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Prayer 101 How To Be An Intercessor
The disciples asked Jesus "Teach us to pray, just as John the Baptist
taught his disciples to pray". So we see that John the Baptist and Jesus
both taught people how to pray. Jesus taught the disciples the Lord's
Prayer. He also taught much about prayer in the Sermon on the Mount and
at numerous other points in His ministry. Therefore we can conclude that
prayer - like tying our shoelaces - is something we have to be taught,
and it is something we should learn early on in our walk with God. 1) Start slowly it is hard and intense work. 2) Read some of the great intercessory prayers of Scripture:
John 17 3) You need to ask God to show you His glory.
Moses saw God in the burning bush before he went to intercede for
Israel. Isaiah saw God in His glory in the temple before going out to
proclaim his prophetic message. Paul saw Jesus as a bright light on the
Damascus Road before becoming an apostle to the Gentiles and "suffering
all things for the sake of the elect" (2 Tim 2:10). The revelation of
the glory of God is an essential prerequisite to powerful ministry -
especially that of intercession. It is impossible, or nearly so, to
sustain a passionate prayer life to a God we know only in theory. We
need to know how great and wonderful God is. How holy he is. How dark
sin is. How much God is merciful. How necessary we are to His plan. He
calls us into a relationship of usefulness. We are instruments of his
glory. Sent by His power. Getting His results. 4) You need ask God to show you the glory of those who are saved and the terrible fate of those who are lost.
Intercession involves having an intense vision for the lives of others
in the light of God. We need a knowledge - a certain knowledge that God
is full of glory and that He intends to make all who believe in Him
glorious. We need to see that without the gospel people will decay into
hate and selfishness and become like rotting tires on a dump, that they
will "perish". That the only possibility of eternal glory for anyone
lies in Christ. Without this certainty and knowledge intercession will
be fruitless and unsustainable. You cannot continuously pray out of duty
- you must also pray out of a deep love and concern for those who are
lost. 5) Get to know the basics of prayer.
Do the basic studies at the start of this book first - especially the
study on the ascension of Jesus Christ. Without a clear understanding of
our place in the heavenly realms we will be powerless confused and
ineffective. 6) Make a list of people to pray for and get going.
God will teach you as you do it. Learning is a combination of theory and
practice in a circle called "praxis". We learn about the theory of
prayer and then we go and out and do it which in turn raises more
questions so we go back to our theory and reflect on it a bit more then
go back and practice.. which raises more questions so we dive into
Scripture again.... It is a wonderful, fruitful lifestyle. So learn
about prayer -then do it!
Jesus faced the Devil in the wilderness. Paul says "we wrestle not
against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities...in the
heavenly realms." Here is a prayer to help you.
Demons Defeated
Many of the great saints of God have practiced fasting and there are
many good reasons for fasting - among them to know God's will and
receive power in prayer. I don't have enough space here to discuss it
but see my article on fasting for
some guidelines. There is a lot more I could say about intercession but this is long enough already. Ask God to teach you. Read the Scriptures. Read biographies of great intercessors - "Rees Howells -Intercessor" by Norman Grubb is one that I guarantee will inspire you. Also "Bone of His Bone" by Baron Von Heugel or "Prayer" by O.Hallesby. "Prayer" by Richard Foster is a very deep book and "Don't Just Stand There Pray Something" by Ronald Dunn is a good starting out book. Anyway if you have any questions just e-mail me!
This article may be freely reproduced for non-profit ministry purposes but may not be sold in any way. For permission to use articles in your ministry, e-mail the editor, John Edmiston at johned@aibi.ph. Source: http://www.globalchristians.org/starterkit/gospel1.htm. Used with permission from John Edmiston - www.globalchristians.org
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