28 July 2013 - unceasing intercession

28 July 2013 - unceasing intercession

Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.

The LORD is trying to help us to have hearts for his people like his heart for his people.  He is teaching us to take responsibility for them in our prayers.  We acknowledge that salvation, for others and for ourselves, all comes from the LORD.  But if we listen today we have the sobering realization that he pours out that salvation to the degree that we ask him for it.

“See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord,
though I am but dust and ashes! 

The LORD only bothers to make Abraham aware of the plight of Sodom and Gomorrah because he wants this response from him.  Note how patient he is no matter how many times Abraham petitions him.

“Please, let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up this last time. 
What if there are at least ten there?” 

And indeed he does not grow angry.  Humanly, it seems like a pretty frustrating conversation.  But we may imagine that God is actually growing happier and happier each time Abraham petitions him.  What happens if Abraham goes further?  We cannot know.  Perhaps Sodom and Gomorrah would still exist today.  The LORD truly desires a level of persistence in prayer that humanly would be very annoying.

he will get up to give him whatever he needs
because of his persistence.

We begin to realize why he wants us to be so persistent when we see in the Our Father the magnitude of our responsibility in prayer.

Father, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.

If Jesus tells us to pray these things it must be because God's name won't be hallowed and his kingdom won't come to the same degree if we don't ask him for these things.

In the center of the Our Father, and indeed of all prayer, we find the transforming mercy of God.

and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,

We ourselves experience the saving power of God and so are responsible for spreading that mercy to all we encounter.  He is trying to give us hearts which long for God's mercy on those like ourselves who actually deserve his judgment.  This heart of mercy is something we share only imperfectly.  Only Jesus shows it to us in its purity.

having forgiven us all our transgressions;
obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims,
which was opposed to us,
he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross.

The Father longs to pour out his Spirit upon us when we ask.  Let us pray without ceasing (cf. 1 The 5:17) that we may have hearts full of mercy.  Let us join in the thanksgiving of the psalmist.

I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;