Interceeding for Each Other

My friend is hurting tonight. I want to do something practical, something significant. Unfortunately I don’t have any of the resources that she needs, and this is a situation where even if I had all the resources in the world it wouldn’t be enough to ease her pain. I tell her that I will pray for her, feeling helpless. Saying I will pray feels like a cop-out. It feels like the thing Christians say when there is nothing we can do but don’t want to look weak.

The fact is that praying for each other is most we can do. Anything beyond that is icing on the cake or gravy on the biscuits. Praying for another person is what we call Intercessory Prayer. Its lifting each other up before the throne of grace and laying the other at the feet of Jesus, trusting that he will be the answer to our prayer. It is a great privilege.

Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

Why do we ever hesitate to pray for each other? I think there are a variety of reasons. We don’t want to offend the other person, as if they would be insulted to have you imply that they might need help. We all need help. I can tell you that when asked, “May I pray for you?” I have never had someone say, “No.” I’m sure there are some people who will, some who have so hardened their hearts toward God that they refuse to ask for his help, but I think it’s rarer than we might imagine.

Another reason we hesitate is because we overcomplicate prayer. I recently read these guidelines for intercessory prayer:

Always be creative and specific (because God doesn’t know the real need or might get bored).

         Don’t pray in front of the person (because you will remember, or they might get offended and promises are so easy to keep!)

         Make sure your prayers are positive and nice (because God doesn’t know how you really feel, or what, or who, the real problem is)

         Fill your prayer with words (because silence is so uncomfortable and a waste of time)

         Stay on track (because God can’t use your imagination, nor can he direct your prayer or bring people to mind)

         Don’t pray scripture (because God wrote those words and can’t know how I feel)

My comments are in parenthesis. I’m sorry if they are a little snarky. I don’t know who wrote these guidelines, but they are silly at best and at worst discourage us from praying. How we pray isn’t important. Just pray!

And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. Romans 8:26

Don’t worry about rules or guidelines, just pray. Share your heart with God. Just as a loving Father desires to share the hurts and joys and concerns and agony of his children, so God desires to have you bring the things that weigh your heart down to him. He wants to share your pain. The God who created everything and has all the resources of his divine nature at his fingertips wants to help in your situation. Call me crazy, but I think that’s Someone I want on my team!

It is said that intercessory prayer is reaching to God with one hand and to my friend with the other, in order to bring them together.

Tonight I am praying for my friend. I am praying for healing, for peace and especially for comfort. She can only find that in the arms of God, so I reach to him with one hand, and to her with the other, and I place her in his lap to receive the love of her Father.

Will you pray with me?