82a) Pastoral Intercessory Prayer #1

Introduction to Pastoral Intercessory Prayer

0:02 Well, as some of you will remember from your last glance at the abstract of the pastoral theology course, we come now to the fifth major focus of concern with respect to the man of God laboring in the pastoral office. We have considered his calling to that office, his life in that office, his preaching ministry in that office, the work of oversight, government, and shepherding, and now we come to this fifth major part of the entire pastoral theology course, namely the prayer ministry, the intercessory prayer ministry of the man of God in the pastoral office.

0:44 And by way of introduction, let me say briefly that in dealing with the various aspects of pastoral responsibility, I have sought to emphasize again and again. Our utter dependence upon God's grace and enablement, and therefore the necessity of undertaking every facet of our responsibility in the spirit of prayerful dependence upon our God. And furthermore, in laying the foundation for all ministerial usefulness in the life of the man of God, I sought to impress you men with the necessity of attaining and maintaining what I call the habit and the spirit of prayer. The spirit of secret prayer.

1:29 However, in these lectures today, and God willing, next Friday, we are addressing a more limited and specific dimension of the prayer life of the man of God. And it is the specific, structured, disciplined labor of pastoral prayer or of ministerial intercession. Now, I'm quite aware of the fact it would be both unscriptural and contrary to the, to the normal experience of a spirit-filled man of God to attempt to put an air-tight compartmentalization of this duty.

2:07 Any true man of God, there will always be an interpenetration between prayer for the nurture of his own walk with God and prayer for the advancement of grace in his people. As he prays for wisdom in what to preach and how to preach it, he will find his heart drawn out. For the people to whom he is preparing to preach. And so, because of this constant interpenetration, we can't think of this as an air-tight compartmentalization of ministerial labor.

2:42 However, I'm prepared to assert and then attempt to demonstrate from the scriptures that there is a real distinction between our reading of the word of God for the specific purpose of feeding our own souls and our reading of the word of God for the purpose of feeding our own souls. And that study of the word which has as its focused, concentrated end preaching to others in the same way. There is a distinction between the prayers that are oriented primarily for our own advancement in grace and those prayers that are focused upon the advancement or conferral of grace with respect to those to whom we minister. And as I come then to this subject of this more limited area,

3:27 of intercession and prayer, the intercessory prayer ministry of the man of God in, and that should read in the pastoral office. We had some problems with the notes. The copy machine was gone, has gone down, and we had to do some last minute adjusting here. And I'll have these brought up to snuff and give you a new set, God willing, next week.

Personal Confession and Sermon Outline

3:50 And as I come to the subject, brethren, I am painfully aware, painfully aware of my own sinfulness. I have made many sins and failures in this crucial aspect of ministerial duty and privilege. And to be perfectly honest, every time I come around to this in the cycle of four years, I find myself drawing back and almost wishing that I would get sick and could play a tape from a past presentation of the material. Because I can't go through the material and read the passages as I've done in preparation for today without feeling overwhelmed with my own sinfulness.

4:27 And the most important thing is to remember that I have not done any sinfulness at all to the point that I can't remember I have done them. I've done them in the past in my ownzt of life, and I've done them with my own gross sins of omission in this very area. But because I've preached and taught that we don't make our own experience the measure of what we preach, I must, by God's help, seek to address you as I address myself of fresh and allow the Word of God to shape our thinking with respect to what I'm prepared to call biblical materials and the practical outworking of them we'll follow the outline that is printed in the abstract unit one of this material I've called the duty of ministerial intercessory prayer

5:10 and then secondly the dominant concerns of ministerial intercessory prayer and then in the lectures next week God willing the major hindrances to ministerial intercessory prayer and then we'll have some concluding matters in which we'll address briefly the subject of prayer in connection with fasting and prayer in connection with joining with our fellow elders in intercessory prayer first of all then we address the duty of ministerial intercessory prayer and as I attempt to persuade your judgment and secure the conviction of your conscience that ministerial intercession is indeed

The Pivotal Text: Acts 6:4

5:53 a duty as well as a privilege I shall use three categories of biblical argument first what I'm calling the pivotal text and then we'll look at general examples of spiritual leadership in the Old and New Testaments and that will probably take us through our first hour then we will look at our Lord Jesus as the supreme example and pattern of ministerial prayer and then we shall consider together in the third place yes our Lord the supreme example and then hopefully we will get to the dominant concerns but now the pivotal text Acts 6 and verse 4 we had occasion to look at Acts 6 in connection

6:37 with our study of the office of deacon but now I want to come back to the passage and focus particularly and exclusively upon this text as the watershed text in setting forth the fundamental duty of ministerial intercession verse 4 we will continue steadfastly in prayer and in the ministry of the word and I've given you the outline of the way in which we'll handle the text first of all and very briefly the problem you remember that the problem is identified in verse 1 in those days when the number of the disciples was multiplying there

7:22 arose a murmuring of the Grecian Jews against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration it was a problem rooted in the fact that up until now the apostles themselves were apparently administering this internal benevolence of the church at Jerusalem remember back in chapter 4 verses 32 to 35 we have this amazing account of the unusual spiritual unity of this multitude of believers the great power that was resting upon the witness of the apostles but great grace that was resting upon them all

8:03 and then the description of this voluntary spirit directed uh... some say we have incipient communism but it's not that at all there was a process going on in which those who had need the need was made known and there was a response to that need within the fellowship and family of the people of God and verse 35 says that when this process was going on that they laid them that is the return that they got from the land and possessions that were sold laid them at the apostles' feet and distribution was made unto each according as anyone had need and there's no indication that apart from perhaps

8:44 assigning this task ad hoc to some in its uh... particular details the indication is that the apostles were administering this benevolence and so the problem arises men as the community of the people of god gross and there is this at least accusation of preferential treatment for the widows the problem well become such that it must be addressed and that brings us secondly then to the judgement of the apostles as recorded in verse two and the crowd of what the multitude of the disciples on to the mid ascend it is not fit got

9:24 to us that we should forsake the word of God and serve tables. Lenski's translation captures the force of the original. He translates it, it does not please us that we, having forsaken the word of God, keep ministering to tables. Now the word for forsake is the word used in Matthew 19.5 with

9:49 regard to the institution of marriage. A man shall forsake, shall leave his father and his mother and cleave to his wife. Luke 5.28 concerning Levi, that when the Lord called him, he forsook all.

10:03 There's the same word that is used. It is the word katalipo, and it's found here in an aorist participial form, and then it's followed by the infinitive. So what they are saying is it is not pleasing to us. Having forsaken the word of God to serve tables. This forsaken had in a relative sense already

10:28 taken place, and they found themselves caught up in that which they now judge to be a forsaking of the word of God in order to serve tables. They saw that the need had pushed them into an unacceptable situation. It is not pleasing to us. I read, At the first the apostles shouldered this extra task without much difficulty, but now it had grown to undue proportions and interfered with their essential work. The fact that some widows were

11:03 thus overlooked was not the only evil result. The apostles point to one that is still worse. They're being forced into a task that really does not belong to their office. This point is worth noting.

11:19 The theory that all offices in the church are derived from one's central office and really constitute parts of it finds no support here. This theory has led to such ideas that when the janitor rings the bell, sweeps the church, lights the lamps, he's only substituting for the pastor. The apostles have a different view and clearly state what the obligation of the Christian ministry is. Other tasks may arise, but these are extraneous to be turned over to other hands.

11:49 The apostles were not delegating a part of their divine office to others. They could not. They had no power to confer apostolic office upon others. They were relinquishing tasks that were not a part of this office that were interfering with the function of that office. To be sure, these tasks, too, need to be performed, but this necessity does not make them a part of the divinely instituted office of apostles and subordinates.

12:19 subsequently, of pastors. So the judgment of the apostles is, it is not pleasing to us. Why? Because we see it antithetical to our true and legitimate calling.

12:32 Then they offer, thirdly, the proposed solution. The church, already having been gathered, they propose that seven adult males, the Greek word is andras, seven adult males be selected by the congregation in order to delegate the task of table-serving to them. Look out, therefore, brethren, from among yourselves, seven men of good report, full of the spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. That proposed solution is set before the congregation, and then it is followed by the definitive determination of the apostles.

13:13 The definitive determination of the apostles, we will continue steadfastly in prayer and the ministry of the word. It was a settled commitment to continue in these two fundamental activities. The verb proskartereo is the same as we have found in Acts 2.42 and 2.46,

13:39 and there the significance is clear. Acts 2 and verse 46. And day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple, breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart. Verse 42, they continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship in the breaking of bread and in prayers.

14:05 Now, it's significant that this verb is found in Acts 1.14, in Romans chapter 12 and verse 12, and in Colossians 4.2 in direct connection with prayer. Acts 1.14 of the pre-Pentecostal activity

14:23 of the 120, these all with one accord continued steadfastly in prayer. And it's almost as though that becomes almost a technical phrase so that when Paul writes to the church at Rome in Romans 12 and verse 14, bless them that persecute you, bless and curse not, I'm sorry, it's verse 12, Romans 12.12. Did I say 12.14?

14:51 It's 12.12, I'm sorry. Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, here's our verb again, continuing steadfastly in prayer. And then the same emphasis in Colossians chapter 4 and verse 2, continue steadfastly in prayer.

15:10 When used with the dative, a specific thing, it means to be busy with that particular thing, to be engaged in, to be devoted to. And in each of these usages, in connection with prayer, te prosuche, it clearly means the activity of prayer. And how in the world Lenski says that it means worship, I'll never know. It's one of those things where Lenski will throw a curve at you and you wonder where he found the seams on his baseball to get his curve.

15:43 It's throwing a curve with a seamless baseball. You can throw a knuckleball without seams, but I don't think you can throw a curve. There's nothing to bite into the air when you put the spin on it. And the passage obviously means what the analogy of Scripture as well as the use of the words and the very structure indicates that they are determined in this definitive determination of their activity to continue steadfastly in prayer and in the deaconing, not of tables, but in the deaconing of the word.

16:18 Therefore, these apostles, as the pastors of the Jerusalem church and of the universal church, set the priority of all who follow them, not in the extraordinary office of the apostle, which is not conferred in succession. When the last apostle died, there are no more apostles, but the function of shepherding the people of God that now devolves upon pastors and teachers, elders, overseers, bishops. That task is to be marked by a giving of oneself to prayer and to the ministry of the word. Then we see the implementation of their directive in verses 5 and 6.

17:00 And the saying pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch, whom they set before the apostles. And when they had brought the apostles, they laid their hands upon them. The implementation of this directive was one in which there was some kind of corporate action by the church. And as we said last week, we wish that the Spirit of God had caused Luke to give us a lot more details so that we would have a more fulsome paradigm of how leadership incorporates

17:44 the cooperation of the people of God in identifying men for leadership. But all we're going to do all we know is that the text tells us that the whole multitude was pleased with this articulation of the definitive determination of the apostles and cooperated with them in identifying these seven men. And then they set them before the apostles and they lay their hands upon them a formal ratification of the choice of the people by a visible conferral of responsibility by the laying on of their hands. Then we have finally in verse 7, the blessed result.

18:22 And here again, the Spirit of God moving Luke of all the things we wish he had recorded. The things he does record are of great significance. Notice verse 7 begins with a conjunction. And there is a relationship between the first six verses and now that which follows.

18:40 And the word of God increased. What word? That word to which the apostles say we're going to give ourselves in conjunction with steadfast continuance in prayer. And the word of God increased.

18:55 And the number of disciples multiplied in Jerusalem exceedingly. And a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. Surely this historical incident, brethren, is the pivotal text forever establishing the duty of ministerial intercession by those set apart to do the work described in 1 Timothy 5.17, namely, to labor in the word and in doctrine.

Historical Witnesses to Acts 6:4

19:23 And the conclusion to which I have sought to bring you in our brief study of this text is not novel. And I want to quote three of the respected fathers of the past. First of all, John Owen from volume 16 in a wonderful section on the special duty of pastors beginning on page 74. He asked the question, what are the duties of the pastor?

19:50 And he puts as the first, the first and principal duty of a pastor is to feed the flock by diligent preaching of the word. And then he goes on to support that for two and a half, almost three full pages. But now listen to him on page 77. The second duty of a pastor toward his flock is continual fervent prayer for them.

20:18 And then he lists eleven texts to support his assertion. Then he writes, taking up the language of Acts 6 and verse 4, we will give ourselves continually to prayer. And now these words that strike as an arrow to my heart every time I reflect upon them, even more so when I must re-read them to you men. Without this, that is continually giving ourselves to prayer, without this, no man can or doth preach to them as he ought, nor perform any other duty of his pastoral office.

21:01 He that doth constantly, diligently, fervently pray for them will have a testimony in himself of his own sincerity in the discharge of all other pastoral duties, nor can he voluntarily neglect or omit any of them. And as for those who are negligent herein, that is, in the duty of ministerial prayer, be their pains, labor, and travail in other duties be never so great. They may be influenced from other reasons, and so give no evidence of sincerity in the discharge of their office.

21:45 In this constant prayer for the church, which is so incumbent on all passions, as that whatsoever is done without it is of no esteem in the sight of Jesus Christ.

22:02 Brethren, those are searching words, but I would not know how to refute them. I would not know how to refute them. The validation of the sincerity of all our other labors is the labor in prayer for those to whom we minister that Christ may be formed in them. Calvin, I'm sorry, Owen, underscores then, using as his the first text that he had printed out after having a string of eleven texts is Acts 6 and verse 4 as setting the framework for our responsibility in this area.

22:40 Matthew Henry, in his own unique way, commenting on this passage in Acts, writes as his second head, What is the great business of gospel ministers to give themselves to prayer and to prayer and to the ministry of the word? They must still be either fitting and furnishing themselves for those services or employing themselves in them, either publicly or privately in the stated times or out of them. They must be God's mouth to the people in the ministry of the word and the people's mouth to God in prayer. In order to the conviction and conversion of sinners and the edification and consolation of the saints, we must not only

23:24 offer up our prayers, but we must minister the word to them, seconding our prayers with our endeavors in the use of appointed means. Nor must we only minister the word to them, but we must pray for them that it may be effectual, for God's grace can do all without our preaching. But our preaching can do nothing without God's grace. The apostles were endued with extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost, tongues and miracles, and yet that to which they gave themselves was continued preaching and praying by which they might edify the church.

24:00 And those ministers without doubt are the successors of the apostles, not in the plenitude of apostolical power, those are daring usurpers who pretend to this, but in the best and most excellent of the apostolic works, who give themselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. And such Christ will always be with, even to the end of the world. You see the beautiful balance? To pray, and not to preach is presumption.

24:28 God uses means. To preach and not to pray is wretched creature confidence. And then the third witness from the past, Calvin, in his commentary on Acts chapter 6, writes, It is not the case, therefore, that pastors are to think they've discharged their obligation if they've spent time each day in teaching. And there my heart smites me.

24:54 They'd look upon all of us as a bunch of sluggards if we weren't preaching somewhere every day.

25:00 Another endeavor, another ardor, another assiduity are all required so that they can properly pride themselves that they are exerting themselves in that task of teaching. They add prayer. Not because they are the only ones who ought to pray, for that's a practice common to all the godly, but because compared with others, they have special reasons for praying. Indeed, there is nobody who ought not to be concerned about the general welfare of the church, therefore ought not the pastor to strive all the more anxiously for it when those duties are expressly enjoined on him?

25:36 Thus Moses certainly urged others to pray, but he himself led the way like a standard bearer. And it is not for nothing that Paul makes mention of his own prayers so often. Finally, we ought to bear in mind always that we shall throw away our labor in plowing, sowing, and watering unless the increase comes from heaven. It will therefore not be enough to carry out the task of teaching strenuously if at the same time blessing is not being sought from the Lord so that the work may not be useless and unfruitful.

Old Testament Examples of Intercessory Leadership

26:11 For it is evident that it is not for nothing that zeal for prayer is commended to the ministers of the word. Owen, Henry, Calvin, make this direct line from our watershed passage in Acts 6 in verse 4 to the standing duty and responsibility of those in the pastoral office. But now we move from this pivotal text to the general examples of spiritual leadership in the Old and the New Testaments. Since we hold to the truth that 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17 is the framework for our handling of Scripture and that God breathed Scripture is profitable for teaching as well as reproof, correction,

26:56 instruction, or training in righteousness, surely the patterns of spiritual leaders set before us in the Old and the New Testaments ought to underscore the centrality of prayer in conjunction with their leadership. And that's why I called out these many examples not that they held the pastoral office but they were God-appointed, God-blessed, God-used leaders among the people of God. And in that position of leadership they were eminent leaders men of prayer. So tighten your seatbelts as we start with Abraham in Genesis.

27:36 In Genesis chapter 18. You remember that God comes to Abraham. Verses 16 to 21 is the account of God disclosing His intention with regard to Solomon and Gomorrah. He is going down to make a first-hand inspection as to whether or not things are as bad as the cry that His people come into heaven would indicate.

28:01 And in verse 22 we read that the men turned from fence and went towards Sodom but Abraham stood yet before the Lord. And then Abraham enters into this wrestling with God that which every time I read it I say there's an element of holy cheek and brassiness in the way he deals with God. He's dickering with God. Lord for this many yes well for this many yes for this many and then he piles up the sincere language of the awareness of what he's doing.

28:35 Verse 30 Let not the Lord be angry and I'll speak peradventure only 30 be found. Verse 31 Behold I've taken upon me to speak to the Lord peradventure 20 be found. Verse 32 Let not the Lord be angry I'll speak just once more. What is he doing?

28:52 He is wrestling with God. He is interceding for his nephew Lot and for any righteous ones in the cities of the plains. The amazing thing is that when we come to Genesis 19 in verse 29 God clearly reveals that the deliverance of Lot and his family was not so much Lot's prayers or Lot's piety but look at the language of the text. It came to pass when God destroyed the cities of the plain God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt.

29:29 That's the key to understanding how someone in such a backslidden state as Lot was delivered. It wasn't his own present piety. It was the prayers of Abraham and God is saying that this father of the faithful is the great paradigm for us of one who wrestles with God and this is not the only incident in the life of Abraham. And then when we come to Moses the man of God we cannot think of Moses if we think of him biblically and not think of him in his leadership as eminently a man of prayer a man of intercession not a man who only says Lord show me thy glory there's Moses in his devotional life

30:13 there's Moses the leader in his own communion with God show me your glory but Moses the leader of his people is Moses the intercessor and I've just picked out several incidents in Exodus 32 you remember that while Moses is in the mount Aaron and the people make the golden calf and God is angry and God lays what for many of us would be a heavy proposition he says I'll blot out this bunch Moses and I'll take you and make of you a nation and Moses begins to wrestle with God and tell God why he can't do that he wrestles with God and says Lord your name is at stake your honor the nations will hear of this and your ancient promise to the fathers

30:58 will appear as a thing of naught and as he wrestles God dares God dares to give as an account of his own response to the intercession of Moses verse 14 and the Lord repented the Lord relented of the evil which he said he would do unto his people does prayer change things yes it does it does and the spirit of God who reveals in other places of scripture known unto God are all his works from the beginning of time he works all things after the counsel of his will the same God and the same scriptures is unembarrassed to say Moses prayers made me change my mind

31:42 and I'm not going to covet with all kinds of theological abstractions and equivocations but hold tenaciously to the fact God decreed for all eternity to do what he did but Moses prayers were not just babbling into the air having a subjective influence upon Moses in the mystery of God's working he works to wove the wrestlings of Moses into his own decrees and purposes to do what he did and we see the same man of God in Numbers 11 one of the many murmuring incidents recorded in the Pentateuch and the people were as murmurers speaking evil in the ears of the Lord and when the Lord heard it his anger was kindled and God causes a fire

32:27 to break out in the camp and the people cry to Moses and look how offhanded the record is and Moses prayed unto Jehovah and the fire abated Moses prayed and the fire abated how many times in our pastoral labors will those that we are seeking to lead do that which provokes God to anger and it will be our responsibility and privilege to stand between God and them and by our prayers to see God turn away those out breakings of his own anger toward his people we find the same in Numbers 21 6 to 9 again not an exhaustive I want to just give you enough to feel afresh the weight

33:12 of this total witness of scripture here again they murmur they speak against God they speak against Moses and by now you think that Moses would say Lord they deserve everything they've got maybe I want to claim that promise you made way back early in my ministry in the incident of the golden cap Lord is it still valid by now maybe , my response will be a little different no, the people come to Moses and they say Moses help us out of the mess we've gotten ourselves into people came to Moses verse 7 we've sinned we've spoken against the Lord pray unto the Lord isn't it interesting a people who are in such

33:55 a sad spiritual state that they're grumbling against God they're grumbling against his servant when their back's against the wall they say our leader has power with God in the place of prayer as unspiritual as they were they knew him to be a man who could wrestle with God you see the emphasis you see where I'm going with the application and Moses does pray and God gives him direction about the serpent of brass and God as it were withdraws then the horrible judgment that would have come upon many more as the serpents bit them but they knew him to be a man who would wrestle with God on their behalf and who would not be turned aside even when they've been kicking at his shins

34:39 that's the part that amazes me you're kicking at this guy's shins and ten minutes later you're saying go off and wrestle with God for us what would you do I know what my flesh would do say you made your bed lie in it of course you're right learn your cotton picking lessons Moses doesn't do it he prays lays himself out before God one other incident from Moses chapter 27 chapter 27 verses 15 to 23 here is the incident of Moses having been told in verses 12 to 14 that he's not going to go into the promised land

35:24 that he's about to die and what does Moses do Moses thinks ahead and he sees the nation if God's going to take him they're going to be without a leader and what does he do he does not put forward his pet he does not scheme and manipulate in a kind of ecclesiastical nepotism but what does he do verse 15 the Lord spoke unto Jehovah saying let Jehovah the God of the spirits of all flesh appoint a man over the congregation who may go out before them and who may come in before them who may lead them out who may bring them in that the congregation of the Lord be not his sheep who have no shepherd now this is an amazing thing you'd think he would have said

36:09 oh Lord I'm so glad I'm going home no more being kicked in the shins by this bunch that the more I do for them and the more I do for them the more I pray for them the more they grumble against me there are ten cycles of murmuring against Moses you would have thought he'd said Lord I'm so glad and sing the old Negro spiritual soon I will be done with the troubles of the world and all the troubles coming from this bunch of people but he looks upon him as sheep and he says Lord if you take in me there'll be without a shepherd and he prays and he lays himself out before God and you have the wonderful account of God's response to his prayer the Lord said unto Moses take John take Joshua set him before the people so Moses could go home to the presence of his God confident

36:53 that the people would have competent proven God appointed leadership and the whole rest of the passage is summed up in verse 22 Moses did as the Lord commanded him took Joshua set him before Eliezer the priest and before all the congregation laid his hands upon him and gave him a charge as the Lord spoke by Moses surely brethren the old testament example of Abraham and then of Moses sets before us responsible God blessed leadership is marked by intercessory prayer on the part of those who are in the place of leadership regardless of the treatment they receive from those whom they're leading and for whom they are praying

37:36 then Joshua you remember the incident in the defeat at Ai and what does Joshua do well he had learned well the lessons from his mentor Moses and in this crisis Joshua does not start at the horizontal level verse 6 of Joshua 7 Joshua rent his clothes fell upon the earth fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening he and all the elders of Israel and put dust upon their heads and Joshua said alas oh Lord Jehovah wherefore have you brought and then he begins to intercede until he has poured out his heart and God says

38:21 alright you've prayed enough so that as we resolve the issue you will have the confidence that this is not your schemes to deal with the problem but my revelation of what the problem is up get off your face it's now time to act in obedience to my word but the whole thing began in this intense pouring out of his soul before God then Samuel whom God himself you remember marks as one of the great intercessors he says through the prophet he says if Samuel should even stand before me I won't hear even a mighty intercessor like Samuel in 1 Samuel 8 19 to 22 we have one of those

39:05 recorded incidents Samuel has told the people that in asking for a king they are asking for something that reveals a subtle but very real conformity to the nations the yearning for a king does not spring out of right motives and right perspectives and he expostulates and reasons with the people but verse 19 says but the people refuse to hearken to the voice of Samuel and they said no but we will have a king over us that we may be like all the nations and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles and Samuel heard all the words of the people and he rehearsed them in the ears

39:50 of Jehovah what a beautiful poetic description of prayer he rehearsed them well God heard them he could have just come in and said now Lord you heard everything they said let's get on with it no he rehearsed it he went over all of it before God he wasn't going to be hasty who knows how in that very exercise his own soul was being made receptive to what was a directive that would have sounded strange on the front end and the Lord said to Samuel hark into their voice and make them a king and the great principle is you see that even in leadership where we have good reasons based on general principles to say to the people this is the way in which we ought to walk in their stubbornness

40:34 we've got to seek the face of God and God doesn't change his mind but God may reveal aspects of his truth that we had not considered in our perspective this side of waiting upon God and so Samuel then is obedient to this fresh word that comes from his God in 1st Samuel chapter 12 one other incident from the life of Samuel as Samuel is standing to give his farewell address this passage is sort of the Old Testament preview of Acts chapter 20 when Paul meets with the Ephesian elders and he says look my days before you are just about concluded and he said I have a good conscience anyone who thinks

41:18 I don't have a right to a good conscience speak up and bring me brethren if God will enable you to come to the end of your days if you have length of days and say what Samuel could say you're a blessed man here I am verse 3 witness against me before Jehovah and before his anointed whose ox have I taken whose ass have I taken whom have I defrauded whom have I oppressed of whose hand have I taken a ransom to blind my eyes and I will restore it he said who can point to just please turn this cassette over to continue the message whom have I oppressed of whose hand have I taken a ransom to blind my eyes and I will restore it he said who can point a just accusing finger at me for any ethical

42:03 and moral aberrations and the people vindicate that his conscience is speaking truth to him he's not self-deceived he has no skeletons in the closet waiting for someone to drag them out and rattle them under his nose and before the people of God but in this setting where he's about to lead them and he makes his solemn address look now at verse 16 perhaps we should back up to verse 14 if you will fear the Lord and serve him and hearken to his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord you and the king that reigns over you things will be well but if you will not hearken to the voice of the Lord but rebel against the commandment then will the hand of the Lord be against you

42:47 verse 16 now therefore stand still and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes is it not wheat harvest today I will call unto the Lord that he may send thunder and rain and you shall know and see that your wickedness is great which you've done in the sight of the Lord in asking you a king so Samuel called unto the Lord and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day and all the people greatly feared Jehovah and Samuel no wonder when he came into town they were a little bit unstrung they said you come in on a message of mercy or when a man has such interaction and power with God and prayer there will be an element in which he won't be everyone's buddy

43:31 you see in our day if anyone has anything about his demeanor that is at all intimidating it's looked upon as a mark of carnality if so then strike up Samuel as being carnal people were scared when he came into the town and there have been some men when I'm around them I have a healthy fear because I know they so walk with God and wrestle with God that it's a frightening thing to say here is a fellow mortal but this mortal in his life his prayers moves the hands of deity it's a strange mixture of being drawn to such a man but feeling something else that says I want to keep my distance that was true of Samuel no wonder here's the man who is able to say

44:15 that I'll pray and God sends thunder and rain and then the godly kings and leaders and we'll not take the time now to look at all the passages but you know the incidents in 2nd Chronicles 26 5 good king Uzziah in the good period of his reign Ezra and Nehemiah the text I've listed I believe for you yes in your notes these men in their leadership prayer was not something they tacked on it was central foundational fundamental it percolated through all of their endeavors and the spirit of God has recorded these incidents that you and I might see in them the paradigms of godly leadership among the people of God

45:00 and then of course the 6th category the prophets we are told in James 5 verses 17 and 18 that we are to take the prophets for an example it is right to look upon the prophets not only as the ones who address the community in their day calling them back to fidelity to God and to his covenant not only pointed to Messiah but we are explicitly told here in James that we are to take the prophets for an example in verse 17 one of those examples is Elijah he was a man of like passions with us

45:43 like passions with us and this man prayed fervently that it might not rain and it rained not in the earth for three years and six months and he prayed again and the heaven gave rain and the earth brought forth her fruit and this comes out of the Bible after the text that our brother Dave Chansky opened up several months ago as a buttressing of the assertion that the supplication of a righteous man avails much in its working and while we are not called upon to pray for this shutting of the heavens and the opening of the heavens in judgment and mercy upon the nation the point is that this man was made of the same stuff as we are and when we take the prophets for an example

46:28 we are to see in them not only an example of patience and suffering which is the immediate thrust of the admonition of James but also we are to see in them an example of men who in their leadership are fervent in their prayers I can remember when preaching through the lives of Elijah and Elisha how dominant is the emphasis upon the effectual nature of their prayers and Daniel again one whose prayers are highlighted in that relatively brief account of the life and ministry of Daniel well brethren in looking at this brief survey of the Old Testament leaders surely the common denominator of these godly leaders was their earnest

New Testament Examples of Intercessory Leadership

47:13 effectual intercession on behalf of those whom they were called to lead even when those they were leading were difficult recalcitrant attacked them abused them they nonetheless gave themselves to a life of prayer and then very quickly we look at the New Testament examples and at the head of the list of those who are our fellow mortals is the Apostle Paul the account of his intercessory prayer for individuals and churches is both consistent and astounding I find it at times paralyzing and discouraging I have to be honest with you

47:57 when I sit down and read at one sitting the text that I've listed Paul's statement of how he prayed for the Romans the two amazing prayers in Ephesians and he says that these are things he is praying for them as a church and then what he prays for the Philippians suffusing his prayers with thanksgiving what he prays for the Colossians and the Thessalonians what he prays for Timothy I'm absolutely overwhelmed and I say to myself how many hours did he spend just praying just to mention these names not taking 10-15 minutes for each one of them but praying in broad strokes for the saints at Ephesus just to read through the things

48:42 that he says he prays constantly for all these people and then for Timothy night and day he says remembering your tears but nonetheless it's there and he says I am what I am by the grace of God and so we can't run away though the standard is intimidating when we draw near and in recent days it's even become more so as I've been working through and have been almost completed a careful prayerful attempt to absorb Dr. Donald Carson's excellent book A Call to Spiritual Reformation Priorities from Paul and his prayers he just expounds these prayers and I found it very salutary to take the exposition and think through it and then

49:26 in my intercession times just to open to his synopsis of what the prayer is and to seek to begin to pray back to God in the very language I have been I've done that with several of the prayers of Paul but this has driven me into some that I've overlooked through the years and again there's the example set before us of one who though he was arduous in his labors to preach and to teach he could say to the Ephesians you know my ministry among you day and night I was testifying publicly and house to house repentance toward God faith to the Lord Jesus working with my own hands to supply my own needs and others yet this is the man who could write these letters and say these are the things

50:11 that I continually bring before God in my intercession this is the man who could say in the tender language of Galatians 4.19 my little children of whom I travel again in birth till Christ be formed in you something no earthly mother ever had to do go through birth pangs twice he said I travel again in birth till Christ be formed in you who could say in Romans 9.1 and 10.1 I have been I have great sorrow continual heaviness my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved here is the example and though we feel we are light years from it brethren don't let the distance keep us from coming to that example again and again and saying oh God

50:55 is your spirit wrought this in your servant Paul work that in me and then we dare not look that eminent man of prayer and I highlight him because the only man the only thing he's well known for is not his preaching we don't know how well he preached if he preached but we know how he prayed and Paul gives him a place of unique prominence in terms of his prayers there in Colossians 4 verses 12 and 13 Epaphras who is one of you a servant of Christ Jesus greets you always and we have a use of agonizomai always striving always striving engaging all of his faculties

51:40 for you where not in his preaching but in his prayers to the end that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God for I bear him witness he has much labor for you and for them in Laodicea and for them in Hierapolis here's a man who is given a place of prominence for his commitment to the labor of intercessory prayer for the people of God well let's break at this point brethren we've gone the 55 minutes and then we will pick up in the next hour with the contemplation of our Lord as the supreme example and pattern of intercessory prayer for those

Christ: The Supreme Example of Intercessory Prayer

52:25 whom he is leading and over whom he has been placed as chief shepherd and then conclude with addressing the matter of the concerns of pastoral ministerial intercession well let's alright brethren as we try to pick up the threads where we left off in the previous hour I've been attempting to set before you from the scriptures the general examples of spiritual leadership in the old and the new testaments and now we come to letter C or really in my notes letter C in your printed notes Roman numeral 3 the supreme example and pattern of Christ both in his state of humiliation and exaltation as we look at

53:09 and we have tried to understand the office in its function and also in its disposition with respect to pastoral labor we have constantly pointed to Christ as the chief shepherd the only perfect shepherd and we should expect then if ministerial intercession is a fundamental duty of the office then surely it would be exemplified in our Lord and the scriptures do not disappoint us in setting forth that example first of all in his humiliation and pastor Carlson made reference to this this past Lord's day when giving the overview of the gospel of Luke Luke records more than any other gospel writer the incidence of specific prayer in the life

53:54 of our Lord and I commend to you Hendrickson's comments and his calling out of those strands of biblical truth in the gospel of Luke in his commentary on Luke pages 217 and 218 it starts on the bottom of 217 when he's commenting on Jesus also was baptized and was praying and then on the top of page 218 he lists the seven incidents of our Lord praying in the gospel of Luke and then in that well-known passage in Luke chapter 22 this to me again is an amazing statement here is the one who in the gospel of John can speak

54:38 of those who are given to him of the Father he shall lose none of them because he has come to do the will of the Father and the will of the Father is that all who were given to him none should be lost but they should be raised up at the last day and yet in that work of keeping his own notice how our Lord is dependent upon the imminent activity of the Father in answer to his own prayers what a mystery that the one who is keeping his own yet prays that his own will be kept I don't understand it but the witness of this passage is so clear remember that he says to Peter in verse 31 Simon Simon behold Satan asked to have all of you that he might sip to his wheat but I've made

55:23 supplication for you Peter that your faith fail not and do you when you have turned again establish your brethren the Lord could have said Satan has asked to have all of you to sip to his wheat but I have purpose to fulfill the will of my Father and you won't be lost but I have prayed for you that your faith fail not he highlights that it's his intercession it's his supplication it is his petitioning of his Father with this felt concern that secures Peter's ultimate restoration reestablishment in faith and therefore

56:07 in usefulness so our Lord from the many examples recorded in the Gospels particularly in the Gospel of Luke and this specific incident it becomes as it were an open door into the way the Lord interacted with his disciples in all of their failures and sins and their blindness that at times grieved his heart he had to say to them are you yet without faith he was grieved yet in all of that pastoral interaction he did not shut them out of his heart that's the great emphasis that I want to say to you that I want to say to you that I want to underscore that regardless of how those whom we are praying for may treat us at any given moment he was about to deny the Lord and the Lord knew it and he prophesied it yet he said

56:52 I prayed for you he did not allow the action of this sheep to determine the action of the chief shepherd and we must seek to reflect something of that disposition of our Lord that we are given to pray for those whom God puts under our care even when they grieve us disappoint us or if they actually turn against us personally we have this responsibility to pray for them and then of course in his exaltation what is comprised of our Lord's intercession who can tell but Hebrews 7.25 is clear that he is able to save to the uttermost he is able to accomplish all of his saving purposes in all who come unto God by him seeing

57:36 and what's the answer given not seeing he has purchased an indefectible redemption that's true but seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them so that the consummation of the redemption of his own is predicated upon the ever ongoing intercessory work of our Lord Jesus and in Romans 8.34 when Paul is pointing to those great redemptive activities that secure our place in Christ who is he that condemns it is Christ that died yea rather that is risen from the dead who is at the right hand of God who also is making intercession for us and

58:20 whatever we can say about the intercession surely at least the major contours are most likely given to us in John chapter 17 where our Lord lets his own hear him praying for them not only in their present situation but in their anticipated situation and in the anticipation of the growth and development and advancement of his church so when we think of our Lord Jesus as the great shepherd we cannot think of him in that capacity divorced from his labor of intercession both in the state of his humiliation and in the state of his exaltation in Jeremiah 10 in verse 21 there is a horrible indictment

59:05 that is brought and again it's one of the passages brethren that strikes me to my heart whenever I read it for the shame of God the shepherds are become brutish and have not inquired of the Lord therefore they have not prospered or dealt wisely and all their flocks are scattered at times when I've been grieved when there's been disruption in the life of the church and defections from the ranks God points the finger back at me and said is this the fruit of your own failure to pray without in any way making myself vulnerable to false guilt I must ask that question could it be that there's been a scattering rooted in my own failure to intercede and to fulfill

59:49 my God-given responsibility John Owen said he that is more frequently in his pulpit to his people than he is in his closet for his people is a sorry watchman stinging words but may God help us to take them into our hearts and so I rest the case on the duty of pastoral intercessory prayer on these three pillars the watershed text in Acts 6 the Old and New Testament examples of spiritual leadership and the supreme example and pattern of our Lord Jesus but now then we come to the second unit in working through this all together

Dominant Concerns of Ministerial Intercessory Prayer

60:34 too briefly I know but that's where we are the dominant concerns of ministerial intercessory prayer what are the things for which we ought to pray well I come back again to recommending Donald Carson's book and thankfully though this was printed the first time in 92 I was not aware of it so this is the first time in the lectures I've been able to recommend a book that addresses itself to the pastoral prayers of Paul for the churches and in my knowledge I have not come across anything that is more helpful in terms of what ought we to pray about and how ought we to pray for our people than is this book in just taking us through walking through with responsibility

61:18 exegesis suffused with warm pastoral application those many prayers of the apostle a book that we had reprinted some years ago that underscores the duty and this is the first time I ever came across anything this was a printing of two sermons brought by this man Pastor Bradford a number of years ago at Westminster Seminary on a prayer day and we persuaded David Simpson to have this reprinted and I would urge each of you to get a copy of this because I don't know of anything in short compass that buttresses many of the things I've tried to cover so effectively as does this little treatise by Bradford it's only what 40 pages was that part of

62:03 your assigned reading I don't think it was this time around was it no I don't believe it was but I heartily recommend that so I'm saying all of that before coming to the specific concerns to say that I would urge you to use this as a companion for a long time to come but I found most helpful a section in Owen in which he lays out the five things that ought to ordinarily characterize and constitute the dominant concerns of ministerial intercessory prayer Owen is not saying that every time we pray for our people all five of these should be included I'm not saying that these are not the exclusive concerns nor must they always be included

62:47 and and always be found but over a period of several weeks or several months as you look back on your prayers for your people surely in some relationship or another in differing proportions these five concerns ought to be present in your intercessory prayer for your people in my intercessory prayer for my people and let me just list them as Owen does first of all the success of the word and you will find this in Owen himself in volume 16 starting on page 78 and spilling over to page 79 the first thing that he lists is the success

63:32 of the word unto all the blessed ends of it among our people these are no less than the improvement and strengthening of all their graces the direction of all their duties their edification in faith and love which with the entire conduct of their souls in the life of God unto the enjoyment of him to preach the word therefore and not to follow it with constant and fervent prayer for its success is to disbelieve its use neglect its end and to cast away the seed of the gospel at random and so Owen would exhort us as to the dominant concerns of our intercessory prayer to plead

64:16 for the success of the word and the ends for which the word was given the calling out of God's elect the strengthening of his own in faith and love and holiness the reclaiming of the backslider the stirring up of the indolent the awakening of the careless slumbering saint the success of the word and all that God has sent forth his word to accomplish in those who hear it secondly Owen would instruct us that we need to have as a dominant concern of our ministerial intercessory prayers the temptations that the church is generally exposed unto I changed it in your notes the temptations to which your people are peculiarly

65:01 subject and Owen wisely comments these greatly vary according to the outward circumstances of things the temptations in general that accompany a state of outward peace and tranquility are of another nature than those that attend a time of trouble persecution distress or poverty and so it is as unto other occasions and circumstances these the pastors of churches ought diligently to consider looking on them that is the various circumstances as the means and way whereby churches have been ruined and the souls of many lost forever with respect unto them therefore ought their prayers for the church to be fervent

65:45 when the church is going through a period when a number of people are afflicted when there are financial stresses Owen is instructing us surely if we have the hearts of God's people in our hearts we will be pleading with God that they will not be tempted to doubt the goodness of God to doubt the faithfulness of God if it's a time of unusual prosperity that the prosperity would not cause their hearts to be drawn away from God that the cares of this world and the lust of other things entering in would not choke the word and make it unfruitful it indicates again that pastors are sensitive to the patterns of temptation to which their people are exposed thirdly Owen would instruct us that our intercessory prayer ought to bring

66:29 within its scope the especial state and condition of all the members so far as it is known unto them there are some of them who are spiritually sick and diseased tempted afflicted then he uses a lovely old word be misted they're walking in a mist they're walking in a mist walking in a fog be misted wandering out of the way surprised in sins and miscarriages disconsolate and troubled in spirit in a peculiar manner the remembrance of them all ought to abide with them and be continually called over and this is where my heart is smitten in their daily pastoral supplication you know that person that is going through

67:14 a period of depression you've seen the look in the eyes you're having your contact every Lord's Day when you see them you see them on a Wednesday and you put an arm around them how are things going and you see them beginning to come out of the tunnel and you see the light in their eye yes that's the kind of pastoral interaction that ought to be there but Owen would instruct us that they ought also to be part of our daily pastoral supplications I think what Owen is saying if you need to make a prayer list that is continually changing of the unusually distressed sheep in the flock and at least bring their names before God as you know their concerns then the fourth thing Owen says ought to be part of our pastoral intercession

67:58 in secret is the presence of Christ in the assembly of the church and then he adds with all the blessed evidences and testimonies of it that's real experimental Christianity that we would know his presence not as a matter of faith alone but with all the blessed evidences and testimonies of it this is that alone which gives life and power unto all church assemblies without which all outward order and forms of divine worship in them are but a dead carcass see what Owen is saying the presence of Christ by the spirit is not a luxury

68:42 or it was an especially blessed Lord's day God was with us he says no anything else less than anything other than that is just a carcass now this presence of Christ in the assemblies of his church by his spirit accompanying all ordinances of worship with a gracious divine efficacy evidening itself by blessed operations on the minds and heart of the congregation this are pastors of churches continually to pray for and they will do so who understand that all the success of their labors and all the acceptance of the church with God in their duties do depend here on if Christ is not with us our most strict conformity to the regulative

69:27 principle is just addressed a carcass is what Owen would say to us and then fifthly he says our intercession ought to be aimed toward their preservation in faith love and fruitfulness and then he had a lot more to say but he was running out of ink or running out of time he says with all the duties that belong unto them etc.

69:50 period but here Owen gives us what I think seriously brethren is the most helpful framework when we're wondering what shall I pray for the people and perhaps you find maybe after memorizing because you prayed out to God the various prayers of Paul as found in the epistles and you've gotten help in using Dr. Carson as a teacher and you've prayed those out and you say well I need to see if my prayers are comprehensive I would urge you to go back and ask yourself am I bringing before God fervent earnest focused prayer for the success of the word for the temptations to which my people are peculiarly subject the special conditions of the church as known to me the presence of Christ

70:35 in all our stated meetings and their preservation in faith in love and in fruitfulness and it's very interesting Owen was not ashamed of using material laid out in one place and condensing it and using it in another and in reworking the lecture for the next today I was struck with this I had a note in my notes in the margin to see volume 9 which contains some of Owen's sermons and it's very interesting in a sermon preached on September 8, 1682 at an ordination of a friend who had asked him to preach his ordination sermon he's opening up Jeremiah 3.15 I will give you pastors according to my heart who shall feed you with knowledge and understanding and then he opens up

71:19 the first duty of a pastor is to feed the church with knowledge and understanding and though he approaches a little differently he follows the same outline as he does in volume 16 first task is to feed and then he opens up what that is but then he says another thing is experience of the power of the things we preach to others I think truly no man preaches that sermon well to others that doth not first preach it to his own heart and then he opens up what that involves but then he says the second major duty after saying he must feed and what it is to feed and how he may feed another duty required is continual prayer for the churches over which Christ has made them overseers

72:04 and then he gives four reasons why we ought to do so and four things we ought to pray for my first reason is no man can have any evidence in his own soul that he conscientiously performs any ministerial duty to his flock who does not continually pray for them have overtones of what he said elsewhere now he brings in a fresh thought this is the way whereby we may bless our congregations he says authoritative blessing as far as I know is taken from us he's referring to the Aaronic blessing where God says you may put this blessing upon the people as far as I know so apparently he didn't raise his hand and pronounce a blessing over them he said I don't believe that authority is given to us and there's no way we can bless our flock by institution

72:48 but by a continual praying for God's to send a blessing upon them and then he says thirdly if men are but as they used to be I don't believe any minister any pastor in the world can keep up due love to his church who doesn't pray for them so you need to pray for them he says for what reason you can't have any evidence that any other work you do for them is sincere this is the way to bring down blessing on them this is the way to keep up your own love for your people is to pray for them and my last reason he says God will teach us what we shall preach unto them as we pray for them so you see there was further development of his thought with respect to why we ought to pray then he says what shall we pray for and though he says I'm going to give four

73:32 I've only found three oh no well it was kind of convoluted sometimes the outline is but the three that he mentions what shall we pray for number one the success of the word that we preach unto them so the one matches up with number one but then he skips to what was number four in volume sixteen we're to pray for the presence of Christ in all our assemblies that's number two and number three our prayers should be with respect unto the state and condition of the churches and though he said he was going to give four he only gives three then he moves on to his third head after dealing with we must teach them and feed them with the word we must pray for them and then thirdly we must preserve the truth and doctrine of the gospel

Personal Application and Concluding Exhortation

74:16 but it was interesting to me to see how Owen didn't feel he had to tell the whole nine yards every time he was driving home some of these principles but he does come back to some of those recurring themes and I think it underscores again that while on any given day we may not pray for all five of these things in the broad scope I ask myself the question which one of these can I omit and be discharging that which is part of the duty of ministerial intercessory prayer and so brethren we come around to where we began the duty is clear and the duty the performance is quite another thing and in these days as I've indicated to you in previous lectures in one way or another

75:01 when you're having to face what could be life-threatening illnesses and surgical procedures that are serious and you review your life it's a wonderful thing to be able to look back like a Samuel and say before God I have no skeletons in the closet but it's another thing to be able to say what have I left undone that had I not my youth over again I would do differently and to feel the weight of your sins of omission and in no area do I feel them more keenly than in the matter of faithful structured dogged commitment to intercessory prayer for my people I have a relatively good conscience that God has never let me neglect

75:46 my own soul and though on any given day I may have to ask God to cleanse me of the sin of neglect of the secret place my conscience and my memory and my reflection brought very little trouble that I've neglected feeding my own soul upon the word of God and as some of you know I've had the habit for years of putting a tick mark every time I read a chapter and put the date so I don't rationalize and I can look in my devotional Bible and see how much of the scripture I've absorbed in any given year reading it for no other reason than the feeding of my own soul but when I look at the things I use to guide my intersection and I don't trust myself there either and I put a check mark when on Tuesday I'm supposed to pray for this and Wednesday for that I don't trust

76:31 my rationalizing heart and there isn't the same degree of faithfulness in the place of intercession and I pray God that my confession to you men may stir you up that should you be brought to length of years you'd be able to say well there's much concerning which I'm ashamed but by the grace of God God kept me faithful in the labor of intercession and I'm not for those placed under my charge I've not been utterly prayerless I don't want to give that impression but I've not been what I ought to be in that place and God is helping me to bring forth some fruits meat for repentance but I tell you the devil is fighting it tooth and nail

77:15 but I'm determined to go to my grave battling that if the next time I lie upon a bed that could possibly be my river to cross over to a better place I won't have the same keen sense of failure that I've had as I've looked back from the vantage point of the last couple of months and I've never been more thankful for the active obedience of the Lord Jesus credited to my account and as I was driving here today reflecting on this and on this note I want to close the Lord Jesus never once worked when he should have been praying and never once did he pray when he should have been working think of it when he ought to have been alone

77:59 on the mountainside pouring out his soul in intercession that's where he was never did he give in to the temptation to rationalize there was too much to do to pray and never did he use prayer as an escape from doing the unpleasant he never prayed when he should be working never worked when he should be praying and his grace and his power is available to us in our union with him and let us pray that he would give us grace to pray when we ought to pray and not to use the most noble labor as a substitute for intercession and never to use intercession as an excuse not to do the difficult work

Prayer of Confession and Supplication

78:44 of exegesis structuring the sermon going after that recalcitrant wandering sheep whom we know may do what as far as I know sheep don't do to their masters turn around and butt us and kick us and bite us may God help us because in our Savior we have the perfect example and with the Apostle we can say I can do all things in him who strengthens me well let's have a word of prayer and then we've got about 15 minutes left in our allotted time and I'm certainly open for any questions or comments or interaction that you brethren may want to have over these matters let's pray our Father we are indeed thankful that we have a righteousness in our Lord Jesus

79:29 that answers to all of the demands of your law were we for a moment to think that anything we are or anything we have done would be the basis of standing before you we would cringe and fear and shrivel up in utter despair for our sins of omission loom like a mighty mountain before us as well as our sins of commission O Lord what can we do but turn to you and confess again our sins in the confidence that your word is true that if we confess our sins you are faithful and righteous to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness so we plead with you our Father

80:13 that you would purge and wash us of the sin of prayerlessness and though these men do not have a specific charge committed to their care we know that they have other spheres of responsibility for which they are to intercede regularly and we pray that being faithful in the little you will then entrust them with much we pray that you would pour out upon us in fresh and copious measures the spirit of grace and of supplication for you have commanded us to pray with all prayer and supplication in the spirit and we acknowledge we cannot manufacture this we cannot conjure it up but you must send down

80:58 your spirit upon us in power that he may give us prayers to pray and the ability to be tenacious and fervent and persistent in our prayers thank you for the example of Abraham and of Moses and of Daniel thank you our father for Samuel and the other prophets thank you for the example of the apostle and of Epaphras and above all we thank you for the example of our Lord Jesus and we pray that you would give us grace that more and more we may be molded into the pattern of those examples and we pray thank you for your word and pray that you would seal these things to each of our hearts hear us as we confess

81:43 our sins and lay our petitions before you in the name of your son and our savior the Lord Jesus Amen