On the Need for Intercession

Reflecting on the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost: One Day after Sunday (Year A)

Scripture (semicontinuous)

Psalter: Psalm 28

Old Testament: Genesis 37:29-36

Epistle: 2 Peter 2:4-10

Scripture (complementary)

Psalter: Psalm 18:1-19

Old Testament: Genesis 7:11—8:5

Epistle: 2 Peter 2:4-10

___

Prayer

Hear our prayers, God of power, and through the ministry of your Son free us from the grip of the tomb, that we may desire you as the fullness of life and proclaim your saving deeds to all the world. Amen. (Revised Common Lectionary)

___

Reflection

To you, O Lord, I call;

    my rock, do not refuse to hear me,

for if you are silent to me,

    I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.

Hear the voice of my supplication,

    as I cry to you for help,

as I lift up my hands

    toward your most holy sanctuary.

Do not drag me away with the wicked,

    with those who are workers of evil,

who speak peace with their neighbors

    while mischief is in their hearts.

Repay them according to their work

    and according to the evil of their deeds;

repay them according to the work of their hands;

    render them their due reward.

Because they do not regard the works of the Lord

    or the work of his hands,

he will break them down and build them up no more.

Blessed be the Lord,

    for he has heard the sound of my pleadings.

The Lord is my strength and my shield;

    in him my heart trusts;

so I am helped, and my heart exults,

    and with my song I give thanks to him.

The Lord is the strength of his people;

    he is the saving refuge of his anointed.

O save your people and bless your heritage;

    be their shepherd and carry them forever (Psalm 28).

If Psalm 28 if written by David as the superscription of the psalm may indicate, then David is lamenting on behalf of his people. In the ancient world, the king represents the people. As the king goes so goes the nation. If the king is righteous, the nation will benefit from his righteousness. If not, the nation will be judged based on the king’s shortcomings. It is not possible in the ancient world to draw a sharp line between those who lead and those who are subject.

The lament of the king is also a lament on behalf of the people. “To you, O Lord, I call; my rock, do not refuse to hear me.” This is a plea for God to hear, the king and the people. This lament is intercessory in nature.

Intercessory prayer on behalf of others is a necessary practice. When we ask others to pray for us and when we pray for others, we are interceding on their behalf. This practice is as old as the people of Israel. My prayers are not just about me and what I want, but they are about what others need. Daily prayer should have an interceding character. Intercessory prayer is a reminder that God is not only at work in my life, but in the lives of others.

Interceding for others gives us a larger vision of what prayer is about. It also gives us an empathy for others that we may not have had apart from our prayers for them. In his High Priestly Prayer in chapter John chapter 17, Jesus intercedes for his disciples and for all those who will come after. Jesus is our example of intercessory prayer.

This is one more way in which we reflect the character of Jesus.

PRAYER: O God, from whom all good proceeds: Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)

___

Check out my Amazon author page here.