Prayer
1 Samuel 12:16-25
Israel sinned by prematurely demanding God for a king in response to the threat of the Ammonites. They didn’t trust in the Lord for the deliverance so they thought it fit to be like the other nations and appoint a king to defend their nation.
When you realize how sin bankrupts your soul of intimacy with God, then you will know the power and necessity of intercession.
When we realize how naked, full of shame, and embarrassed we become in our sin, you will understand the power of intercession.
Israel confesses the guilt of their sin — believing they will die on the spot if left as is — and appeals to Samuel to intercede for them — to make them right with God again.
The guilty know they cannot acquit themselves. Beware of self-righteousness.
A clear delineation between the self-righteous and those who are righteous in Christ is a godly prayer life. The self-righteous Pharisee only prayed for themselves for their own praise and glory, but it is the humble beggar who begged for God’s mercy that walked away justified before God.
Verse 23 shows that the duty of the truly righteous is to remain in intercession. To not cease praying.
If you are truly in Christ, washed by the blood of the Lamb, and have no prayer life, I lovingly question the substance of your faith. I’m not saying it has to look a specific way — but if there’s no yearning in your heart to commune with your Savior, what saving faith is that?
Confession to Samuel. Samuel prays. God answers. Confession to God/one another. Jesus intercedes. God forgives.
Intercession is how we are able to be saved from sin (Hebrews 7:25).
Intercession is how we fight against sin in our community. We must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and his gospel, because without it, our sin damns us and we are left wretched and hopeless.
James 5:16 Ephesians 6:18-19
Being a life group that intercedes for one another — it’s a very practical way to support one another during a season of missions or a season of transition.
We sin and fall short. Truly. We offend God by repeating our sins. We hurt people.
But this is what community is for. We pray and intercede for one another on the basis of Christ’s perfect work on the cross. Not from our righteousness or virtue, but from His righteousness.
Pray for Ensenada missions. Pray for Julie’s Kazakhstan missions.
Pray for one another. Encourage each other.