Rhythms of Grace预览

The past couple of days, we took a look at the Lord’s prayer and an example of intercessory prayer found in the Gospel of John. The Lord’s Prayer is a well-known prayer. Perhaps you’ve memorized it because of church or a sports team. Since this prayer is so widely known, it can be easy to overlook the example that the prayer sets up for our own prayer lives. Jesus begins this prayer with praising and recognizing who God is: “Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy.” (Matt. 6:9 CSB). He then seeks the will of God and expresses the desire for Him to be known by others: “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” (Matt. 6:10). When we pray, praising God and seeking His will are two very essential things. Jesus continues with presenting needs before God and asking for forgiveness for our sins: “Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matt. 6:11-12). To close, Jesus sets the example for us to seek God’s deliverance from the temptations of the enemy: “And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” (Matt. 6:13). This prayer is an example of how we should pray to God. While our prayers may look slightly different from the example Jesus set in Matthew and Luke, this is the example that we should follow.

We also read about Jesus praying for His disciples, which was an example of intercessory prayer. Interceding means coming before the Lord and presenting requests on behalf of others. If you have ever prayed for your friend’s needs or your family’s hardship, or really just for anyone else in general, you have interceded for someone else. Intercessory prayer is powerful, just like all prayers, but when you pray for someone else and then see their lives change because of God hearing and answering the prayers you have prayed for someone else, God’s power and care become evident. If you care for the people in your life, you will pray for them.

I can think of a time recently when I had a person I had met at a coffee shop who served me regularly and she did not have a relationship with Jesus. I was thinking of her one morning on the way to the gym and asking God to provide ways for me to see her to invite her to church so that she will be able to hear the Gospel. When I walked into the gym, she was there working out and texted me about going to church. This is an example of what even the smallest intercessory prayer can do. God hears and cares for us. Did you know Jesus intercedes for us to God the Father? In Romans 8:34, Paul writes that Jesus now sits at the right hand of the Father and intercedes for us. God is intentional and listens to everything we tell Him. He is a God who cares for you.