So a major part of intercessory prayer is not only asking but looking for signs of God’s response. But we do believe God hears our prayers and responds to them in God’s wisdom, which is always for our good. No, God does not answer prayers exactly as we make them. Like all prayer, intercession is turning to God, in particular for our special needs. Intercessory prayer is all that and more. Finally, someone said, intercession raises our human thoughts to the divine. Asking God for something demonstrates God’s respect for our freedom. It expresses our communion with God and others. Intercession promotes our concern for one another, some said.
LYRICS ALONE WITH YOU JESUS SCHORN FULL
The liturgy is full of intercessory prayer, and so is our personal prayer.īut why do we do it beyond the fact that we’ve always done it? I once asked a group of deacon candidates this question. Jesus taught his disciples to pray by giving them the Lord’s Prayer, which includes petitions for daily bread, forgiveness, and protection from temptation. In other words, God gives us what we need. It was he who told his disciples: “Ask, and it will be given to you” (Luke 11:9). So how can people presume to ask God for something of which God is already aware? Doesn’t that attitude show a lack of trust in God? Or do we think God to be some dozing potentate who needs a nudge to consider granting a favor?ĭespite those questions, intercessory prayer has been part of Christian tradition since the beginning.
But in a way they imply a fair question: Why do we ask God for certain things to happen?Īfter all, God is all-knowing, right? God knows our needs and those of our community and the world. I am not sure what Jim Morrison had in mind when he wrote those lyrics. Back in the day, the rock band The Doors performed a song titled “Petition the Lord with Prayer.” Its refrain ran-in contrast to the title-“You cannot petition the Lord with prayer.”
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