Commendations For Intercessory Praying

What will the Lord do in us and through us when we imitate the example of Job by praying for our friends? A look at a Spurgeon sermon continues.

Job was restored after he had prayed for his friends. In the sermon introduction, we learned that what followed was the Lord turned his captivity. Intercessory prayer was the sign of Job’s returning to greatness, says Spurgeon.

What will the Lord do in us and through us when we imitate the example of Job by praying for our friends?

Doing so comes from having the love of Christ in us for others. It opens our soul beyond ourselves, softens our nature to those around us, and we use grace given us to plead for blessings given to others.

When Job had prayed, the Lord blessed not only his friends, but Job’s own prosperity and joy returned also. (see Chapter 42:10)

Commending Intercession

Spurgeon first teaches us the importance of intercessory prayer by commending the exercise. He praises the activity of our praying for others by showing the numerous examples found in Scripture, reminding us how this has been practiced by all the best of God’s saints:

• Abraham, when he wrestled with God over that depraved city

• Moses, on the mount cried, “Spare them, Lord...”

• Others, like Samuel, Solomon, Hezekiah, Elijah, and Jeremiah

• Jesus, many times and in the garden and from the cross

• Peter, Paul, and Stephan, who all cried to God on behalf of others

Intercession is Selfless

With such examples as these, we are very guilty if we do not intercede for others. And if we don’t, it is because we do not love others as we love ourselves. The love of Christ is not in us.

“Do you go up into your closet, and in the face and presence of God, think of none but yourself? Surely the love of Christ cannot be in you, for the Spirit of Christ is not selfish. No man lives unto himself when once he has the love of Christ in him.”

Here is a test: estimate how much of your prayer time is spent for yourself, then how much for your friends. Is it balanced, or more tipped to one side? Is time tipped selflessly towards others, or more toward your selfish interests?

Commendations for Intercessory Praying

1. Because it opens our soul, and makes us aware that all this wide world was not made for us alone to serve our petty pleasures. This is an exercise that would make us more like the Son of Man, from whose outstretched arms on the cross fall blessings to all. He lives to intercede for us, and we in like manner should be constant in prayers for our friends.

2. Because of its sweet brotherly nature. We are normally hard and harsh by nature, but our continued praying for others will remind us we are brothers and sisters in the Lord, children of our heavenly Father, and we bear each others burdens. Praying this way will unite us more surely than any means, for we will be unable to hold a grudge or withhold forgiveness once we’ve brought friends to the throne of Grace.

3. Because when God gives grace to us, it must be that He wants it used for the rest of the family. When we hold a position in prayer before the throne, we ought use it to bring petitions of others and present them to the King. When we have the ear of God, we plead for those who have needs but cannot or will not pray themselves.

‘...take the petitions of your poor brethren who stand outside at the gate and say, “My Lord, I have a poor brother, a poor child of Yours, who has desired me to ask of You this favor. Grant it unto me, it shall be a favor shown unto myself. Grant it unto him, for he is one of Yours. Do it for Jesus’s sake!”’ ¹

This brief collection of excerpts is one part of the sermon, the next section will be next Monday, when Spurgeon speaks more on intercessory prayer by encouraging us to enlist in it.

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Our Prayer For The People Of God

[We are praying today that your] hearts may be comforted, and that being joined together in love, [we] may come to the full wealth of the certain knowledge of the secret of God, even Christ, In whom are all the secret stores of wisdom and knowledge. [We pray] this so that you may not be turned away by any deceit of words.

- Colossians 2:1-5

From A Previous Newsletter

1. INTERCESSORY PRAYER NO. 404 A SERMON DELIVERED ON SUNDAY MORNING, AUGUST 11, 1861 BY THE REV. C. H. SPURGEON AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON