Are You a Consumer or Intercessor?

Consumerism is a major factor in today's economy. In the Western countries, citizens for the most part can get whatever we want. A day commonly referred to as Black Friday, the day that occurred yesterday, the day following Thanksgiving is all about consumerism. If you receive a daily or weekly newspaper or get E-mail subscriptions to various websites, there are all kinds of ads going on right now advertising Black Friday and various coupons are available over the next week or so. In many ways consumerism literally drives the U.S. economy. This is based partially on people buying large ticket items like houses and cars and such… all the way down to small little gadgets and things people don't necessarily need but simply want. It is with the wonderful opportunity within a year or two of upgrading to the newest and latest of whatever thing there is. This is not necessarily a criticism, but rather a reality of the blessings that God has given to this country, which goes far beyond just the basics of food and shelter. When that wealth begins to diminish, like prophecy says it will, people will be more aware of God not really answering their prayers. We'll tend to notice at that time the things we don't have, things that we wish we had but don't have.

James observed that when the people don't have what they want, anger and greed seem to explode out of them. It becomes a free- for- all, a lawless society, a winner takes all mentality and the whole structure of society begins to break down. James explains that people's prayers were going largely unanswered because they were asking God for things, for stuff, as if they were consumers and prayers were like their shopping carts they were pushing up and down God's aisles. James 4:1-3 "Why do you fight and argue with each other? Isn't it because you are full of selfish desires that fight to control your body?" Verse 2 "You want something you don't have and you will do anything to get it. You will even kill! But you still cannot get what you want and you won't get it by fighting and arguing. You should pray for it." Verse 3 "Yet even when you do pray, your prayers are not answered, because you pray just for selfish reasons." I think that particular translation puts it in a very blunt manner, doesn't it? We may live in a blessed and rich country, such as the United States of America, however… are our prayers based on that “consumeristic” mentality?

Every December, I probably mentioned this in one sermon or another over the months… but each December my parents and I would take a drive down to Florida to my grandparent's home in Bradenton… just south of St. Petersburg, Florida. Every winter break, I'd have two weeks off of school and we'd load up the Oldsmobile and trek down I-75 all the way to my grandparent's house. My grandfather, especially in his older years had this wonderful routine that he would do every day. He'd wake up at a reasonable time; he and Grandma would have a sensible breakfast… usually some sort of citrus and an egg. (They had all kinds of citrus trees on their property.) Right before naptime, he'd sit down and watch a couple of news programs that he liked, some key anchors at the time that he enjoyed listening to. That was kind of how he rounded out his morning, followed by a great big supper. Grandma always laid out the full spread for the noon- time meal. With a full belly, then Grandpa would go take a nap. As a teenager, I always loved naptime… because when Grandpa napped, the whole house had to quiet down… so what a good time for me to nap as well. I always liked naptime at Grandma and Grandpa's house. When Grandpa woke up, he watched a couple of the game shows he loved to watch during the mid afternoon time frame. He really liked Bob Barker and "Price Is Right". That was one of his favorite game shows. One of the other shows I remember him watching on occasion was this grocery store type of game show. From what I remember about it as a kid, there was some price range and the shoppers had to find the goods in this kind of mock grocery store that kind of fit within this price range and they were timed for something like sixty seconds or ninety seconds or something. They received a grocery cart and they had to run up and down the aisles and pull things off the shelves and in the end when they went up to the cash register hopefully the amount of goods they had in their shopping cart matched the goal for that particular round. It was kind of an interesting game show. As a teenager I thought it was kind of silly, but nonetheless people enjoyed participating and like my grandfather, enjoyed watching game shows like that. Are our prayers sometimes like that game show? In our prayers to our heavenly Father do we sometimes present ourselves like a consumer? Do we have our hands on the shopping cart and we're there before God asking Him for things, much like we're reading here in James? Are we praying to God like a consumer?

Matt. 7:7 "Ask and it will be given to you;" Let's read the first few words out of context in a “consumeristic” perspective. This is a beautiful thing to be recorded for us. That's as far as we need to read. As we go to our knees, does this verse come to mind? We're like, "Thank you, thank you for putting that verse in there because I could really use a new one of 'these', a new car, a new pair of shoes and I always wanted that new I pod or that new I Phone that has a bigger screen now and these things would be nice, God. Jesus Christ even said it here, it's in red letter ink to ask and it will be given so I am hereby officially asking for the list." Sometimes we'll take this verse out of context and we'll say, "Okay, when I go to pray I'm going to ask God for stuff. I'm going to ask Him to resolve things in my life. There's this pesky guy at work and maybe he can find a different job so that he leaves me alone. I'm going to ask and assume it's going to be given." We need to be careful not to take verses out of context like I've just done with Matthew 7:7. This whole section is about relationships. God is not necessarily interested in giving us 'stuff '. He can bless us certainly and we've talked about that before, but from a perspective of prayer we'll often pull these few verses out and will apply it to the topic of prayer and we'll come to God with our 'shopping carts' saying, "God load me up because I'm ready to buy."

Let's take another verse out of context and see what it doesn't say. Matt. 21:22 "Whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." This is another beautiful verse when it comes to prayer because 'I believe that God will give me that shiny new car or that huge addition off the back of my house or that beautiful diamond ring I've always wanted to buy my wife', or whatever the case might be. "I believe God will do it, therefore, I expect it to happen." Once again, unfortunately we've pulled this prayer verse out of context. This verse continues to be about relationships. If we back up, Jesus Christ is talking about this fig tree that is supposed to have a specific purpose and the fig tree is not fulfilling the purpose for which it was created. Jesus ends up cursing that tree and his disciples are amazed. He is able to teach the lesson of faith and obedience and trust in God and us fulfilling the beautiful purpose for which you and I have been created and called. It's about relationships. John 14:14 "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it." That's another beautiful “consumeristic” type verse, isn't it? We can say, "I'd sure like to have that new shiny diamond studded necklace and all this stuff and I certainly believe it will occur and in Jesus' name let it be presented to me. Amen." "If you ask for anything in my name, I will do it." Does that give us cause for receiving things and filling our own house with goods and stuff? When we go back up to verse 7, we see that this is in the context of relationships. God wants to have a relationship with you and me. He's called us to something great, something tremendous. Verse 7 "If you had known Me, you would have known my Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him." This is about a relationship with God and Jesus Christ's sacrifice being that reconciling agent that allows that relationship with God to even be possible.

Praying, brethren is not merely asking God for something. Praying is about developing a personal relationship with the God family… that's the purpose of prayer, that's why we should do it. That's why we get down on our knees once or multiple times a day. It's to help develop that personal, intimate, close, meaningful relationship with God.

The Bible is filled with some wonderful examples for our learning. Most of the examples are positive examples where things are done correctly and blessings follow. The Bible also has some other unique examples of things that perhaps weren't done very well. God has used and recorded those examples so that we can learn from those things as well. I want to read one of those examples when things are not done well and see if we can learn something about this particular example in the context here of having a proper type of prayer life. Acts 8:9-17 9 But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, 10 to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.” 11 And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. 13 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done. 14 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 15 who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For as yet it had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

We might take a side step in the story to show real quickly that even here in the first-century church not just anyone could baptize or lay hands on for the receiving of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Here Philip was able to do part of that process, but it took a minister… it took one of the apostles coming in from Jerusalem to complete that process and for that laying on of hands to occur. It's not just something anyone can do.

Acts 8: 18 -19 18 And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” Simon didn't understand what this process is about. This process of receiving God's Holy Spirit centers on repentance and faith in Jesus Christ's sacrifice for the remission of sins, for that intimate relationship to begin with God the Father. When Simon saw the Holy Spirit being given by the laying on of hands, he wanted to buy the office of the ministry. He was in a “consumeristic” mentality. His hands were on the 'shopping cart' and he saw something on the 'shelf' that he wanted…and he wanted to 'take it off the shelf and put it in his cart' and become owner of that ability.

Perhaps you recall the next few verses. Peter ends up rebuking him and reprimanding Simon and tells him to go and pray for the forgiveness of his sins. Simon further fails to realize that successful prayer requires an intimate personal relationship with God. Acts 8:24 24 Then Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.” Simon goes one step farther and says for Peter to pray to God, for Peter to ask for his forgiveness of sin because he didn't have a relationship with God, but Peter did. He wanted Peter to pray instead of praying for himself. Simon approaches prayer like a consumer… "What can I get?" "What do I want?" "Who can do what for me?" "How much can I pile into my spiritual 'shopping cart'?"

The key is that anyone can ask for something. Any of us can ask for something. Prayer is much more than that. Prayer is much more than just asking for 'stuff', just asking for things. It is part of and grows out of a genuine relationship that we develop with God. In order to have an effective prayer life, we must be developing that personal intimate relationship with God. The kind of person with this genuine personal relationship with God utilizes a different kind of prayer.

Let's set the stage for what we'll cover in the rest of the sermon. In Genesis 13 Abram has just been given the land of Canaan and he wants to share it with his nephew, Lot and so they look over the options. Option one is this beautiful well-watered Jordan with green everything and it's all wet and lush and it's perfect for growing cities and crops and livestock and it's beautiful. Option two is a little bit more terrain based a little bit more rugged. Abram along with Lot, Abram not wanting any strife between them gives Lot first dibs.

 Gen. 13: 11-12 11 Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. 12 Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom.

Lot here is looking out for whom? Himself, right? He has his 'shopping cart' and he sees the two options… one rugged, very difficult terrain versus green and lots of water. He basically says, "I believe I'll have one of 'those'," and into the 'shopping cart,' it goes. Verse eleven even shows that Lot chose for himself. He didn't choose what was best for the other person. He didn't sacrifice himself for the betterment of Abram and for his future. He chose for himself, and verse twelve says he pitched his tent as far as Sodom.

If we skip forward in the story a bit to chapter eighteen, Abram's name has been changed, he enters a covenant with God and God changes his name from Abram to Abraham. As time progresses, evil things are being done in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. God (Jesus Christ, the God of the Old Testament) has literally had it up to 'here' with these evil people and He's ready to just destroy them and wipe clean this area. God sends a couple of angels down and gives Abraham this advance notice. We hear that God is essentially going to destroy these cities.

Gen. 18:22-33 22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. 23 And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? [We see some interesting dialogue here. Abraham doesn't stand up and say, "You know, I sure could use that land; I have trade there, I'm doing business there and all these great things could be done there for me from an economical perspective and it's really helping my bottom line." He's not saying save these cities because of me. He's not saying 'Save these cities because it's going to hurt my bottom dollar, that it's going to affect my flock, my trade routes… whatever the case might be. He comes at it from 'would you also destroy the righteous with the wicked?' Abraham is outward focused, isn't he? He's not worried about himself.] 24 Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? [Abraham and God have this dialogue back and forth. Maybe a dialogue that we even wonder if we can have with God.] 25 Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

26 So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”

27 Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: 28 Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?”

So He said, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.”

29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose there should be forty found there?”

So He said, “I will not do it for the sake of forty.”

30 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?”

So He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

31 And he said, “Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?”

So He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.”

32 Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?”

And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” 33 So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.

Can you imagine having this barter back and forth with the Creator of the universe? Abraham is here having such a conversation.

We know from reading the rest of the story that there ended up being only four that were saved and of those four, one of them looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt… she was destroyed.

Abraham pleaded for his nephew, Lot and for Lot's family. Abraham was looking out for others, praying for others, doing what was best for others. Again, remember the land deal with Lot. Abraham very easily could have said, "Oh, Lot got the Jordan valley anyway and that's what I wanted… do whatever you want with him, Lord." Abraham got the rugged terrain and yet he still tried to save these cities and Lot and his family.
 
 These verses in Genesis 18 are an intercessory type of prayer. How often do we pray for others? I mean REALLY pray for others, multiple times a day perhaps? Or multiple weeks on end? Or, do we mention them as we remember them? We're going down the 'shopping cart aisles' and I'll have one of these and one of those' and "Oh, yeah, that reminds me, there was that person at church, oh what was his name? Oh, 'so and so', please remember him, too." And then back to 'I'll have one of those and one of those'. "Is it kind of this detour as we fill our 'shopping cart' and as names come to mind?" Oh, yep, don't forget 'John' and 'Sally', while the bulk of our prayers are based on this consumer in us. The basic meaning of an intercessory prayer is simply to pray to God on someone else's behalf. If you want a really simple definition of what an intercessory type prayer is, it's to pray to God on someone else's behalf. That's what Abraham did here with Lot and his family.

The title of the sermon today is: "Are You a Consumer or An Intercessor?"

What is the focus of your prayers? Is it to consume things and always have the latest and greatest? "I'll have one of those and thank you very much for that." Or, is it outwardly focused, focused on others… on their success, on their well-being?

I'd like to look at three points about intercessory prayer in the time that we have left here in the sermon this afternoon.

1) PRAY 'WE' NOT 'ME'

Moses has been for a very long time up on the mountain. He's been talking with God, learning directly from Him, receiving his commands, learning about his way of life from a very personal point of view. Something very different is going on back down the mountain.

Ex. 32:7 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves.

The verses before here describe the idol that has been built down off the edge of the mountain. Aaron and others have gathered together materials and such and have built this golden calf which they say is who brought them out of the land of Egypt. God sees it and is very upset and He tells Moses, "Go and get down."

Ex. 32:9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people!" God, here, is not too favorable of the Israelites at this point. He's been working with them patiently for hundreds and hundreds of years and finally came to the point that He was ready to deliver them out of Egypt and what happens? They build this calf and give credit to this golden calf. They are a stiff-necked people, God says to Moses.

Verse 11 Then Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said: “Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?" Notice that in verse seven that God in his anger said, 'These are your people, Moses. You brought them out.' Moses humbly in verse eleven says, 'No, no, these are Your people and it's from Your mighty hand and Your great power that you brought them out. These are your people.' Moses is here pleading with God. He didn't have anything to do with the golden calf. He didn't sneak Aaron some plans before he left. He didn't say, 'Hey, Aaron, here are some plans. Why don't you see what you can gather together and here's how to build this thing.' Moses had nothing to do with the golden calf and yet he pleads on their behalf to God. He pleads for God's people to the point that in verse eleven he says, 'these are Your people, God.

Verse 31 Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold!

Moses doesn't minimize the sin that the people have committed. It is a great sin and Moses recognized that. It's a terrible sin.

Verse 32 Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.” Again, Moses intercedes for the people… so much so that he puts himself in their 'boat'. He had nothing to do with the golden calf and yet he says, 'God, please forgive their sins, but if not blot my name out, also. Get rid of me, also.'

Ex. 33:13 Now, therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” Who is Moses praying about? It wasn't for his own skin. He had already 'tossed himself in the boat' with the Israelites. He's praying for them. He's praying a 'we' type prayer. It's not a “consumeristic” 'save me and take away all this burden'. He was praying about God's people.

16 For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”

It wasn't about Moses. It wasn't about his agenda and what he was pushing and saving his skin and making a great name and legend for himself. It was about the people of God and his focus and his prayer and his intercession was pointed in that direction.

Ex. 34:9 Then he said, “If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance.” Moses is here praying 'we', not 'me'. He's not praying a consumer-based prayer. It was always for the people, about the people, pleading for the people and he included himself in it. You might remember how a couple of chapters ago that God called them a stiff-necked people. Moses throws himself in that 'boat' as well. Here in verse nine he says, 'We are a stiff-necked people.' He very easily could have said,' THEY, God are a stiff-necked people, but please forgive them.' He lumps himself in with them when he says, 'We are a stiff-necked people and WE need your involvement. We need your leadership. We need you to be our God. We need you to forgive our sins.' He's praying 'WE' not 'ME'. Brethren, we should have the same approach, no matter whether we are new in the faith or have been baptized for dozens of years or for decades. There's always a need for repentance, for forgiveness, for mercy or else we wouldn't need the Passover ceremony each year.

Attacking this “consumeristic” mentality we sometimes have in our prayer life, take notice of Matt. 6:8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him." God knows what our needs are. He knows what our shortcomings are. He knows what needs to occur in our lives. He knows our frustrations and our worries… He knows all those things. If you skip on down to verse twenty-five, from there on down to the end of the Bible, Jesus Christ addresses that very topic… 'don't worry about where the food and clothing and the shelter and all these basics of life will come from. I take care of the animals and the grass of the fields, I'm going to take care of you so don't worry about that. Instead, focus on Me, focus on my kingdom.' That's the summary that Jesus Christ makes there in verse thirty-three.

Let's read this model prayer that Jesus Christ gives to us. (It's important to note before we read this that God doesn't want any kind of rote prayer. He doesn't want us to memorize a prayer and recite it over and over and that becomes our daily prayer.) Up in verse seven Christ even makes that point: 'Don't use vain repetition.' This model prayer isn't something for us to memorize and say before we go to bed and when we wake up and before lunch every day. God doesn't want us to just have this memorized prayer. He wants to hear us, what we have to say… who's on our mind. He wants us to talk and certainly use this as an outline. Talk about these things, pray about these things, and include these items in your prayer.

Matt. 6:9-13 Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Notice this prayer says US repeatedly; this prayer is not consumer based. How many times did you hear the personal pronouns mentioned… I's or me’s? He doesn't begin the prayer acknowledging God and then saying, 'Give ME what I need every day and fill my 'shopping cart' so I can be happy.' It's not that way! Instead, He uses plural pronouns like OUR and WE and US. It's not a consumer based prayer focused on me and my needs, my stuff and take care of ME first.

You might consider reading Daniel chapter nine this next week. Here Daniel is praying this very type of prayer. He's praying and including himself in some situations that are going on. He includes himself in the need for forgiveness while praying about the situation that he is finding himself in. Daniel prays 'we' not 'me'. That selfish mentality is not found there in Daniel chapter nine. God wants us to be thinking of others besides ourselves, besides what we have need of. He wants us to be outwardly focused, focused on others… praying for others. So point number one is pray 'we' not 'me'.

2) GROW IN HUMILITY

Humility might seem an odd point for a sermon on intercessory prayer. Let's see how humility plays into this.

Num. 12:1-3 Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. 2 So they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. 3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.)

Miriam and Aaron here have an issue with authority and they stand up and rise up against Moses here in verse two. They make a very bold statement, 'Has the Lord only spoken through Moses?' Is he the only one who can have this kind of authority, this kind of leadership? But notice in verse three that Moses was very humble on the flip side. That humility will end up interceding for Miriam's physical life. God, of course, heard it and in every situation, we read about like this in the Bible… He is always against the proud. God and Moses end up having this dialogue back and forth then:

 Verse 9- 10 9 So the anger of the Lord was aroused against them, and He departed. 10 And when the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, suddenly Miriam became leprous, as white as snow. Then Aaron turned toward Miriam, and there she was, a leper.

Death was very near for Miriam at this point. She wasn't just leprous with a couple of spots; she was leprous head to toe. She was covered in it; she was white as snow. She became leprous, which at that point was essentially a death sentence. Death was very near for Miriam, but guess whose humility comes into play here? Moses presents himself to God: Verse 13 So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “Please heal her, O God, I pray!” He intercedes on her behalf and prays to God while he is interceding for Miriam. He puts Miriam's needs above anyone else and says, 'Please, God heal her.'

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut out of the camp seven days, and afterward, she may be received again.” 15 So Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days, and the people did not journey till Miriam was brought in again.

Here we have two to three million people as some estimates say were there, and this nation of Israel didn't move for seven days. Talk about everybody knowing your sin, knowing about your uprising. This nation of Israel stayed in place. She was shut out of the camp for seven days and the people didn't journey until the leprosy ran its course and God healed her after seven days. There was still some penalty. There was still some penalty for her insubordination. But, Moses intercedes for her life, for someone else. Moses could have said, 'They had it coming, Lord, remember the calf. Don't forget about the calf. They had it coming; they abhor authority. Let their sin be on them. They are dead to me.' But, he didn't say that, did he? He interceded, he showed humility and he put the needs of others before himself… to the point of delaying their departure for a week.

James 4:6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:

 “God resists the proud,
 But gives grace to the humble.”

You and I should work on a daily basis in developing a humble attitude and approach toward God. That humility is what God wants to see in us. He wants to see that developed in us. He wants to see active work being put toward humility. Effective intercessory prayers require a genuine personal relationship with God and that can't happen if we have a proud, arrogant, consumer-based approach when it comes to prayer and it comes to who God is in our lives. Point two is 'grow in humility'.

3) PRAY FOR 'THAT' PERSON

Which person? 'That' person. Which person? 'That' person. Who? 'That' person. Pray for that person; there's a long list of people that we can pray for, but I want to start with the most difficult.

Prov. 24:17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
 And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;

Who should we pray for? That person! Pray for that person. We could so easily come home from work and we could pop the cork on the champagne and we could celebrate because the boss is no longer the boss. He has been a thorn in my side and all of a sudden he's gone, he's out of there… let the rejoicing begin. But Solomon, the wisest man on earth says, 'Don't rejoice. Don't rejoice when your enemy falls. Don't let your heart be glad when he stumbles.' Don't rejoice when he gets yelled at by his boss and say, 'Oh, that guy had it coming.' Perhaps we should begin our list with those who don't treat us so well, those who are our enemies. Pray for your enemies… that is one group of individuals that we should pray for. Let's read about it in Christ's own words. Solomon was inspired to write about this and Christ addresses this as well.

Matt. 5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

 That is society 101, isn't it? You grease my palm, I'll grease yours. You help me broker this deal; I'll cut you in on some of the profits. You help me; I'll help you. You skirt me, though and you go around my back and I'll make sure you never do 'thus and such' again. You either help me, you're either for me, or I'm coming at you with all my resources. That's what modern day politics is all about and modern-day business practices.

Matt. 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

This is spoken by the Son of the God Most High. Pray for those individuals… what a difficult thing to do! I was talking with someone this morning after the morning services about this verse. It's one thing to recognize the need to pray for an enemy. It's something else to actually utter the words, but it's a completely different level when we actually mean it. This is what the verse is getting to… not just saying the words. "Please be with that boss who is such a pain and always causes me trouble." There, I've said it, okay. I prayed for my enemies… really though I hope that You... Christ wants us to take this relationship to a different level. He wants to see where our heart is, what our intent is. Do we really want the best for someone else? Do we really want to see God's plan furthered and his Kingdom fully realized on this earth… to the point that we're willing to pray for those that cause difficulty in our lives?

Also consider reading Numbers chapter 16 later this week and Numbers chapter 20 and Job chapter 42. All three of those chapters follow along the same line. They describe scenarios where it was difficult to pray for someone… difficult situations. And yet, Jesus' words in Matt. 5:44 are 'pray for your enemy'. Pray for those that cause difficulty and trials and challenges in your life.

Let's look at another group of individuals that we should pray for.

1 Tim. 2: 1-3 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,

So, in point number three, pray for what person? Pray for these people. Pray for this person. Verse one tells us to pray for all men and by extension all women. We should pray for mankind. We do not have the right to be selective in whom we pray for and whom we don't pray for. God doesn't give us that right. Jesus Christ even took it all the way to the extreme and said pray for your enemies. Paul here, writing to Timothy said to include all men all women, everyone you come in contact with. We don't have the right to pick and choose. We can't say, "I'm not going to pray for 'that' person." Pray for everyone.

Verse 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Why? Why do we pray for everyone? Why do we pray even for our enemies? Because one day, God is going to send his Son back to this earth and those individuals will have an opportunity to know who God is and they will have an opportunity at life as well because God wants all men to be saved. He wants everyone to have that opportunity… to be a part of his family.

Our prayer list, brethren, I think just got a lot longer. Do you pray for your boss? Do you pray for your co-workers? Do you pray for your neighbors? The kids at your school? The parents of the kids at your kids' school? What name comes to mind? I'm sure there are a lot of names rattling around right now. What names come to mind?

1 Tim. 2:2 for kings and all who are in authority,

Do we pray for the president of the United States? Do we pray for the Prime Minister of England? Those are the difficult ones, aren't they? As we see them make various diplomatic and political decisions that impact this world order, do we pray for the world leaders? Read Daniel 2:21 in this regard. When it comes to our leaders, those who are in some kind of political authority whether in this nation or someone else… maybe we wish it were one person, desire one person over another. But, whom does God want in the office? Daniel 2:21 is a beautiful verse because it shows that God is the one who puts those people there and it's God who takes those leaders out. God places world leaders. He places presidents and members of Congress, probably, by extension. It's so easy for us to stand up and pick apart the decisions of our president, the U.S. Congress or other world leaders for failing to stand up to a certain moral level of conduct. For other nations of concern… their involvement in conflicts and such, but are we praying for them? Are we praying for the Kingdom… that their decisions will help usher it in? Daniel 2:21 I think is a very powerful verse from that regard. The decisions that this country and other countries make will help bring in a mindset of society that will bring this world to a brink of destruction and God needs that to occur so He can send his Son so that He can come and with authority lay flat those governments and establish God's Kingdom. Are we praying for those leaders? For those kings, for all who are in authority? Remember to also pray for God's will. We could all sit down and over the course of a couple of potlucks solve all the world's problems, couldn't we? We could have it all nailed down as far as who should go where and what military should go and what person should be taken out of office. We could solve it all, couldn't we? We're a bright group of individuals. But, what does God want? God wants his Son to return and his government to be established. Here is our stamp of approval:

1 Tim. 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,

God is okay with us praying for all men. He's okay with us praying for kings and all who are in authority. Another group is spoken of:

Gal. 3:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Pray especially for those who are here and the sister congregations around the country and around the world and others striving to be obedient to God's laws and his way of life… those who are keeping the Sabbath and the Holy Days and the food laws and all the other commands God wants us to keep and obey. We should do good to all but especially to those who are holding solid to this trust and faith and belief in God. That's perhaps one of the easiest groups to pray for, isn't it as our own fellow brothers and sisters? Those who are striving and contending and trying to get rid of their human nature and their way of thinking and putting God first in their lives. Those individuals are somewhat easy to pray for, aren't they?

1 Tim. 2:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,

“Intercessions” here means to make petitions. It's not a demand. We can't say, "God, I demand that you heal that person." Demanding that God do something is not an intercessory prayer. Intercessory prayer by definition is to make a petition. It's not a demand; it's a respectful request… it's a petition for someone else. That's what Paul is here instructing Timothy in… to make a petition, a special request on someone else's behalf.

Do we pray for the ministry as they counsel as they work on sermons and write articles and write letters and talk with people and encourage people? Do we pray for the ministry? Do we pray for others in the Church? Do we pray about people's trials whether it's a health trial or a job trial or a relationship trial… something going on maybe in their family? Do we pray for others, but specifically pray? Do we just say, "Oh, please be with 'John and Sally'?" And just kind of move on from there? Or are we specific, such as, "I was talking to them last week and You obviously know this already but this is what they told me and they're struggling here and this is how it is affecting them and they're getting frustrated and they're getting discouraged." Are we specific in our prayers or do we just kind of gloss over and just open up the member directory and just read all the names and then say there I prayed for everyone in my congregation. Do we pray for others and ask for blessings to be given? Have you ever thought about that one?

Every year after the Feast of Tabernacles it is tradition for any newborn babies to be blessed at one of the Sabbaths after the Feast. As the pastors and elders who assist at that ceremony, we're not the ones giving that blessing. We don't have that ability. I can't give someone a blessing, but it's wonderful as part of the ministry to participate in that and to ask God to be the One who blesses that individual's life, that little baby's life and to ask God to help the parents teach them and to help them grow in accordance with God's way of life. During that ceremony, we ask for a blessing to be given and it's okay to do that at other times of the year as well. Do we ask in prayer for God to bless a certain person's life… to bless their service, to bless what they're doing? Do we ask for blessings to be given to someone else?

So whom can you pray for? 'That' person. Which person? 'That' one. Who can you petition with respect on their behalf?

God is looking for a genuine personal relationship with each of us and He wants to know that we're concerned about others more than ourselves. He wants to know that we have an outward focus. It's not wrong to pray for our issues and trials in our lives, but let's not let a consumer mentality overtake our prayers. Let's not let our prayers be only about us… hands firmly on the shopping cart as we go up and down the aisles of life… saying, "I'll have one of those and give me an upgrade on that."

We have many things that we can pray for in our own lives. We could probably all write volumes of books of things that we need, issues that could be taken care of, and scars from the past and hurts and pains now and things we need and want and desire but how much time of your prayers are spent on others… fervently interceding and petitioning God on their behalf?
 
Before Jesus died, He prayed and interceded for those who were killing Him. Luke 23:34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

Even before that, when He was being arrested, He insisted that his disciples be let go. John 18:8 Jesus answered, “I have told you that I am He. Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way,”

Just a few moments before his death, He interceded for his own mother… asking John to provide a home for her. John 19:26 When Jesus, therefore, saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!”

Those are just three simple examples of Jesus Christ, our Messiah interceding on behalf of his people, those He cared for and loved.

Rom. 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

 Sometimes we can hurt for a friend and through God's Holy Spirit those groanings can be understood by God Himself. We may not know what to say. We may know we want the best for a certain person and for God's involvement in someone's life, but maybe we don't have all the information. Maybe we struggle to find the words. Maybe we just ache deep down inside for someone. Through God's Holy Spirit, God is able to understand the intents of our hearts and where our desires are.

It's time to leave the consumerism to the economists and step away from the 'save me' self-focused prayer that can so easily consume our prayer lives. Intercede for others, brethren and put them high on your prayer list and let's together be intercessors not consumers.