Grace and Truth

Bible Ministries

We are continuing our examination of intercession as a facet of prayer as part of our study of the doctrine of Prayer as a mandate for the believer in the PPOG for the church age. Phil 4:6; 1Thes 5:17;

We are presently examining the intercessory prayer for his evangelism that Paul requested from prison in the Ephesian and Colossian letters.

Believer's intercessory Prayer was and is necessary for the disclosure of the mystery of the Gospel of Grace because of the spiritual blindness from satan who deceives all of the inhabitants of the earth. 2Cor 4:3-4;cv Rev 12:9;

When it comes to evangelism our main opposition is not from people. Eph 6:12;

Paul requested the believers to pray not only that he might present the message boldly, but also "as I ought to speak" (Eph 6:20). (Col 4:4). In both cases, Paul was making an appeal for clarity and precision in his presentation of the Gospel.

Paul requested their prayers because what he was doing was beyond the realm of natural human ability, conseequently it was necessary for God to supply him with the proper words, the clarity of speech, and the courage to speak. 1Cor 2:12-13;

In the same way that God provided courage and words for Peter. Acts 4:8; as TLJC had told him he would. Luke 12:11-12;

Believers could partcipate with Paul in the advance of the Gospel via their intercessory prayer and receive blessing from God in association with him.

From this we see that we also have the opportunity to participate by means of our intercessory prayer and be part of the work of evangelism when we offer intercessory prayer on behalf of evangelists and fellow believers.

Paul practiced the same protocol which we saw in our previous study a couple of weeks ago regarding the instructions TLJC gave his disciples in Luke 10:2b; when he sent them to evangelize the Jews regarding his being their Messiah.

Paul requested prayer for himself and he asked the believers to interceed for him so that he would be given opportunities to witness, courage to witness, and clarity in his witnessing.

Both TLJC and Paul concentrated their prayers on the building up of believers for the accomplishment of their mission. As believers are built up and prepared and sent into the harvest, evangelism of unbelievers is inevitable.

Our intercessory prayers therefore should for the most part be directed go God on behalf of the saints who are witnessing rather than the unbelievers who will receive the witness. Towards the workers rather than the harvest.

It is not wrong to ask God for the salvation of an unbelieving loved one. Paul prayed for the salvation of his Jewish countrymen in Rom 10:1; but he knew for the most part it was a lost cause. Rom 10:2-3; because of their negative volition toward the Grace of God. Rom 9:16;

It is impossible for God to answer a prayer that requests that their volition be coerced because it would violate his integrity, however we can pray that events would occur in their lives that would remove the blindness that Satan has over them and open their spiritual eyes to the truth of the Gospel of salvation by Grace through faith alone in Christ alone and that they be given the opportunity to hear it presented accurately and at the right time in their lives.

It is in accord with the God's word to pray that God would send Spirit-led believers across the path of that loved one at the right time with the right information spoken boldly wih clarity and accuracy.

An example of prayer that led to effective evangelism is found in Watchman Nee's book entitled "Sit, Walk, Stand" where he describes a preaching mission to an island off the South China coast.

There were seven in the ministering group, including a sixteen-year-old new convert whom he calls Brother Wu.

The island was fairly large, containing about 6,000 homes. Nee had a contact there, an old schoolmate of his who was headmaster of the village school, but he refused to house the group when he discovered they had come to preach the Gospel. Finally, they found lodging with a Chinese herbalist, who became their first convert.

Preaching seemed quite fruitless on the island, and Nee discovered it was because of the dedication of the people there to an idol they called Ta-wang. They were convinced of his power because on the day of his festival and parade each year the weather was always near perfect.

“When is the procession this year?” young Wu asked a group that had gathered to hear them preach.
“It is fixed for January 11th at 8 in the morning,” was the reply.
“Then,” said the new convert, “I promise you that it will certainly rain on the 11th.”

At that there was an outburst of cries from the crowd: “That is enough! We don’t want to hear any more preaching. If there is rain on the 11th, then your God is God!”

Watchman Nee had been elsewhere in the village when this confrontation had taken place. Upon being informed about it, he saw that the situation was serious and called the group to prayer.

On the morning of the 11th, there was not a cloud in the sky, but during grace for breakfast, sprinkles began to fall and these were followed by heavy rain.
Worshipers of the idol Ta-wang were so upset that they placed it in a sedan chair and carried it outdoors, hoping this would stop the rain. Then the rain increased. After only a short distance, the carriers of the idol stumbled and fell, dropping the idol and fracturing its jaw and left arm.

A number of young people turned to Christ as a result of the rain coming in answer to prayer, but the elders of the village made divination and said that the wrong day had been chosen. The proper day of the procession, they said, should have been the 14th.
When Nee and his friends heard this, they again went to prayer, asking for rain on the 14th and for clear days for preaching until then. That afternoon the sky cleared and on the good days that followed there were thirty converts.

Of the crucial test day, Nee says: The 14th broke, another perfect day, and we had good meetings. As the evening approached we met again at the appointed hour. We quietly brought the matter to the Lord’s remembrance. Not a minute late, His answer came with torrential rain and floods as before.

The power of the idol over the islanders was broken; the enemy was defeated. Believing prayer had brought a great victory. Conversions followed. And the impact upon the servants of God who had witnessed His power would continue to enrich their Christian service from that time on.

This is the kind of intercessory prayer that could be answered because it did not violate anyone's volition. It was simply a request that the false god of the unbelievers would be exposed and while the unbelievers were in a state of disillusion, the Gospel could penetrate their blindness which had been imposed by satan.

These positive believers who had been be built up, and equipped for witnessing, believers who had the courage to speak boldly and with accuracy, were instrumental in creating an open door through prayer which resulted in many being saved.

When we analyze our own situations we can pray in similar ways and those prayers will be answered because It is God's desire that all men be saved. 1Tim 2:4; that is the reason he sent his uniquely born Son. John 3:16-17;

Paul's intercessory prayers show a deep concern for believer's spiritual growth and well-being. Paul's great desire is to see believers advance in doctrine and experience all the benefits that the spiritiual life in Christ can provide.

Our prayers often tend to focus on the temporal details of life, but Paul's prayers focus on the spiritual priorities.

Rom 1:8-12; records Paul's prayers for the Roman believers who he wanted to visit but who were a long way away. (It is believed that Paul wrote Romans while he was in Corinth) Paul prayed for believers who he knew and those he did not know.

"unceasingly" Rom 1:9; indicates that Paul had a disciplined prayer life. He made it clear that he never neglected the believers in Rome when he prayed.

He expresses this same idea in his letters to other churches:

To the believers at Corinth: 1 Cor 1:4;

To the believers at Ephesus : Eph 1:16;

To the believers at Phillipi: Phil 1:3, 4;

He made it clear that each local assembly was always on his mind and always in his prayers.

Rom 1:10; When he wrote this letter, Paul's contact with the believers in Rome had only been by word of mouth. He had heard about their faith, as had other Christians throughout the Roman Empire (Rom. 1:8). Paul had been praying for the opportunity to visit this church and to become personally involved in their lives.

One of the benefits of intercessory prayer for others is that it tends to establish a connection with them regardless of where they are. The more we pray for them, the greater our concern for them.

It is natural for us to be concerned for our own interests, intercessory prayer for others helps us become concerned for the interest of others. Phil 2:3-4;

Rom 1:11: Net note 35 Paul wanted God to work through him to help the believers in Rome advance in their spiritual life.

Rom 1:12; Paul recognizes that believers are are interdependent. Each of us needs the the function of the spiritual gifts God has given to others.

Each of us serves and is served,

This first of the recorded prayers in Paul's letters and it teaches us at least three important things about intercessory prayer:

(1) We should be consistent in praying for belivers who live beyond the horizon of our own lives.

(2) We need to consider developing a worldwide prayer ministry, built on learning all we can about believers in other places.

(3) As we pray for others, God will give us a greater love for them.

2Cor 13:7-9; record's Paul's prayer for the Corinthian believers whom he had to correct. In his first letter to the church at Corinth, Paul dealt with a number of problems in the congregation. Many in Corinth responded to his instruction. Others refused to submit, challenging Paul's authority.

In his second letter, Paul shared many principles of spiritual leadership which were new to the Church Age.

The "weakness" which his critics accused Paul of was based on Paul's realization that he must depend on the ministry of God the Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of believers rather than manipulate or coerce them with pursuasive arguments. Col 2:4; Net note 7

Behavior which seemed to the Corinthians to mark "strong" leaders is inappropriate for ministers of Christ.

Paul warned the obstinate believers in Corinth who had rejected Bible Doctrine that he would not spare them when he returned. (2 Cor. 13:3) NET.

The word translated seeking is (ζητέω zeteo ) which in this context means to demand in a negative way for the purpose of disputing.

Paul would not force their submission, but Christ, who spoke through him would deal with them. Paul's intercessory prayer for the Corinthians is made in the context of their rejection of Bible Doctrine.

2Cor 13:7; Paul's concern was not that the Corinthians should recognize him, but that they should be living in the PPOG for their lives and advance by means of Bible Doctrine.

The word translated "wrong" is the Greek word (κακός kakos) which means evil Paul prays that they do not enter into the evil of reversionism because of their rejection of him. Paul's prayer was that they would advance in Bible Doctrine and not go into reversionism regardless of weather they accepted him or not.

He prayed that God would give them understanding that it was the message that was important not the man. Paul was praying that they would advance in the spiritual life no mater what.

Their doing "what is right" (living inside the PPOG) was the only thing that was important no matter what they thought of him.

2Cor 13:9b; "And this also we pray, that you may be made complete". The word translated "made complete" is ( κατάρτισις katartisis. ) which connotes the idea of "being restored." It was used originally of the setting of dislocated bones, which means to be "put right" or "restored".

Paul's ultimate concern was that the Corinthians would recover from their reversionism and be restored into the PPOG weather they accepted him or not.

Paul was not concerned that he was being slandered by them but he was concerned that the Corinthians were living in reversionism because they had rejected Bible Doctrine.

Paul's intercessory prayer was that they would be restored to the spiritual life reestablished inside the PPOG.

This is an example of how we can interceed for fellow believers that we know who have become offended or disillusioned and have abandoned the spiritual life and have reverted back to the cosmic system in some form.