why we intercede

 

Today we read from Jeremiah 37:1-38:28 in the One Year Bible. We read in this selection about intercessory prayer. The people who have been warned ask Jeremiah "Please pray for us to the Lord."

Now why would they do that? Why don't they just pray for themselves? Well, there are actually many reasons. For one, some people know how to pray better than others. The Bible tells us that people don't get what they want because they don't ask, and when they DO ask for things they ask for the wrong things. Also, we find time and again in the Bible where God is touched by the intercession of someone else, and has mercy on those who deserve His judgment. Abraham kept interceding on behalf of the people of Sodom, and we all know how much those in Sodom deserved punishment. But God was willing to spare them because Abraham asked on their behalf.

Here is an interesting article on intercessory prayer.  I don't endorse every bit of theology in that article, but it does say some very good things.

So we should be praying for people, right? We should, in fact, be praying for everyone. And we should be praying for them daily. Even our enemies. ESPECIALLY our enemies. Because if they're OUR enemies, they probably don't have many people praying for them, right?

So let's intercede for each other. And let's also ASK for prayer when we need it. It goes both ways.

God, thanks for teaching us the importance of intercessory prayer.