Intercession the hard work of Prayer

Colossians 1:9-12

Will you pray for me, or I will pray for you are very kind words, but how many will do the hard work of prayer?  I am sure you recall the “Golden Calf” the one that Aaron told his brother Moses about it’s origin, “And Aaron said, ‘Let not the anger of my lord burn hot.  You know the people that they are set on evil.  For they said to me, ‘Make us gods who shall go before us.  As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.  So I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’  So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.” (Exodus 32:22-24)  Liar, liar, pants on fire, now that is not what Moses said, but the Scripture said that the people had cast off the reverence of God, they had broken loose, and Aaron had let them do so. 

This may not be a good example of intercession; in that Moses ask this question, “Who is on the Lord’s side?  Come to me.” (Exodus 32:26)  And all the sons of Levi gathered around him, and Moses told them to put on their swords and they began to kill those who had broken loose, it is not clear how they decided whom to kill, but that day they killed brothers, and sons, about three thousand men died.  It was the next day before Moses made his second intercession for the people.  This is profound, Moses knew about the “book of life” and after telling the people “You have sinned a great sin. (Idol worship) And now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” First Moses confesses or agrees with God that the actions of these people was sin, sin against the holiness of almighty God.  Take up the story in verse 32, “But now, if you will forgive their sin – but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.”  But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.  But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; behold my angel shall go before you.  Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.”  Then the Lord sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.” (Exodus 32:32-35)

You better know God in the most intimate way before interceding in this manner.  Moses was a type of Christ; he was atoning for the sins of these people.  He called sin what God called it.  (When the word atonement is used, we must be clear that only Christ Jesus actions on the cross-brought about reconciliation between God and mankind.)  Sin is always dealt with, God has always required payment for sin, and Jesus was the payment, but in this case God sent a plague on the people.

Paul the apostle gave us this understanding of interceding in prayer in Ephesians 1:15-23, and in Colossians 1:9-12.  There are many prayers in Scripture that you can use to intercede for the one you promise to pray for.  Do the hard work of prayer it will bless you.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice