Intercession: Pressing into Prayer

Mark 2:1-5, “A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home.  So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.  Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them.  Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on.  When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” – NIV

 Recently I went away on a men’s retreat and we discussed many of the challenges men face on a daily basis.  Each day someone was sharing a bit about their testimony.  This group of men had been through a lot.  On the last day we had a very brief session that ended with prayer.  We were charged to pray for the issues that were uncovered during the weekend and to pray for men who were not there that are dealing with the same things.  What resonated in my spirit in the midst of the prayer was to pray for men to return to their homes; the fathers and husbands who left because of whatever.  What was interesting for me was the fact that my father didn’t leave home.  I’m sure that after 39 years of marriage he had moments where he thought about it…but he stayed.  So why was I so moved to pray for this issue at the retreat?  I submit to you that as I listened to the 40 and 50+ year old men share the “still present pain” of being left, I began to care.  I was brought to tears in the prayer like it was my issue.  It took the stillness of a retreat to provoke me to pray for something I’ve known has been an issue for men forever.

I know we talked about compassion last month but honest intercession won’t happen without compassion.  This could be why the Intercessory Prayer Ministry at most churches isn’t even a tenth of a percent of the population at the church.  We are so bogged down with our own issues that we don’t have time to pray for someone else.  Oh yeah we’ll pray for healing if we are sick and while we’re sick we’ll pray for everybody who’s sick to get well but while I’m running and jumping…am I really thinking about the kid on crutches?  Now we might think we are doing something because we are praying for people who are unemployed but the reality is, in this economy of course we are praying for the unemployed because we realize that tomorrow it could be us!  The question that is on my heart is how often are we praying for something that doesn’t directly affect us?

The word Intercession has a couple of Greek roots depending on how it is used but there is a consistent theme across the meanings.  First we find, “a lighting upon, meeting with; a conversation; a petition”. This is a technical term for approaching a king, and so for approaching God in “intercession;” it is rendered “prayer” (i.e., seeking the presence and hearing of God on behalf of others).  As I prayed about what to share, the Lord brought back to my mind the story in Mark 2 of Jesus at Capernaum.

If you recall the story you realize that in Mark 2:12, after the debate with the “teachers of the law”, that this man was healed but what I want to deal with real quickly is the process that got this paralyzed man to deliverance and how it relates to intercessory prayer.

First let’s deal with the issue of where Jesus was in relation to where the man was who was lying on the mat.  The four men saw their paralyzed friend and got the Denali, loaded the man in the back and drove from wherever they were to Jesus right?  No, they walked with this man on a mat.  No one knows how much he weighed but it doesn’t say it was a paralyzed boy so we can assume this was a full grown man.  We don’t know how far they had to walk either but if by the time they got there it was standing room only; it’s safe to assume the walk wasn’t around the corner.  One challenge with intercessory prayer is the lack of energy to pray.  Statistics say now that most people can attest to being overextended and the Barana Group reports that Christians are just as overwhelmed as those who don’t claim the faith.  From the time I leave for work till I get home is roughly 10-12 hours a day.  Now if I got home and chilled that would be one thing but I have two kids, a baby and an 8 year old and my wife works at night…think I’m done working when I get home?  Somebody is reading this and saying, “You think that’s something, try walking in my shoes” and that’s my point.  To even get to the place of prayer we have to press.

Next Jesus was inside of a house and people were crowding in around him.  One of the best analogies I can think of is going to the hottest club back in the day when a celebrity was in town.  Maybe you didn’t do clubs but the atmosphere would be crowded from the inside out.  The club had a fire code and at a point when they reached capacity, no one was admitted until someone left.  Now if it was the hot star of the day, you waited outside until someone left…however long that took.  I imagine the same was true for Jesus.  The crowds came for the miracles.  Let’s be honest, people had needs and once their need was met they listened but what brought many to the house was their ailments and they were not going anywhere until their issue was resolved.  Since the followers of Christ “house” the Holy Spirit, can we think of our brains as that house?  All of the issues of our own lives would be represented by the people crowding in.  Truthfully couldn’t you pray all day about your laundry list of issues?  When someone comes to you with their stuff your noble heart truly desires to pray for them but if you don’t take a moment to pray right then or write it down to pray later the chances are…you’ll forget because of all your stuff.  Sally sits in the cube next to you and just got laid off…at first you want to pray for her but then reality hits, that you could be next.  “I love you Sally but Jesus cause them to passover my cube cause I can’t hardly pay my mortgage now and I got a car payment, the electric is due, I gotta get the plumbing fixed and Johnny needs shoes and….”  That’s the reality.  Once we press pass our tiredness, we have to press past self focus.

Finally the men realized that standing outside was getting no where so they carried the man on top of the roof and began to tear up the roof of the house to lower the man in.  Wow!  Let’s visualize for a moment.  Everyone is in line and these four cats decide to go up the side of the house.  Can’t you imagine, “Hey, what are y’all doing?  Don’t go butting in line?” What about from the house as they were tearing the roof off, “What is that?  Are you crazy?”  Even in the midst of prayer you have to battle the adversary.  He’s bringing more issues and more challenges to distract you and that is when you must keep your face like a flint.

What I got from this story is the fact that if we are going to be effective in praying for one another we must take the time to make a concerted effort to reach the goal.  It is not going to be easy but we need to care enough about someone else that our own issues take a back seat.  Remember, the end result is that the four men were successful and their friend’s issue was resolved.  They were fervent in effort and God honored their press!