Today is the National Day of Prayer this May 5, 2o11. This the 60th year for it, a celebration to many. Many services, prayer meetings and ceremonies are being held to pray. Many is the request from people that we know or are acquainted with to pray. Prayer for sick, prayer for the lost, prayer for problems, prayer for marriages, for children and other family, pray for churches, pastors, leadership and other entities. Upon this thought of praying over so much, there came this reading to me on 'When Prayer Fails'.
Rees Howell has been taken to a new level in his prayer life to pray for 'Every Creature' on earth to be saved and reached. It is 1936, and Hitler is flexing his muscle to overtake Europe. Britain has sent troops to the Rhineland to protect and fight Hitler. On March 21, Rees Howell and his prayer partners gather for 5 to 6 times of prayer per day over the next 9 days. And on March 29, he stands in front of those that had been praying for 9 days and says, 'Prayer has failed. We are on slippery ground. Only intercession will avail.' And scores of those there surrender and give themselves to this new battle of intercession.
I think between Elijah falling on his knees and praying we see that for 6 times prayer failed. But the 7th time intercession prevailed. Prayer is a very general word in regards to us calling upon the Lord. There are many aspects and avenues of prayer. There is confession, there is worship/praise/adoration, there is supplication, petitions, requests, thanksgivings and then there is intercession. Worship is the highest level of closeness to God, a person is at one with God who is simply adoring and 'looking unto Jesus'. Their thoughts, requests and heart is put on hold, so that they may be one with Him, as Christ was One with the Father. It was said of Tozer, that he could easily go into his study and stay hours upon hours, simply adoring God. No requests, no confessions, not even words, just simply adoring in awe. But the most strenounous, exhausting, time consumeing labor is intercession.
Intercession is usually the most urgent and intense time because of the situation or experience. For Rees Howell, war in Europe was at stake, and they was pushed far beyond saying a prayer, 'Lord, please don't let war come.' There was something bigger and deeper at hand. Hitler was a pawn of Satan. They must attack in their prayers Hitler and Satan. 'Tearing down stronghold' that are operated and conceived by Satan and his horde of demon followers. They seek to undo the glory of God and His works. The church is required to fight and prevail against Satan. 'Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.' Elijah, had been led of the Lord, to speak that there would be no rain. And there was no rain for 3 1/2 years. Now the sin of Baal had been put down. Sin has to be dealt with before God can be glorified. The only thing that remained was the need for rain. Drough was horrible; crops, livestock, whole families and cities were in need for water.
Here is our mentality of weakness. How many do you think prayed for rain? I think anytime disaster hits, and calamities are at hand, people pray. They say a general prayer that covers very little and accomplishes even less. I think many prayed, 'God, please send us rain.' And that was the extent of it. That was not enough. Even Elijah, had to stay and labor on his knees until it was granted. The cloud the size of a man's hand in a barren sky was suffecient. He didn't get it by simply lifting up his eyes unto heaven and saying, 'Lord, let it rain.' He could have. God is able to such and has done such. No, he had to get down and stay unil it broke. Intercession is the one that gets down and stays until it breaks forth.
Very few knwo or taught this great work of labor in prayer. They have been taught to pray. 'Just say your prayers and hopefully everything will work out.' We have a nation and a church full of such thinking and actions of praying. EVen this day, many who don't normally pray, may say a prayer. but what does it accomplish? God is able to take any prayer and make something of it. He is God and can do all things. But let us not trivalize God, when He says very clearly in many Scriptures, there are prerequistes to having prayer answered. And so we have a nation and a church that says prayers, but sees so little done by praying. And the reason is that we do not meet the standards that God says.
Let us look at some of these standards and then move forward to the great need fo today which is a role of intercession. The first standard is the issue of sin in a believers life. 'If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.' We have the first rejection of prayer. Many say, 'Oh, but I pray.' It is has nothing to do whether you pray, does the Lord hear you is the issue. Here we see, pray all you want, but if sin or sins are ruling and reigning, it is vanity. Elijah could pray and prevail because he was right with the Lord. The rest of Israel had been praciticing sin of idolatry. Pray all they want for rain, God would not hear them. He heard Elijah. Many praying today, heathen and Christian, but sin is found in our land, in our churches, in our homes and in our lives. Our prayers will not be heard.
Another standard, humility. 'If My people which are called by My Name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; . . .' As you see the order here, humble then pray. We are a proud people. I like the way Duncan Campbell says it, 'Put pride in your pockety.' Oh, this is what we need; put pride in your pocket. Get on your knees. Where was Elijah? Down on his knees with his face in between his legs. Get down, and quit standing up thinking more of yourself than what we are. A spirit of humility needs to grip the church for their pride and arrogance of 'what we have done'. We dishonor God by touted our great accomplishments, means and methods. And we are left with many unanswered, lost people because we think we did our duty by saying our prayers while we had sin and pride.
Lest you think, I am too harsh and critical upon the nation and church. Let us look for a moment at our present condition with all this pray going on. Greg Frizzell is noted as saying often, 'With a prayer movement over the last 30 years going up; our morality and condition sof sin has gone even higher.' With more prays being said, there are more lost people in America than ever before, nearly 250 million. With more praying, there have been more divorces, sometimes 2 or 3 for the same families and individuals. With more praying, churches are less attended and active. With more praying, tragedies and calamites are greater. With more praying, our present world condition is not better but far worse. With more praying, sin is more wicked and more vile than ever before with sexual sin, perversions and practices. With more praying, suicide is at an all time high. Need I go on? Do we not see that prayer and prayer alone is not doing it? There is something missing and wrong with our general, low key style of simply saying prayer. It is the need for intercession of holy men and women that will prevail on all these conditions.
Surely we must see that our present condition is far worse than many other times. surely we must see that this so-called prayer movement today is not the same as the 100 year Moravian movement of prayer that launcehd a great outreach of missions, theology and uprising of true christianity. surely we must see that this prayer movement of today is nothing compared to the 10 days of prayer in Jerusaleum before Pentecost. WE must understand that this 'saying prayers' is not enough against the evil forces of hell and Satan. There must be a deeper, holier, faithful style of intercession to come before God and not let go until He stretches forth His right hand and says, 'It is given'. Elijah did not get up until the cloud appeared on the 7th time. Faith is absolutely needed. Unbelief is anothe standard that limits and hinders the work of prayer in many a life. They say it in their prayer, but they do not believe it.
And becuase the need is so great and the current pray is not achieving its goal, then there must be something missing. There must be something else, something more. And that answer is found in intercession. When a soul comes before God, humble, knowing they have no claim or right to proceed other than what God has given, they are not full of pride or self-rightouesness, they are where they are supposed to be. Brought low before His most precious feet at the throne of God. The role of the intercessor is put upon the one that knows the value of end results. What I mean by 'end results' is the conclusion of it. If you don't prevail for a marriage it will end in divorce; if you don't prevail over a lost soul, they will perish in hell for ever; if you don't previal for a nation, God will destroy it or remove it. These are end results with the worst of endings. The intercessor knows the resposniblity of bearing up such a need before God. For God is the only One that can do anything about it.
Elijah prayed and prevailed because there was no one else. Yes, there was 7,000 that had not bowed down to Baal, but he was the one anointed to bear it up. Rees Howell and his group, saw the need to confront Hitler on their knees. And they prevailed and Hitler signed the Munich accord. His own words was to Chamberlain, the British representative, 'You are the only one that I have ever made a concession.' It wasn't Chamberlain, it wasn't Hitler, it was the intercessors that had prevailed. It was Elijah's intercession that prevailed.
When Moses stood before the Lord, when God was ready to consume the people, Moses prevailed for the sake of an entire nation. The people of Israel were the children of Abrahamn, the one who was in covenant with God. But they had sinned, and God was ready to consume them. But Moses stood up with the burden and would not remove till it was given what he wanted. God moves such people at certain times for this very sake and reason. Pray all you want, little is accomplished and done. But get serious about prayer, and go into the role of intercessor and kingdoms, nations, hell itself is moved by the prayer. This is the great need of our time.
Turning to God several times a day; never letting the burden go, always chewing on your mind and heart. Seeking, searching, devouring the Word for promises and hopes that God will say and do that which the burden requires for His glory. This is the labor, this is the cry and the need. Who else can overturn such evil as the drug business today? Who else can stop the sins of this nation that grow worse by the day? Who else can save such hardened souls against the Gospel? Only One, that is God. And He desire to do it. What is the promise? 'The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughtout all the world, to show HImself strong toward them whose hearts are perfect toward Him.' Is your heart perfect? Do you have a burden? It isn't simple saying a prayer or making a request, it is a burden. Know that God is calling. 'And i sought for one to stand in the gap, to make up the hedge; but I could not find one.'
It is God's Divine will that He is wishing and willing to accomplish. He moves us for that reason. He moved Elijah to send rain; He moved Elijah to remove the sin of Baal and its dominance over the people; He moved Moses show that He might show His mercy and deliver them from His wrath; He moved Rees Howell to protect the nations; He moved Christ, as the great Intercessor for the souls in need of a Savior. It is God breathing out His Holy Desires upon the sons of men that they 'may know that there is a God, and His Name is the Lord God Almighty.' He is the One Who speaks to the dead tree and it lives; and speaks to the living tree and it withers up and dies, He is the Lord. (Ezekiel 17)
What is it that God is moving today within the heart and minds of those seeking and longing for Him? He desire to make Himself known to those very ones. How hungry they are! How thirsty they are! 'I will pour out My Spirit upon the dry and thirsty ground'. There is suffeciency in Him. How much we must learn that the poetic form of saying prayer must end and there must be a deeper burden carried and pursued for the sake His glory Names sake. 'Not by strength, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord.'
So here I say it, 'Prayer has failed, there is only intercession'.
To your knees; before His throne; broken and spilled out; and His glory poured out the children of men.
Continue. . .
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