urgent.
But there’s a final category … and it’s the most important of all. This separates the men from the boys, the women from the girls; this is the practice of highly effective people. They know how to attend to those important activities, but not seemingly urgent. Let me give you an example.
Brushing your teeth. (I got Pam’s attention, she’s nodding her head.) Brushing your teeth is important. It’s an important thing to do. Is it urgent if we don’t brush our teeth today? Will they fall out by bedtime? Probably not. It’s not a screamingly urgent thing.
However, if we neglect them day after day after day, because it’s not urgent … it’ll become urgent, and they may fall out.
So, what does all this have to do with intercessory prayer? Intercessory prayer is one of those important, but not seemingly urgent activities.
There are times when it’s urgent. There are times when there’s a crisis is going on in the life of a loved one or a friend … and we better pray and we better pray right away.
But I want to talk to you about those times when there’s no crisis, and yet it’s still critically important to be praying for the significant people in our lives. It’s one of those important, but non-urgent activities; because if we don’t do it, it may become urgent along the way.
So how do we decide who those significant people are? For me, I have a list, because if I don’t write names down, I may not remember to pray for them until a crisis comes along. And here’s how I do my list; and if this is helpful for you, great.
I put my prayer list in my computer. I have 5 categories of significant people in my life.
• Family members (obvious one)
• Friends
• Neighbors
• Leaders here at Church
• Government leaders (Scripture tells us to do that)
So I have these categories on my computer, and then I put in specific names. These are my significant people to pray for. If you do this you may have 20 people on your list, you may have 50.
As I pray my intercessory prayers I start down the list. I may only have 5 or 10 minutes to pray, so I highlight the last person I pray for. And then, that’s where I pick up when I start praying again. And I go down several more names, praying for that group of people.
Now for me, my best time is right after lunch. It’s a break in the day, that’s pretty much uninterrupted. (And by the way, if I skip a day, or even a week, of intercessory prayer I don’t beat myself up. I don’t go on a guilt trip. I just go back to my list and pick up where I left off.) This is how I do my intercessory praying.
Please don’t misunderstand, I always praying for those crisis situations, which I intercede for.
But at the same time there are important concerns in the lives of significant people in my life and if I’m not praying for them systematically those important things will be forgotten.
So, what are the important things that we ought to be praying for? I’m glad you asked, because that’s our last question. What should we intercede for?
If you’re not praying for something urgent; someone facing surgery, a couple having marital difficulties … if there’s not a crisis, what do you intercede for?
I see at least 3 major things in Jesus’ intercessory prayer. Here’s the 1st one, and you’ll want to jot these down because these are the things that we need to be praying for with those significant people in our lives.
#1 … salvation. People’s relationship with God. Listen to how Jesus begins His prayer. “After Jesus finished saying this, he looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your Son, so that the Son may give glory to you. For you gave him authority over all people, so that he might give eternal life to all those you gave him. And eternal life means to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, whom you sent.’” (John 17:1-3)
What topic is foremost in Jesus’ mind as He begins His intercessory prayer? …
Salvation … eternal life pops up several times here. Jesus wants people to know God, and His saving grace.
So what ought to be a prime concern for us as we intercede for our family? What ought to be a prime concern of us as we intercede for our neighbors? It should be that they come to faith in Jesus.
Let me tell you about De Witt Talmage. He was like the Billy Graham of the early 1900’s. He pastored the Brooklyn Tabernacle that had a sanctuary that held 5,000 people, and each week every seat was filled. He preached to packed crowds.
His sermons were printed in newspapers across the country with an estimated 25 million readers. And as a result many people came to faith in Jesus through De Witt Talmage’s ministry.
So how did he come to faith? As I was reading about him I learned that he was the youngest of 12 kids. And every Saturday afternoon his mother, Catharine, would disappear for a couple of hours. And the kids would wonder, “Where did Mom go?”
What do you think? The woman has 12 kids! She’s taking a much deserved break. Well, it wasn’t until after she passed and her kids read her journals that they understood where Mom had been going every Saturday afternoon for 2 hours, week after week, year after year.
She had been going to a neighbor’s house where 5 Moms had gathered together every Saturday afternoon to pray for their kids … specifically that their children would come to faith in Jesus.
And not surprisingly, all 12 Talmage kids, did … through their Mom’s intercessory prayers.
When I hear a story like that, it encourages me, because there are a number of people on my intercessory prayer list who have not come to faith. They need salvation. So here’s what I pray for them. I pray that God would bring circumstances into their lives that would create a sense of need.
Even if it’s trials and tribulations … if that’s what it takes, I say “God, turn their hearts to you.” I pray that I might have an opportunity, and be bold in my conversations about the Lord. I pray that other believers would cross their path. I’m praying for individuals’ salvation.
And let me point out, when Scripture uses the word “salvation” it’s not just talking about the initial moment when someone comes to faith.
Salvation is a bigger word. It refers to every aspect of our spiritual lives. When Jesus talks about eternal life He defines it as “knowing God, and knowing Jesus Christ, whom He has sent.”
So when I pray for salvation, when I pray for eternal life for people, I’m also praying for all spiritual aspects in their lives. I pray that they would study the Scriptures. “Lord, help them get into the Bible and nourish them with it.”
I pray that they’d be generous stewards with the resources that God has given them. I pray that they would have an opportunity to share their faith.
And then 2ndly … I pray for protection. Now when we normally think of protection it’s usually for safe travel, or from disease, or for job security. Things like that.
But when Jesus prays for protection for His friends He has something else in mind.
“And now I am coming to you; I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world. Holy Father! Keep them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one just as you and I are one. While I was with them, I kept them safe …. I protected them. … And now I am coming to you, and I say these things in the world so that they might have my joy in their hearts in all its fullness. I gave them your message, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but I do ask you to keep them safe from the Evil One.” (John 17:13-15)
As Jesus prayed this prayer of protection, what was He praying that His friends would be protected from? … A wicked world, the Evil One.
Think of the people who will be on your list; the 10, 20, 50 people. As you’re praying for them, pray for protection.
As you’re looking at their names, ask yourself, “What kind of temptation do they face on a daily basis? What bad habits do they struggle with? What idols in their lives push God into the corner? What negative influences are they blind to? God, protect them from those things.”
Do you see how this works? This reminds me of Simon Peter. On the night that Jesus was arrested … Peter denied knowing Jesus 3 times. (Matthew 26:69-75)
Peter messed up. But fortunately for him it wasn’t a train wreck that destroyed his life. Fortunately for Peter he didn’t turn away from the Savior entirely.
Peter repented of his sin. He was extremely remorseful. And Jesus reinstated him into a leadership position. So what kept Peter at this horrible moment in his life from throwing in the towel completely?
It was Jesus’ intercession on his behalf. In the middle of the Last Supper Jesus prays for Simon Peter.
“Simon, Simon! Listen! Satan has received permission to test all of you, to separate the good from the bad, as a farmer separates the wheat from the chaff. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail. And when you turn back to me, you must strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:31-32)
“Peter, you’re a going to take a direct hit from Satan himself. But when it’s all over you’re going to be still standing … because I’m praying for you.”
This is one of those important areas, even though we don’t think of it as urgent, to pray for God’s protection from the Evil One, for God’s protection from temptation, for the people on our list.
There’s one final thing that we find Jesus praying for … relationships. Lucy, from the old Peanuts comic strip, said it best … “I love humanity … it’s people I can’t stand.”
Jesus knows that one of the greatest challenges we face in this world is getting along with other people. And so when He intercedes for His close friends He prays hard that they’ll get along with each other.
He prays that they’ll resolve conflicts, that they’ll strive for unity, that they’ll value oneness. As I read the closing paragraph of this prayer, note how many times Jesus uses the word “one.”
“I pray not only for them, but also for those who believe in me because of their message. I pray that they may all be one. Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they be one, so that the world will believe that you sent me. I gave them the same glory you gave me, so that they may be one, just as you and I are one: I in them and you in me, so that they may be completely one, in order that the world may know that you sent me and that you love them as you love me.”
(John 17:20-23)
What should we be praying for as we intercede for the people on our prayer list? We need to be praying for the relationships in their lives … for oneness.
If you’re praying for a married person it’s a good thing to be praying for their relationship with their spouse. Don’t wait for a crisis, pray it now. If they’re working in a difficult job, pray for their relationship with their boss, and co-workers.
No person is an island. Everybody is connected to other people. So when we’re interceding for those on our prayer list, begin by praying for relationships.
Who wants to be an intercessor? … This is a privilege. This is how we communicate value to others. We’re standing in front of Almighty God petitioning for someone else. It’s an incredible ministry. It’s an amazing privilege.
So, how do we learn to be intercessory pray-ers? By being around people who are doing it, and at some point we jump in.
Who do we pray for? Not just those who have an impending crisis. That’s a great place to begin, but create a list of people that you’re going to systematically pray for: family, friends, neighbors.
And what do we pray for? We pray for salvation, meaning all things spiritual. We pray for protection from sin and temptation and the Evil One. And we pray for the relationships that are going on in their lives.
Let’s be intercessors. In fact, we’re all going to do it right now for 1 minute. The truth of the matter is, you can be an intercessor wherever you are. You’re standing in line at Jewel, and there are ½ dozen people ahead of you, so you have some time. Say to God, “I’m going to pray for the next person you bring into my mind, whoever that is.” And God will bring somebody into your mind, I guarantee it.
So right now, who is God putting on the screen of your mind? Whoever that is, you have 1 minute to pray for them. Pray for salvation. Pray for protection. Pray for relationships. You’re going to be an intercessor for the next 60 seconds. Let’s pray ….
MARANA THA
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