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Intercessory Prayer Jul 19 2010
"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." - Ephesians 6:18
What is intercessory prayer? Paul tells us of Epaphras, a member of the church in Colosse, who "is always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God." Epaphras prayed for the people in the church to be spiritually mature, for them to be complete and whole, and also for them to fulfill the will of God. Now that is an example of intercessory prayer - it focuses on fulfilling the ministry and the mission of the church.
One of the concerns we often have about our prayer ministry is that the requests we receive are overwhelmingly for those who are sick. Now there is no doubt that the church is called to pray for the sick. But so often, it seems the church is absolutely obsessed with praying sick sinners out of heaven and totally oblivious to praying lost sinners out of hell. We need to have the right priority when it comes to our intercession. It's about praying for "Thy kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." That means focusing on the spiritual welfare of the church and its mission, as we remember the physical needs of those who are sick.
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6 Comments
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Yes, report it NevermindI am an intercessor and todays devotion has really enlightened me. Thank you very much and God bless you for the good work.
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Yes, report it NevermindCan someone explain what "praying sick sinners out of heaven" means? I have never heard this term, but it doesn't come across as a Christian attitude/practice.
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Yes, report it NevermindPat, I believe it's reffering to the fact many times we as Christians pray for the unsaved person's health needs and don't pray for their salvation which is far more important. It's okay to pray for the illness but our main concern should be the redemption of this individual.
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Yes, report it NevermindNo Carlos, it means that so many times we beg everyone we know to pray for the healing of someone who is close to making the crossing from this life to their heavenly home. We pray for them to stay when they are saved and on their way home. It seems that we cheat them out of going and keep them here to face sorrow and more pain.
I hope this helped.
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Yes, report it NevermindWe are all "Standing in the Need of Prayer" including ourselves. There are many kinds of sicknesses and I don't believe God discriminates as to the kind of sins we commit.
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Yes, report it NevermindUrgent Prayer Request:
Blessings...Please stand in agreement with me that Jesus Christ has already bestowed his favor/grace, and blessings for me to return back to work teaching incarcerated adults for Windham School District. Amen!