Thoughts for Life: #53 What Faithful, Committed Intercession Brings

C. Peter Wagner shares with us about the seriousness of faithful, committed intercessions, and what they bring.

"Charles G. Finney, one of the most effective evangelists of the last century, met Daniel Nash early in his ministry.

Nash became Finney's personal intercessor and would frequently travel with him and pray while Finney preached.

Known as 'Father Nash,' he gained a reputation for praying long and very loudly. It was said that when he prayed in the woods his voice could be heard throughout the surrounding countryside.

To get more up to date, visitors to the museum in the Billy Graham Center on the campus of Wheaton college in Illinois will see a picture of one of Billy Graham's prayer partners, Pearl Goode.

Graham himself attributes much of the evangelistic power of his ministry to Pearl Goode' s faithful intercession.

No question exists in the minds of those who have experienced it; committed, faithful intercession brings increased spiritual power to Christian ministries.

Why is it, then, that so few ministers utilize it? I believe there are five important reasons for this:

#1. Ignorance. I have no doubt that ignorance is the number one culprit for our lack of plugging into personal intercession.

The great majority of Christian leaders just have not thought about it.

Although it is nothing new either biblically or historically, it is simply absent from the day-by-day thought patters of most Christian leaders.

I would receive letter after letter like this one from a pastor in Upland, California: 'Following your exhortation on personal intercession, I now have 7 prayer partners praying for me daily. I am seeing a difference in my life! Thank you.'

I realized that more than anything else, I was rolling back a cloud of ignorance.

Intercession is not thought of. [Wagner gives examples of minister failures, sighted in several publications.]

"Among the better known authors are David Semands, Arch Hart, Bill Hybels and Chuck Smith, leaders of peerless wisdom and integrity.

I could not find in all of this material a single mention of prayer as a preventative.

In the same Leadership journal, Randy Alcorn wrote an article, 'Strategies to Keep from Falling,' suggesting nine preventative measures, none of which is receiving personal intercession.

To summarize, it does not seem to occur to these leaders, whose stature is so widely respected, to advocate personal intercession as one of the means for preventing pastors from falling into sexual immorality. Why?

It apparently simply never occurred to them.

This is what I mean when I say that ignorance is the number one reason why we have not been using personal intercession as we should."

Today’s post-

#53 What Faithful, Committed Intercession Brings, in the series taken from C. Peter Wagner’s book, PRAYER SHIELD, How to intercede for pastors, Christian leaders and others on the spiritual frontlines.(pgs. 104-106)

(Wagner's other important reasons why church leaders don't have personal intercessors will be addressed in the following posts of mine.)

Let’s pray:

Father, let this be a lesson for all of us!

Impress upon us the importance of supporting our spiritual leaders with daily prayer.

May we not allow ignorance to prevail in our lives. Cause us to be mindful of their needs, and simply pray for them with heartfelt support.

We pray in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Today’s prayer for pastors-

“Praise God for your pastor’s leadership and pray that he will make godly decisions. Pray that he will lead with a shepherd’s hear, and that he will always speak the truth in love. (1 Kings 3:9; 1 Pet. 5:2; Rom. 12 6-8; Jer. 3:15)
www.LifeAction.org

Today’s Bible verse-

(Ps. 73:28) "But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works."

Today’s quote-

Beth Hassler – “Faith is giving control to God. Taking life in stride assumes the watchful eye of a heavenly Father, a caring Son, and the Spirit’s power. Let’s resolve to be people of faith. Life can be lived in stride instead of in striving.”

Some thoughts today-

Get it in your spirit: God is on the Move! The Holy Ghost goes before us! Be in agreement with your church leaders' vision. Why not here, why not now? Help your church plunder the enemies!

- God's going to cause the fire to flame up in you! He wants to pour in His power. Scriptures will come alive!

- If God says you'll make it, you'll make it, my friend! Agree with Him in the vision He has for you. You have great value to God! It's time to enter the rest of God. He has a hold, and He won't let go!

16th- Thursday’s post-  #54 Rugged Individualism
C. Peter Wagner

18th- Saturday's post- God Stands in the Gap
Ellen Romig

19th- Sunday's post-  Hope for Skeptics
Randy Kilgore

Sunday evening's post-  Sexual Immorality
Tammie Johnson

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