ROGATE SUNDAY, 17 MAY 1998 UNIVERSITY LUTHERAN CHAPEL, MINNEAPOLIS
+Jesu Juva+
THE PRAYING CHURCH I Timothy 2:1-6
Jesus says, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you" (John 16:23b). In today's Epistle Paul teaches us how to ask in Jesus' name, that is, how to pray. So we listen to God's Word in order that we might learn how to speak to Him in prayer. Paul mentions four types of prayer: supplications, prayers (petitions), intercessions, and thanksgiving. Today we will focus especially on intercessions.
To intercede is to make a request to God on behalf of another person. We can intercede because we have a Lord who has made intercession for us. We have the Man, Christ Jesus, who, as our epistle says, is the "one Mediator between God and men." We can make intercessions for others before God because Christ Jesus has reconciled us to the Father and in Him we have access to the throne of grace. When we engage in intercessory prayer we are making use of the holy privilege which God has granted to His children as He invites us to come into His presence with all boldness and confidence.
The nature of intercession can be clearly seen in today's Old Testament Reading. The people of Israel had defiled themselves by false worship. They had fashioned a golden calf and, setting aside the liturgy of faith which God had given them, they worshipped the calf instead. It was dynamic, celebratory worship. It was culturally relevant and it drew a big crowd. But it was idolatry - the worship of a false god. The true God is a jealous God, that is, He will not share His people with the competition. So God says to Moses, "let Me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them." But Moses does not let God alone. No, Moses uses his standing with God to mediate between God and His people. On the one hand, Moses has favor in God's eyes and He will not let go of God. On the other hand, Moses does not join God in His condemnation of Israel. "Thus he stands in solidarity with God in His grace and with his people in their sin. He will not disassociate himself from either of them. Rather he uses his favored position with God for the well-being of his people and assumes responsibility for their sins to the point that he where he would be happy to be damned for them" (Kleinig).
Now note what Moses does in his intercessory prayer. On the basis of God's own character and promises, Moses pleads with the Lord to spare His people. In other words, Moses speaks to the Lord God on the basis of who God is and what He has revealed about Himself by delivering His people from their enemies. To use the words of Luther, Moses rubs the promises of God in His own ears. Moses prays, "Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self." The Lord heard Moses' prayer and granted his request. The people of Israel were spared, forgiven, and restored to fellowship with God.
Moses could have separated Himself from his people. After all, he was not with them when they turned their backs on the Lord and made a false god for themselves. He could have said: "Too bad. It is not my problem." But clinging to His God by faith and holding on to his people in love, Moses doesn't take that route. Instead, he becomes an intercessor and mediator, thereby giving us a picture of the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here Moses demonstrates an important characteristic of intercessory prayer, that is, solidarity with those for whom we pray. We pray not merely for ourselves but we pray for others, on their behalf and as their representatives.
If we had Christian parents, they prayed for us long before we could pray for ourselves. They prayed for us as they brought us to Holy Baptism and they continued to pray for us as we were nurtured in the faith. As Christians we continue to pray for others who cannot or will not pray for themselves. Even when we forget to pray, we take comfort that there are others who are praying for us. We are reminded of this every time we pray for the Lord's Prayer for here we do not pray "My Father" but "Our Father." Martin Luther puts it like this: "Never think that you are kneeling or standing alone, rather think that the whole of Christendom, all devout Christians, are standing there beside you and you are standing among them in a common, united petition which God cannot disdain."
God desires that prayers "be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority," for prayers are for the benefit of the neighbor. When we pray we use our faith for their benefit and blessing. Notice how often in the Gospels people come to Jesus with a petition on behalf of someone else. The centurion comes with a request on behalf of his sick servant. Four men bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus with a petition for healing. A father begs Jesus to heal his epileptic son. A Canaanite woman implores Jesus to deliver her demon-possessed daughter. All of these are examples of faith talking to God on behalf of someone else. So intercessory prayer is an act both of faith and love. According to Jesus, we even love our enemies by praying for them!
The range of our intercessory prayer is all embracing. It is not just for "me and mine" as demonstrated in a prayer quoted by Martin Franzmann:
"Bless me and my wife, Son John and his wife; Us four, And no more."
No, our oneness with others determines our prayers. As members of Christ's Royal Priesthood, we are praying priests for the sake of our neighbors. As such we do have a spiritual responsibility for those people whom the Lord has placed in our lives. So we pray for our parents, our husband or wife, our children and other family members. We pray for friends and co-workers. Those we know most intimately are surely carried in our prayers.
But the circle expands to include the whole family of faith, the Church. So we pray for the pastor and other leaders and teachers in the church. We pray for the congregation and the church throughout the world. We often pray for brothers and sisters that we have never seen but they are brothers and sisters nevertheless, for they are one with us in Christ.
Our prayers, however, are broader than the church. Remember how the liturgy invites us to pray: "Let us pray for the whole people of God in Christ Jesus and all people according to their needs." All people. We pray even for those who do not believe that they need our prayers. We pray for our president and other government officials, not because we agree with everything they do, but because God has commanded us to pray "for kings and all who are in authority that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior." In our day many churches think that the churches need to be more politically involved, boycotting this or that organization or making a pronouncement on some social issue. The most direct way that God gives the church to be politically involved is prayer. We are to pray for our leaders. As church our greatest contribution to the world is simply prayer in which we lift our leaders to the Lord who in His almighty providence governs the whole universe.
We have confidence that the Father hears the prayers of His church, for we have a Mediator, the Man Christ Jesus. He is both Son of God and our Brother. Crucified for our sins, He was raised from death to give us life forever. He ascended into heaven where He lives and reigns as our Savior. His promise still stands: "Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." Amen.
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus to life everlasting. Amen.