Paula Wiseman

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Intercession: For Each Other

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Intercession for each other title graphic

Intercession is going to God on someone’s behalf. It a holy privilege and duty, not to be taken lightly. It is strenuous and it can be messy. But it is one of the greatest ways we can minister and show love to others. We’ve learned we need a BURDEN for others, and we need to identify with the those for whom we are praying. We’ve looked at how to pray for those who are sick, how to pray when trouble comes, and how to pray about our sins and the sins of others. We’ll finish up learning from Jesus how we can pray for each other.

In John 17, we have the longest recorded prayer from Jesus. It is rich in theology and worthy of much study and meditation. We will barely scratch the surface. However, it is significant to consider what Jesus prayed for when He prayed for His disciples and for us. These were the things in the forefront of His mind in these last moments before His suffering.

Jesus first prayed for Himself.

And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed (John 17:5). We shouldn’t hesitate to pray about our legitimate needs. Jesus’s prayer for the glory and presence of God is a longing for the plan to be completed. I hear echoes of “your kingdom come, Your will be done,” in it.

We certainly need to pray for God’s will to be done in our lives and that we would work to accomplish it–and not interfere with it.

Jesus prayed for His followers.

I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours (John 17:9). There is no question that Jesus loved and prayed for unbelievers, but on this night, knowing what lay ahead, He prayed for His disciples.

We need to be faithful to pray for each other when facing challenges. To be honest, who among us isn’t facing challenges?

Jesus prayed for our protection.

Holy Father, keep (protect) them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one (John 17:11) and keep them from the evil one. (John 17:15). This is not only physical protection, but more urgently, spiritual protection. The attacks from Satan would only intensify for Jesus’s followers after His arrest.

We and our brothers and sisters are under relentless attack. You see evidence in things like discouragement, conflict, anger, doubt, apathy and even apostasy experienced by believers and the body of Christ. We need to hold each other up and pray protection for us.

Jesus prayed for our joy.

But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves (John 17:13). Jesus knew how much we needed His joy, and He specifically prayed for it.

Pray that we all recover and grasp the joy we have in Christ, in our salvation, in all its fullness. How different things would be if we just realized this.

Jesus prayed that we would be sanctified, set apart, in the truth of His word.

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth (John 17:17). The living Word transforms us, making us more Christlike day in and day out. This is the goal for our life here.

We can pray that we are getting good teaching, that we are spending time in the Word, that we are applying it, that we are meditating on it, that we are bringing our lives in line with it.

Jesus prayed for our witness.

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word (John 17:20).

The gospel wasn’t going to end with Jesus’s return to heaven. Here He prays that God would already be at work in the hearts of those who would hear and believe in the coming days, including us.

We must be vigilant about praying for each other’s witness and testimony. Pray that those around them have soft hearts. Pray for boldness and for opportunities.

Jesus prayed that we would be with Him to share His glory.

Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory (John 17:24). Let that sink in. Peter, James and John saw His glory on the mountain. Paul saw it. John saw it again in the Revelation. They were overcome by it. However Jesus prays not just that we see it, but we share it. That is the end of our salvation. Amen!

We can pray that all of keep eternity in focus and that we long for that day when our faith ends in sight.

Over the last several weeks it has become clear that there is no shortage of things to pray for, of ways to pray for each other. May we be faithful to do it.

Who Is On the Lord’s Side

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Who is on the Lords side title graphic

Who is on the Lord’s side? Who will serve the King?
Who will be His helpers, other lives to bring?
Who will leave the world’s side? Who will face the foe?
Who is on the Lord’s side? Who for Him will go?
By Thy call of mercy, by Thy grace divine,
We are on the Lord’s side—Savior, we are Thine!

Not for weight of glory, nor for crown and palm,
Enter we the army, raise the warrior psalm;
But for love that claimeth lives for whom He died:
He whom Jesus saveth marches on His side.
By Thy love constraining, by Thy grace divine,
We are on the Lord’s side—Savior, we are Thine!

Jesus, Thou hast bought us, not with gold or gem,
But with Thine own lifeblood, for Thy diadem;
With Thy blessing filling each who comes to Thee,
Thou hast made us willing, Thou hast made us free.
By Thy grand redemption, by Thy grace divine,
We are on the Lord’s side—Savior, we are Thine!

Fierce may be the conflict, strong may be the foe,
But the King’s own army none can overthrow;
’Round His standard ranging, vict’ry is secure,
For His truth unchanging makes the triumph sure.
Joyfully enlisting, by Thy grace divine,
We are on the Lord’s side—Savior, we are Thine!

Chosen to be soldiers, in an alien land,
Chosen, called, and faithful, for our Captain’s band;
In the service royal, let us not grow cold,
Let us be right loyal, noble, true and bold.
Master, wilt Thou keep us, by Thy grace divine,
Always on the Lord’s side—Savior, always Thine!

Frances Havergal, 1877
Read Exodus 32:21-26

(The call has gone out. Have we answered it? If we have answered it, are we faithful to that call? Are we fighting the good fight, or are we letting others shoulder the burden? We cannot let up. The consequences are eternal.)

Too Discouraged to See God at Work

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Too Discouraged to See God at Work

Exodus 6:9 “When Moses told this to the Israelites, they were too discouraged and mistreated to believe him.” (CEV)  

Moses told them God had heard.
He was marshaling His mighty power on their behalf, fulfilling His promises, pouring out His grace.  

And they couldn’t see it.  
All they knew was their situation and how it left them.  
Discouraged.
Despondent.
Beaten down.
Broken.  

They couldn’t see His hand in their circumstances,
and yet, He was doing far more than they asked.    

Is He working on my behalf in ways I can’t see?
Is He working on your behalf in ways you can’t see?  

Yes.

Don’t believe me – pray like Elisha 2 Kings 6:17 “Open my eyes that I may see.”

Intercession: For Sin and Sinners

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Intercession for sins and sinners title graphic

Intercession is going to God on someone’s behalf. It a holy privilege and duty, not to be taken lightly. It is strenuous and it can be messy. But it is one of the greatest ways we can minister and show love to others. We have learned from Nehemiah and his BURDEN for others, and from Daniel and his IDENTIFICATION with those for whom he was interceding. Elijah modeled how to pray for those who are sick, and Hezekiah showed us how to pray when trouble comes. Today we’ll look to Ezra and learn a less popular prayer – for sin and sinners.

Ezra was a priest who had returned to Judah with a group sent to repatriate the land after seventy years of Babylonian captivity. It isn’t long before some situations come to Ezra’s attention. These situations put the people on the very same track that landed them in captivity- not remaining pure, flirting with idolatry, intermarriage with pagans and so forth. As a good, conscientious, caring priest Ezra intercedes for the people. His prayer is recorded in Ezra 9:6-15.

Mourning for sin precedes the prayer. In verses 3-5, look at how Ezra responds to the news that his people are falling into the same trap of sin. He tore his clothes. He pulled his hair out. He pulled out his beard. He sat down dumbfounded the rest of the day. He didn’t eat or anything else. And in verse 4, he had influence on others, who also mourned the sins reported.

Do we mourn sin? That is, do we mourn the assault on God’s holiness? Or are we more likely to excuse it, to minimize it? “We’re still in a sinful body so we can’t really stop it from happening.” Or perhaps mourn the consequences we face because of our sin? Or do we use the sin of others to self-righteously feel better about ourselves? Let’s be like “all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel” and follow Ezra’s example of mourning for sin.

Ezra identifies with his people. Daniel did this too. Ezra doesn’t claim to be sinless. “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you,” Ezra 9:6. Nor does he whitewash what his people have done in the past. “From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today.” Ezra 9:7 He very plainly confesses the sin. “For we have forsaken your commandments, … do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity. Ezra 9:10, 12.

Ezra leaves the outcome in God’s hands. He doesn’t make demands on God’s mercy. In verse 14, Ezra says, “Would you not be angry with us until you consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape?” Ezra 9:14. Rather, Ezra trusts God’s grace since he was able even to approach God with this petition. “O LORD, the God of Israel, you are just, … Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this.” Ezra 9:15

When we begin to understand sin, we abandon any notion of pride or rights. But we also begin to glimpse what a wonder the grace of Almighty God is.

As believers in Christ, a kingdom of priests, let us see interceding for sin, for ourselves or others, as an urgent duty. Let us seek the recognition of God’s holiness and let us have faith in His ability and timing to bring punishment and restoration.

There Is a Rock in a Weary Land

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There is a Rock in a Weary Land title graphic

There is a rock in a weary land,
Its shadow falls on the burning sand,
Inviting pilgrims as they pass,
To seek a shade in the wilderness.
Then why will ye die?
O why will ye die?
When the sheltering rock is so near by,
O why will ye die?

There is a well in a desert plain,
Its waters call with entreating strain,
Ho, every thirsting, sin sick soul,
Come, freely drink, and thou shalt be whole.
Then why will ye die?
O why will ye die?
When the living well is so near by,
O why will ye die?

A great fold stands with its portals wide,
The sheep astray on the mountain side;
The shepherd climbs o’er mountains steep;
He’s searching now for His wandering sheep.
Then why will ye die?
O why will ye die?
When the shepherd’s fold is so near by,
O why will ye die?

There is a cross where the Savior died;
His blood flowed out in a crimson tide,
A sacrifice for sins of men,
And free to all who will enter in.
Then why will ye die?
O why will ye die?
When the crimson cross is so near by,
O why will ye die?

W. E. Penn, 1887
Read Isaiah 32:1-6

Christ as a rock is one of my favorite images in Scripture, and “There Is a Rock in a Weary Land” picks up Christ our shelter and Christ the fountain of living waters. How could anyone reject Him? Have you sought that shelter? Have you has that thirst quenched? Do you know anyone who needs that same relief?

Are We Willing?

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Are we willing title graphic

Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Mark 1:40-41

We aren’t lepers, but we have junk that eats away at us.

Junk that makes us feel like outcasts, like we are unwelcome, like we don’t belong.

But here’s what we do. We put words in Jesus’s mouth.

“This is what you deserve.”

“This is your punishment.”

“Things are never going to get better, never going to change.”

That’s a tragedy.

The reality is, if we have the boldness to approach the King of Kings, look how He responds.

He is moved with compassion.

He stretches out His hand.

He touches us.

He says, “I am willing; be cleansed.”

Be healed. Be restored.

He is willing.

Often more willing to answer than we are to ask.

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