Title: Intercessory Prayer
Contents
intercessory prayer
Ephesians 1:15-23
The book of Ephesians is a letter that the apostle Paul sent to the church in Ephesus, and it is the church that Paul built during his third missionary journey.
And it is the church that taught the word of God while staying for the longest period of 3 years.
It was probably the church where Paul's odor was most deeply preserved, and Paul is now imprisoned in a Roman prison.
Realizing that there is not much time left, the letter was sent with a brush to the church in Ephesus to deliver some essential lessons. Among them, the text we read together today is the prayer of the Apostle Paul, especially Paul, the teacher and spiritual father. Intercession for the church in Ephesus.
Paul sent this letter personally and wanted to send it with a gift, but he did not have anything and was imprisoned, so he had nothing to offer but prayer, so he sent an intercessory prayer for the church in Ephesus in a letter.
This prayer must have been the greatest gift to the Ephesians, incomparable to any other gift.
Because this prayer was filled with the heart of Paul, the teacher and spiritual father.
That's right. Intercession is the greatest gift that we Christians can give to anyone because our hearts are filled with it.
And because it is a gift that only we Christians, people who pray, can give.
The answer that intercession is the best gift can be found in the events of Exodus 17.
In a place called Rephidim, the Israelites waged their first war with the Amalekites after the Exodus.
The Amalekites are their home ground, and they are fighters with long-standing skills in desert battles. But the people of Israel had never been trained for warfare for 430 years of working as slaves.
I have no experience in war, and besides, I do not know how to fight a war in the desert.
Moses could not stand still in this situation, so he led Joshua to send the Israelites out to war, and he went up to Mount Rephidim and raised his hands before God for them and began to intercede for them.
An amazing scene unfolds, and when Moses raises his hands and prays, the Israelites push the enemy away.
But when they get stronger and lower their hands, the Israelites are pushed back by the enemy.
In other words, if Moses prayed vigorously, he won the war, but if Moses stopped interceding, he lost the war. These words dramatically show how powerful intercession is.
Victory in war is being decided by intercession. That is why intercession is so important.
Intercession is the greatest gift we can give to those who pray. Because it is a gift of God's power. This is more valuable than money. This is more precious than anything anyone can give.
So it makes the best gift.
So, what can we do to do the best of our best gift, intercession? In a word, we must offer the intercession prayer that God receives, but praying for others is not the intercession prayer that God receives.
Then, what kind of intercessory prayer is received by God? In a word, it is a prayer that is offered according to the characteristics of intercession prayer. We can find the character of intercession in today's text. When you pray by making use of that characteristic, you will be able to offer intercessory prayer that is pleasing to God.
1. Prayer with a Source
Verse 15 begins this way. “Because of this” is a conjunction connecting the preceding paragraph with the intercession for the church in Ephesus, which we will now be doing.
Then, the content of the previous paragraph is Ephesians 1:3-14. If you look at the original Bible, this long content is in one sentence. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has granted us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”
After all, Paul is saying that intercessory prayer is not something everyone can do.
Intercessory prayer is the prayer that only those who have received spiritual blessings from God, those who are enjoying spiritual blessings abundantly, and those who live in the Holy Spirit and enjoy wonderful privileges through transformation.
In Gangchon, Gangwon-do, Gugok Falls is a spectacular 50-meter-tall waterfall that falls in nine directions.
Especially in winter, it is famous for ice climbing, but in the rainy season, the amount of water is abundant, so fragments of the stream fill the valley like mist.
A waterfall has a source, and that source is the river or lake above the waterfall.
How much water is sent down here determines the amount of water in the waterfall.
Likewise, the source of intercession is God.
Intercession prayer varies depending on how much spiritual blessing you receive from God.
When you receive and enjoy the showers of grace abundantly, intercessory prayer will come out powerfully.
However, when experiencing the dry season of grace, intercession will be almost impossible to keep alive.
Therefore, intercession is not something that anyone can do, only those who have received spiritual blessings.
And intercession is not something that anyone can continue, only those who continue to receive and enjoy spiritual blessings.
Dear all! You can receive spiritual blessings and offer intercessory prayers while continuing to enjoy those spiritual blessings.
2. A well-motivated prayer
In verse 16 of the text, “I remember when I pray,” these words are related to Paul's prayer habit as a Jew. It is a habit of praying three times a day, but even after becoming a Christian, it did not change and became more thorough.
Why was Paul able to pray for the Ephesians whenever he prayed at a set prayer time?
It is love, and since Paul really loved the Ephesians, he is offering intercession as the only practice of love that he can do for the Ephesians.
In verse 16, it says, “I have not ceased to give thanks for you,” but it is because of the Ephesians that we thank God. Verse 15 records the contents of that thanks.
“I also heard your faith in the Lord and your love for all the saints” Paul said that he heard the faith of the Ephesians and the love for all the saints.
The reason Paul was able to thank the Ephesians like this is because of love.
Paul only interceded for the Ephesians from a distance that he couldn't get close to now, and he had been separated from them for a long time. I have heard news about
It means that we are keeping our true faith, and not only that, we are living a life of love that lives up to our faith.
Paul was so grateful that tears flowed, so he couldn't help but be thankful.
That's right. Intercessory prayer is a prayer that is done because of love, and it is a prayer that cannot but be prayed because of love.
So the motive of intercession is clear. That's love.
The reason our prayers do not become intercessory prayers is that we are selfish and we are always caught up in self-centered thinking.
In order for us to properly offer intercession, we must first change our thinking and change to an altruistic one.
You must have a heart that truly cares for others and a heart that loves others.
Intercessory prayer is a prayer with a clear motive, and it is a prayer that is prayed out of love.
I hope that our hearts will be filled with love and that we will be able to offer intercessory prayers that please God.
3. Prayer with clear priorities
In verse 17 and below, the content of intercession can be summarized into two main parts.
The first is a prayer to get to know God.
In verse 17, “The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, has given you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation that you may know God...” Shinji” This means that we want you to know more deeply and rightly better.
Why did he pray that he would first come to know God rightly? This is because, first of all, if you are a believer, it is important to know clearly who the God you believe in is. Because if you don't know God rightly, you can never lead a right life of faith.
The second is a prayer for us to know the blessing we have received.
In verses 18-19, “Open the eyes of your hearts, what is the hope of his calling, what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us who believe according to the work of his mighty power? I pray that you may know this.” The second content of Paul's intercession for the church in Ephesus was to ask them to know what blessings they had received, so why did he pray for them to know the blessings they received?
The Ephesians have already received abundant blessings from God, and it is said that there are three things.
One is the hope of the calling.(18) Two is the riches of the glory of the inheritance.(18) And the third is the exceeding greatness of his power.(19) All are spiritual things.
However, even after receiving this spiritual blessing, I do not know whether I have been blessed or not, and I keep forgetting about it even though I know it.
It should be pointed out here that Paul's intercession is completely focused on spiritual blessings.
Of course, it is not that Paul did not pray for temporal and material blessings. Clearly, I set priorities and prayed, praying first for spiritual blessings and then for temporal and material blessings.
That's right. Correct intercession should have clear priorities, and spiritual blessings should be placed at the center of the intercession.
However, because our intercession usually places temporal and material blessings at the center of our intercession, our intercession is weak and not answered properly.
In our intercession, we need to fight reliefism, which means focusing on temporal and material blessings. It is a behavior in which faith does not focus on the personal relationship with God, but rather on the incidental gifts God gives. Rather than trying to change oneself before God, it refers to an act of faith that uses God to satisfy the desire for longevity and wealth and glory.
Dear all! Please clarify your priorities in intercession. Please prioritize and focus on spiritual blessings. God has given us the privilege of intercession. This is the best gift only we can give. Please enjoy the privilege of this intercession. And please share this best gift with many people.