What is prayer? I’m sure we all know it is not a shopping list for a Big Vending Machine in the sky. Do we ever treat prayer like that – hurl our request at God as if He were our Servant and then hurry off to do our own thing?
That is not prayer -- it is sin, gross sin, completely barren of awe, reverence and worship. Prayer is a relationship with God where ongoing revelation takes us deeper into the sacred wonder of the Triune Godhead.
Are there restrictions to prayer? Certainly!
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me (Psalms 66:18)
Who shall (be allowed to) stand in the holy place (of prayer)? He who has clean hands and a pure heart (Ps. 24:3-4)
Bear with me, I need to tie some more ends together.
(Hebrews 7:25) Jesus ever lives to make intercession for the saints. I am beginning to realize how wrong my previous thinking was about that.
What I thought was –
Jesus is God and as God has all wisdom and power. Why would He pray?
I thought that because He still inhabits His human body, His very Presence in Heaven, He keeps the door open for mankind and maybe that could be considered as a type of intercession.
Suddenly I saw how wrong that was, how aloof, how cold, how impersonal, and I felt an icy chill. No! That is not the relationship I want with my Saviour.
Let’s take another slant on this.
Jesus said to Peter (Luke 22:31-32) Satan has requested to have you so that he might sift you as wheat but I have prayed for you that your faith fail not.
Why would Satan make such a prayer request and why would God allow it?
Obviously the devil wants to destroy the valuable wheat and keep the useless chaff. God’s purpose is the exact opposite – to destroy the chaff and preserve the precious wheat.
Does Satan make the same request for you and me? Definitely, and God continues to permit it – for the same good purpose. Were the words of Jesus just for Peter away back then – or – is there something special and significant and very personal for you and me right now?
There is still a piece missing. Hang in there -- there is more to come.
(Romans 8:26-28) The Holy Spirit makes intercession for us with groaning and yearning beyond utterance. We do not know how to pray as we ought. But the Holy Spirit edits our prayers and offers them worthily before the throne of God according to God’s will. God, who searches our heart knows what is in the mind of the Holy Spirit and God becomes a Partner in our praying and makes all things work for the good of HIS PURPOSE.
I talk to the Lord all day and through the night about everything and it is wonderful, loving fellowship.
But when I go to my regular prayer corner with my prayer list, there is something different and awesome.
Jesus prayed (John 17:22) that we would be one with God as He was. I have a deep sense that this oneness is an integral and essential part of prayer.
For quite some time I’ve been asking the Holy Spirit to teach me to pray and the deeper revealing of the grandeur and high privilege of prayer. Like the old hymn says –
I’ve found the way through the Blood,
Past the veil, to the holy of holies with God
The holy of holies is the throne room where Almighty Majesty reigns in righteous Sovereignty THIS IS THE PRAYER ROOM. I try to grasp it, to take it all in and I go humbly, softly, clinging to the Holy Spirit because I know I’m on holy ground.
For most of the people, situations, countries on my prayer list I have little information and many of my requests are seemingly impossible, however, they are accompanied by two words of purest gold “BUT GOD”
So I take my place and kneel before the throne, and begin to present my requests. The Holy Spirit makes them presentable. Can all this really be done? Jesus is right there, interceding on my behalf that my faith won’t fail. Suddenly, I get a wonderful insight - - part of the armour of God (EPH 6:16) the shield of faith is the symbol of the intercessory prayers of Jesus. My faith is growing. God the Father reaches out to take my requests and gives me His promise of the divinely appointed answers. Do I see it? Do I get it? When I pray in oneness with the Lord, the Almighty Persons of the Triune Godhead are right there with me to graciously receive and gloriously perfect my prayer and then to execute orders that will make changes all over the world and in me. It is beyond stupendous that the transcendent God would let me be part of His agenda.
CAUTION
Do I ever wonder about unanswered prayer? Maybe it is just a matter of God’s timing or that I am not spiritually prepared to receive what I ask. The Holy Spirit makes intercession for me. Why? I can think of at least a couple of reasons..
(1) Where I lack information concerning my request the Spirit edits, fills in the blanks and presents it in a worthy manner.
(2) God searches my heart and sees the motive and intention of my prayer. If it is based on selfishness and self-glory, how does the Holy Spirit deal with it? He certainly cannot present it in that fashion. God will never co-operate with prayers that would enable sin. The Spirit exposes the awful pride and folly and make it a fervent request for God to rebuke, chasten, correct and teach me. If I persist in prayers for self-gratification, rather than prayers based on love and obedience to the Lord Jesus, the answers will be increasingly unwelcome and painful.
----------
I know I have more to learn and farther to go along this path. I invite you to join me.
LET US PRAY!