Are intercessions the boring bit of the service detracting from the all-important live music and inspirational, bible-based sermon? In a modern understanding of our relationship with God, why do we need someone at the front of a church reading out their prepared prayers for people we don’t know? And, anyway, didn’t Jesus tell us not to pray in front of others?
I have a rather different take on this – and so, I’m going to share with you five reasons why I think they are a vital part of worship.
1. Paul makes intercessionary prayer a priority
Most people in the world probably pray when they themselves are in trouble. That’s an important part of prayer, but Paul encourages us to pray for other people, including the sort of people we read about in the news who we’ve never met. Indeed, he calls this praying for us his “very first command” when writing to his colleague Timothy.
Here’s Paul in 1 Timothy 20:1-2 (NTFE):
So, then, this is my very first command: God’s people should make petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings on behalf of all people — on behalf of kings, and all who hold high office, so that we may lead a tranquil and peaceful life, in all godliness and holiness.
2. Intercessionary prayer and effective evangelism are linked
Straight after urging intercessionary prayer, Paul links his argument for prayer with the potential salvation of non-believers. He writes:
This [praying as directed*] is good; it is acceptable with God our saviour, who wants all people to be saved and to come to know the truth. For, you see,
There is one God,
and also one mediator between God and humans,
Messiah Jesus, himself a human being.
He gave himself as a ransom for all,
and this was testified when the time was right.
If we want people to have opportunities to hear the gospel in an effective way, Paul offers us a clear steer of what we should do.
As John Wesley wrote: “Do you ask, ‘Why are not more converted?’ We do not pray enough.”
3. They help us deal with blind spots
I would probably not think to pray for the people suffering in conflict zones thousands of miles away very often if it weren’t for the formality of intercessions.
So I find the intercessions a useful rebalancing in my prayer life. There I am thinking x, y and z are important, then someone at the front of the church leads a prayer on w, and I have to say to myself: “Oh yes, that really is important, actually.”
4. Prayer in public is hard
I have been to services where church leaders ask people to break into prayer triplets.
No ordinary bod in the pews finds this comfortable, and there’s a pile of stress when people anxiously try to find the right words to sound holy without coming across as a Pharisee.
Some personality types impromptu public praying easier than others, but many find the interlude terrifying.
Prayer meetings where everyone contributes are great, but in a main church service, this sort of demand is a bit much.
So, in a typical Anglican service, we have someone leading the intercessions. In recent decades, it’s normally a lay person who helps guide our prayer.
The habitually used phrase “We pray for” reflects both that we are adopting the prayers for ourselves as people in the pews and also that each congregant is talking directly to God. This represents the important truth, going back to 1 Timothy, that there is “one mediator between God and humans, Messiah Jesus”.
5. Intercession changes us
As Tearfund puts it:
Intercession changes us. When we bring others before God our attitudes begin to shift as our hearts become more aligned with God’s plan for the world. We get to see how God sees the world – how much he loves individuals and creation – and our relationship with God and others can become deeper as a result.
* * *
Prayer
Father God, thank you for being
the one mediator between God and humans.
Help us to grow in our prayer lives,
to bring petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings
on behalf of all people,
and that your will may be done.
Amen.
Scripture passages from the New Testament for Everyone, translated by N.T. Wright. * In the Biblical Theology Study Bible, edited by D.A. Carson, a note explains that “good” is talking about “praying as directed”.