Intercession Every Christian's Duty

Intercession every Christian's duty.

1 Thessalonians 5:25. Brethren, pray for us.

If we enquire, why there is so little love to be found among Christians, why the very characteristic, by which every one should know that we are disciples, of the holy Jesus, is almost banished out of the Christian world—we shall find it, in a great measure owing to a neglect or superficial performance of that most God-like part of secret prayer Intercession, or imploring the divine grace or mercy in behalf of others.

Some forget this duty of praying for others, because they seldom remember to pray for themselves; and even good people, who are constant in praying to their Father, which is in heaven, are often so constrained and selfish in their addresses to the throne of grace, that they do not enlarge their petitions for the welfare of their fellow Christians as they ought, and thereby fall short of attaining that Christian charity, that unfeigned love of their brethren, which their sacred profession obliges them to aspire after, and without which, though they would bestow all their goods to feed the poor, and even give their bodies to be burned, yet it would profit them nothing.

Since then these things are so, I shall, from the words of the text, (though originally intended to be more confined) endeavor to show, 1. That it is every Christian's duty to pray for others, as well as for himself. 2. Who are those that we ought to pray for, and in what manner we shall do it. And, 3. I shall offer some motives to excite all Christians to abound in this great duty of Intercession.

1. First, then, I shall endeavor to show, that it is every Christian's duty to pray for others, as well as for himself.

Now prayer is a duty founded on natural religion; the very heathens never neglected it, though many Christian heathens among us do; And it is so essential to Christianity, that you might as reasonably expect to find a living man without breath, as a true Christian without the spirit of prayer and supplication: Thus, no sooner was Saint Paul converted, but behold he prayeth, says the Lord Almighty. And thus will it be with every child of God, as soon as he becomes such, prayer being truly called— The natural cry of the new born soul.

For in the heart of every true believer there is a heavenly tendency, a divine attraction, which as sensibly draws him to converse with God, as the loadstone attracts the needle.

A deep sense of their own weakness, and of Christ's fullness; a strong conviction of their natural corruption, and of the necessity of renewing grace, will not let them rest from crying day and night to their Almighty Redeemer, that the divine image, which they lost in Adam, may, through his all-powerful mediation, and the sanctifying operations of his blessed spirit, be begun, carried on, and fully perfected both in their souls and bodies.

Thus earnest, thus importunate, are all sincere Christians in praying for themselves; but then, not having so lively, lasting, and deep a sense of the wants of their Christian brethren, they are, for the most part, too remiss and defective in their prayers for them; whereas was the love of God shed abroad in our hearts, and did we love our neighbor in that manner in which the Son of God, our Savior loved us, and according to his command and example, we could not but be as importunate for their spiritual and temporal welfare, as for our own, and as earnestly desire and endeavor that others should share in the benefits of the death and passion of Jesus Christ as we ourselves.

Let not any one think, that this is an uncommon degree of charity, an high pitch of perfection, which every one cannot attain unto, since it is no such thing: For if we are all commanded to love our neighbor, that is every man, nay to lay down our lives for the brethren, it is the duty of all to pray for their neighbors as much as for themselves, and by all possible acts and expressions of love and affection towards them, at all times, to show their readiness even to lay down their lives for them, if ever it should please God to call them to it.

Our blessed Savior, as he has set us an example, that we should follow his steps in every thing else, so has he more especially in this: For in that most divine, that most perfect and inimitable prayer, recorded in the 17th of Saint John, which he put up just before his passion, we find but few petitions for his own, though many for his disciples' welfare: And in that most perfect form which he has been pleased to prescribe us, we are taught to say—not my, but our Father; thereby to put us in mind, that, whenever we approach the throne of grace, we ought to pray not for ourselves alone, but for all our brethren in Christ.

Intercession then is certainly a duty incumbent upon all Christians.

2. Whom we are to intercede for, and how this duty is to be performed, comes next to be considered, under my second general head.

1. And first, our intercession must be universal. I will, says the apostle, that prayers, supplications, and intercessions be made for all men: For as God's mercy is over all his works, as Jesus Christ died to redeem a people out of all nations and languages; so we should pray, that all men may come to the knowledge of the truth, and be saved. Many precious promises are made in holy writ, that the gospel shall be published through the whole world, that the earth shall be covered with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea: And therefore it is our duty not to confine our petitions to our own nation, but to pray that all those nations, who now sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, may have the glorious gospel shine out upon them, as well as upon us. But you need not that any man should teach you this, since ye yourselves are taught of God, even of Jesus Christ himself, to pray, that his kingdom may come; part of the meaning of which petition is, that God's ways may be known upon earth, and his saving health among all nations.

2. Next to the praying for all men, we should, according to Saint Paul's rule, pray for those in authority, that we may lead quiet lives, in all godliness and honesty. For if we consider how heavy the burden of government is, and how much the welfare of any people depends on the zeal and godly conversation of those that have the rule over them: If we set before us the many dangers and difficulties to which governors, by their station, are exposed, and the continual temptations they lie under to luxury and self-indulgence, we shall not only pity but pray for them—that he who preserved Esther, David, and Josiah unspotted from the world, amidst the grandeur of a court, and gave success to their designs, would also preserve them holy and unblamable, and prosper all the works of their hands upon them.

3. But, thirdly, you ought, in a more especial manner, to pray for those, whom the Holy Ghost hath made overseers over you. This is what Saint Paul begs, again and again, of the churches to whom he writes. Brethren, says he in the text, pray for us; and again, in his epistle to the Ephesians—Praying always, says he, with all manner of supplication; and for me also, that I may open my mouth boldly, to declare the mystery of the gospel. And in another place, to express his earnestness in this request, and the great importance of their prayers to him, he bids the church strive, or, as the original word signifies, be in an agony, together with him in their prayers. And surely, if the great Saint Paul, that chosen vessel, that favorite of heaven, needed the most importunate prayers of his Christian converts, much more do the ordinary ministers of the gospel stand in need of the intercession of their respective flocks.

And I cannot but, in a more especial manner, insist upon this branch of your duty, because it is a matter of such importance; for, no doubt, much good is frequently withheld from many by reason of their neglecting to pray for their ministers, which they would have received, had they prayed for them as they ought. Not to mention, that people often complain of the want of diligent and faithful pastors: But how do they deserve good pastors, who will not earnestly pray to God for such.

The church has set apart four seasons in the year for this purpose, and to call down a blessing on those who are to be ordained to any holy function; but by how very few are the ember days observed! And if we will not pray to the Lord of the harvest, can it be expected, he will send forth laborers into his harvest?

Besides, what ingratitude is it, not to pray for your ministers! For shall they watch and labor in the word and doctrine for you, and for your salvation, and shall not you pray for them in return? If any bestow favors on your bodies, you think it right, meet, and your bounden duty, to pray for them; and shall not they be remembered in your prayers, who daily feed and nourish your souls? Add to all this, that praying for your ministers will be a manifest proof of your believing, that though Paul plant and Apollos water, yet it is God alone who gives the increase. And you will also find it the best means you can use, to promote your own welfare; because God, in answer to your prayers, may impart a double portion of his Holy Spirit to them, whereby they will be qualified to deal out to you larger measures of knowledge in spiritual things, and be enabled more skillfully to divide the word of truth.

Would men but constantly observe this direction, and when their ministers are praying in their name to God, humbly beseech him to perform all their petitions: Or, when they are speaking in God's name to them, pray that the Holy Ghost may fall on all them that hear the word; we shall then find a more visible good effect of their doctrine, and a greater mutual love between ministers and their people. For ministers' hands would then be held up by the people's intercessions, and the people will never dare to vilify or traduce those who are the constant subjects of their prayers.

4. Next to our ministers, our friends claim a place in our intercessions; but then we should not content ourselves with praying in general terms for them, but suit our prayers to their particular circumstances. When Miriam was afflicted with a leprosy from God, Moses cried and said—Lord heal her: And when the nobleman came to apply to Jesus Christ, in behalf of his child, he said— Lord, my little daughter lieth at the point of death, I pray thee come, and heal her. In like manner, when any of our friends are under any afflicting circumstances, we should endeavor to pray for them, with a particular regard to those circumstances. For instance—is a friend sick? We should pray, that if it be God's good pleasure, it may not be unto death; but if otherwise, that he would give him grace, so to take his visitation, that, after this painful life ended, he may dwell with him in life everlasting. Is a friend in doubt, in a matter? We should lay his case before God, as Moses did that of the daughters of Zelophehad, and pray, that God's Holy Spirit may lead him into all truth. Is he in want? We should pray, that his faith may never fail, and that in God's due time, he may be relieved. And in all other cases, we should not pray for our friends, only in generals, but suit our... difficult duty, yet not impracticable to those who have renounced the things of this present life, (from an inordinate love of which alone all enmities arise) and who, knowing the terrible woes denounced against those who offend Christ's little ones, can, out of real pity, and a sense of their danger, pray for those by whom such offences come.

6. Lastly, and to conclude this head, we should intercede for all that are any ways afflicted in mind, body, or estate; for all who desire, and stand in need of our prayers, and for all who do not pray for themselves.

And Oh! that all who hear me, would set apart some time every day for the due performance of this most necessary duty!—In order to which,

I shall now proceed to the third general thing proposed, namely,

3. To show the advantages, and offer some considerations to excite you to the practice of daily intercession.

1. And first, it will fill your hearts with love one to another. He that every day heartily intercedes at the throne of grace for all mankind, cannot but in a short time be filled with love and charity to all; and the frequent exercise of his love in this manner, will insensibly enlarge his heart, and make him partaker of that exceeding abundance of it which is in Christ Jesus our Lord! Envy, malice, revenge and such like hellish tempers, can never long harbor in a gracious intercessor's breast; but he will be filled with joy, peace, meekness, long-suffering, and all other graces of the holy spirit. By frequently laying his neighbor's wants before God, he will be touched with a fellow-feeling of them; he will rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with those that weep. Every blessing bestowed on others, instead of exciting envy in him, will be looked on as an answer to his particular intercession, and fill his soul with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

Abound therefore in acts of general and particular intercessions, and when you hear of your neighbor's faults, instead of relating them to, and exposing them before others, lay them in secret before God, and beg of him to correct and amend them. When you hear of a notorious sinner, instead of thinking, you do well to be angry, beg of Jesus Christ to convert and make him a monument of his free grace; and you cannot imagine what a blessed alteration this practice will make in your heart, and how much you will increase, day by day, in the spirit of love and meekness towards all mankind!

But, further to excite you to the constant practice of this duty of intercession, consider the many instances given us in holy scripture of the power and efficacy of it. Great and excellent things are there recorded as the effects of this divine employ. It has stopped plagues, it has opened and shut heaven, and has frequently turned away God's fury from his people. How was Abimelech's house freed from the disease God sent amongst them, at the intercession of Abraham! When Phineas stood up and prayed, how soon did the plague cease! When Daniel humbled and afflicted his soul, and interceded for the Lord's inheritance, how quickly was an angel dispatched to tell him his prayer was heard! And to mention but one instance more, how does God own himself, as it were, quite overcome with the importunity of Moses, when he was interceding for his idolatrous people—Let me alone, says God!

This sufficiently shows, I could almost say, the omnipotency of intercession, and how we may, like Jacob, wrestle with God, and by an holy violence prevail both for ourselves and others. And no doubt it is owing to the secret and prevailing intercessions of the few righteous souls who still remain among us, that God has yet spared this miserably sinful nation; for were there not some such faithful ones, like Moses, left to stand in the gap, we should soon be destroyed, even as was Sodom, and reduced to ashes like unto Gomorrah.

But, to stir you up yet farther to this Godlike exercise of intercession, consider that, in all probability, it is the frequent employment even of the glorified saints; for though they are delivered from the burden of the flesh, and restored to the glorious liberty of the sons of God, yet as their happiness cannot be perfectly consummated until the resurrection of the last day, when all their brethren will be glorified with them, we cannot but think they are often importunate in beseeching our heavenly Father shortly to accomplish the number of his elect, and to hasten his kingdom. And shall not we, who are on earth, be often exercised in this divine employ with the glorious company of the spirits of just men made perfect? Since our happiness is so much to consist in the communion of saints in the church triumphant above, shall we not frequently intercede for the church militant here below, and earnestly beg, that we may all be one, even as the holy Jesus and his Father are one, that we may also be made perfect in one?

To provoke you to this great work and labor of love, remember that it is the never ceasing employment of the holy and highly exalted Jesus himself, who sits at the right hand of God to hear all our prayers, and to make continual intercession for us! So that he who is constantly employed in interceding for others, is doing that on earth, which the eternal Son of God is always doing in heaven.

Imagine, therefore, when you are lifting up holy hands in prayer for one another, that you see the heavens opened, and the Son of God in all his glory, as the great high priest of your salvation, offering up and pleading for you, the all-sufficient merit of his sacrifice before the throne of his heavenly Father? Join then your intercessions with his, and beseech him, that they may, through him, come up as incense, and be received as a sweet smelling savor, acceptable in the sight of God! This imagination will strengthen your faith, excite a holy earnestness in your prayers, and make you wrestle with God as Jacob did, when he saw him face to face, and his life was preserved; as Abraham, when he pleaded for Sodom; and as Jesus Christ himself, when he prayed, being in an agony, so much the more earnestly the night before his bitter passion!

And now, brethren, what shall I say more, since you are taught of Jesus Christ himself to abound in love, and in this good work of praying one for another. Though ever so mean, though as poor as Lazarus, you will then become benefactors to all mankind; thousands, and twenty times ten thousands, will then be blessed for your sakes! And after you have employed a few years in this divine exercise here, you will be translated to that happy place, where you have so often wished others might be advanced, and be exalted to sit at the right hand of our all-powerful, all-prevailing Intercessor, in the kingdom of his heavenly Father hereafter!

However, I cannot but in an especial manner press this upon you now, because all ye, amongst whom I have now been preaching, in all probability will see me no more; for I am now going (I trust under the conduct of God's most holy spirit) from you, knowing not what shall befall me: I need therefore your most importunate intercessions, that nothing may move me from my duty, and that I may not count even my life dear unto myself, so that I may finish my course with joy; and the ministry I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God!

Whilst I have been here, to the best of my knowledge I have not failed to declare unto you the whole will of God. And though my preaching may have been a savor of death unto death to some, yet I trust it has been also a savor of life unto life to others; and therefore I earnestly hope that those will not fail to remember me in their prayers. As for my own part, the many unmerited kindnesses I have received from you, will not suffer me to forget you: Out of the deep, therefore, I trust, shall my cry come unto God, and whilst the winds and storms are blowing over me, unto the Lord will I make my supplication for you. For it is but a little while, and we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, where I must give a strict account of the doctrine I have preached, and you of your improvement under it. And Oh! that I may never be called out as a swift witness against any of those, for whose salvation I have sincerely, though too faintly, longed and labored!

It is true, I have been censured by some as acting out of sinister and selfish views; but it is a small matter with me to be judged by man's judgment: I hope my eye is single, but I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God in Christ Jesus, pray that it may be more so! and that I may increase with the increase of grace in the knowledge and love of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

And now, brethren, what shall I say more? I could wish to continue my discourse much longer, for I can never fully express the desire of my soul towards you! Finally, therefore, brethren, Whatsoever things are holy, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any consolation in Christ, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any hopes of our appearing to the comfort of each other at the awful tribunal of Jesus Christ, think of the things that you have heard, and of those which your pastors have declared, and will yet declare unto you: and continue under their ministry to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; so that, whether I shall see you any more, or whether it shall please God to bring me back again at any time, I may always have the satisfaction of knowing that your conversation is such as becomes the gospel of Christ.

I almost persuade myself, that I could willingly suffer all things, so that it might any ways promote the salvation of your precious and immortal souls: And I beseech you, as my last request, obey them that have the rule over you in the Lord, and be always ready to attend on their ministry, as it is our bounden duty. Think not that I desire to have myself exalted at the expense of another's character, but rather think this—Not to have men's persons too much in admiration, but esteem their ministers highly in love, as they justly deserve for their work's sake.

And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and give you an inheritance amongst all them that are sanctified. May God reward you for all your works of faith, and labors of love, and make you to abound more and more in every good word and work towards all men. May he truly convert all that have been convinced, and awaken all that are dead in trespasses and sins! May he confirm all that are wavering! And may you all go on from one degree of grace unto another, till you arrive unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, and thereby be made meet to stand before that God, in whose presence is the fullness of joy, at whose right hand there are pleasures forevermore! AMEN! AMEN!

Intercession every Christian's duty.

1 Thessalonians 5:25. Brethren, pray for us.

If we ask why there is so little genuine love among Christians — why the very mark by which everyone should know we are disciples of the holy Jesus has almost disappeared from the Christian world — we will find it is largely due to the neglect, or halfhearted practice, of that most God-like part of private prayer: intercession, or pleading with God for His grace and mercy on behalf of others.

Some neglect the duty of praying for others because they rarely remember to pray for themselves. But even good people who are faithful in praying to their Father in heaven are often so self-focused and narrow in their approach to the throne of grace that they fail to expand their prayers for the welfare of their fellow Christians as they should. Because of this, they fall short of that Christian love — that genuine affection for their brothers and sisters — which their sacred calling requires them to pursue. And without that love, the apostle tells us, even if they gave everything they owned to the poor and surrendered their bodies to be burned, it would profit them nothing.

Since this is so, I will use the words of our text — though they were originally written in a more limited context — to address three things: 1. That it is every Christian's duty to pray for others, as well as for himself. 2. Who we are to pray for, and how this duty should be carried out. And 3. I will offer some motivations to stir all Christians to abound in the great duty of intercession.

First, I will show that it is every Christian's duty to pray for others, as well as for himself.

Prayer is a duty rooted in natural religion — even the pagans never neglected it, though many who claim the Christian name among us do. Prayer is so essential to Christianity that you might as reasonably expect to find a living man without breath as a true Christian without the spirit of prayer and supplication. No sooner was Paul converted than the Lord Almighty said: 'Behold, he prays.' And so it is with every child of God — prayer has rightly been called the natural cry of the newborn soul.

In the heart of every true believer there is a heavenly pull, a divine attraction, that draws him to converse with God just as surely as a magnet draws iron.

A deep awareness of their own weakness and of Christ's fullness, along with a strong conviction of their natural sinfulness and their need for renewing grace, keeps them crying out day and night to their Almighty Redeemer. They cry that the divine image — lost in Adam — may, through His powerful intercession and the transforming work of His Spirit, be begun, carried on, and fully perfected in both their souls and bodies.

Sincere Christians are this earnest, this persistent, in praying for themselves. But because they do not feel as vivid, lasting, or deep a sense of their brothers' and sisters' needs, they are for the most part too careless and lacking in their prayers for others. Yet if the love of God were truly shed abroad in our hearts, and if we loved our neighbors in the way that the Son of God loved us and commanded us to love, we could not help but be just as persistent in praying for their spiritual and physical welfare as for our own. We would desire and seek just as earnestly for others to share in the benefits of Christ's death and passion as we do for ourselves.

Let no one think this is some rare or unusually high level of devotion that most people cannot reach — it is nothing of the sort. If we are all commanded to love our neighbor — that is, every person — and even to lay down our lives for the brothers, then it is the duty of all to pray for their neighbors as much as for themselves. By every possible act and expression of love and affection toward others at all times, we should show our readiness to lay down our lives for them, should God ever call us to do so.

Our blessed Savior has given us an example in everything, and especially in this. In that most divine, most perfect, and incomparable prayer recorded in John 17, which He offered just before His passion, we find very few petitions for Himself, but many for His disciples' welfare. And in the perfect form of prayer He gave us, He taught us to say not 'my' Father, but 'our Father' — reminding us that whenever we approach the throne of grace, we ought to pray not for ourselves alone, but for all our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Intercession is therefore certainly a duty that rests on all Christians.

Second, who we are to intercede for, and how this duty is to be carried out, is what I take up next.

First, our intercession must be universal. The apostle says: 'I will that prayers, supplications, and intercessions be made for all men.' For as God's mercy extends over all His works, and as Jesus Christ died to redeem a people out of every nation and language, we should pray that all people may come to a knowledge of the truth and be saved. Many precious promises are given in Scripture: that the Gospel will be proclaimed throughout the whole world, and that the earth will be covered with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Therefore it is our duty not to confine our prayers to our own nation, but to pray that all peoples now sitting in darkness and the shadow of death may have the glorious Gospel shine upon them as it has upon us. You need no one to teach you this, since you yourselves are taught by God — by Jesus Christ Himself — to pray that His kingdom may come. Part of the meaning of that petition is that God's ways may be known upon the earth, and His saving power among all nations.

Next, following Paul's instruction, we should pray for those in authority, so that we may lead quiet and peaceful lives in all godliness and honesty. When we consider how heavy the burden of governing is, how much the welfare of a people depends on the zeal and godly example of their leaders, and the many dangers, difficulties, and constant temptations to luxury and self-indulgence that governors face by virtue of their position, we will not only pity them but pray for them. We will pray that He who kept Esther, David, and Josiah untainted by the world amid the splendor of a royal court, and gave success to their endeavors, would likewise preserve those in authority as holy and blameless, and prosper all the work of their hands.

Third, you ought in a special way to pray for those whom the Holy Spirit has appointed as overseers over you. This is what Paul urges again and again in his letters to the churches. In our text he says: 'Brethren, pray for us.' And in his letter to the Ephesians: 'Praying always with all manner of supplication; and for me also, that I may open my mouth boldly to declare the mystery of the Gospel.' In another place, to show how earnest he was in this request and how vital their prayers were to him, he asks the church to strive — or, as the original word means, to be in an agony — together with him in prayer. And surely, if the great apostle Paul, that chosen vessel and favorite of heaven, needed the most fervent prayers of his converts, how much more do ordinary ministers of the Gospel need the intercession of their own congregations.

I must press this point in particular, because the matter is so important. There is no doubt that much good is frequently withheld from many people because they neglect to pray for their ministers — good that they would have received had they prayed as they ought. People often complain of a shortage of faithful and diligent pastors, but how do they deserve good pastors when they will not earnestly pray to God for them?

The church has set apart four seasons each year for exactly this purpose — to call down a blessing on those who are to be ordained to any holy office. But how few observe these ember days! And if we will not pray to the Lord of the harvest, can we expect Him to send workers into His harvest?

Besides, how ungrateful it is not to pray for your ministers! They watch and labor in the Word and in teaching for your sake and for your salvation — should you not pray for them in return? When people do favors for your body, you consider it right and proper to pray for them. Should those who daily feed and nourish your souls not be remembered in your prayers? Add to this: praying for your ministers is a clear sign that you believe that though Paul may plant and Apollos water, it is God alone who gives the growth. You will also find it the best thing you can do for your own benefit, because God, in answer to your prayers, may give them a double portion of His Holy Spirit. This will equip them to bring you deeper knowledge in spiritual things and enable them to divide the word of truth more skillfully.

If people would faithfully practice this — humbly asking God to answer all the prayers their ministers are offering on their behalf, and praying that the Holy Spirit would fall on all who hear the Word — we would see a much more visible effect of their preaching and a far greater love between ministers and their people. Ministers' hands would be held up by the people's intercessions, and the people would never dare to slander or speak against those who are the constant subjects of their own prayers.

Next after our ministers, our friends deserve a place in our intercessions — but we should not limit ourselves to vague, general prayers for them. We should tailor our prayers to their particular circumstances. When Miriam was struck with leprosy, Moses cried out: 'Lord, heal her.' When the nobleman came to Jesus on behalf of his child, he said: 'Lord, my little daughter lies at the point of death — please come and heal her.' In the same way, when any of our friends are in difficult circumstances, we should pray for them with those specific circumstances in mind. For example: is a friend sick? We should pray that, if it is God's good pleasure, it may not be unto death — but if otherwise, that He would give that friend grace to receive His correction rightly, so that, after this painful life ends, he may dwell with God in life everlasting. Is a friend facing a difficult decision? We should lay his situation before God — as Moses brought the case of the daughters of Zelophehad — and pray that God's Holy Spirit would lead him into all truth. Is he in want? We should pray that his faith will not fail, and that in God's good time he will be relieved. In all such situations, we should not pray for our friends in mere generalities but shape our prayers to their needs — a difficult duty, yet not impossible for those who have turned away from an excessive love of the things of this present life. It is from that kind of disordered love, and that alone, that all enmity arises. Those who know the terrible warning given to those who cause Christ's little ones to stumble can, out of genuine compassion and concern for their danger, pray even for those by whom such offenses come.

Finally, to conclude this section: we should intercede for all who are in any way afflicted in mind, body, or circumstances — for all who ask for our prayers and stand in need of them, and for all who do not pray for themselves.

Oh, that all who hear me would set aside some time every day for the faithful practice of this most necessary duty!

I now move on to the third main point I proposed to address.

Third: to show the benefits of daily intercession and to offer some reasons to motivate you to practice it.

First, intercession will fill your hearts with love for one another. Someone who daily and sincerely intercedes at the throne of grace for all people cannot help but be filled, in a short time, with love and charity toward all. The frequent exercise of this love will gradually enlarge his heart and make him a partaker of that overflowing love that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Envy, malice, revenge, and other such destructive attitudes can never long make their home in the heart of a faithful intercessor. Instead, he will be filled with joy, peace, gentleness, patience, and all the other graces of the Holy Spirit. By regularly laying his neighbor's needs before God, he will develop a genuine fellow-feeling for them. He will rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Every blessing received by others, rather than stirring envy in him, will be seen as an answer to his own prayers for them, and fill his soul with unspeakable joy.

Therefore, abound in acts of both general and specific intercession. When you hear of a neighbor's faults, instead of spreading them to others, bring them quietly before God and ask Him to correct and change that person. When you hear of a notorious sinner, instead of feeling self-righteous anger, ask Jesus Christ to convert him and make him a monument of His free grace. You cannot imagine what a blessed change this practice will bring about in your own heart, and how much you will grow, day by day, in a spirit of love and gentleness toward all people.

To motivate you further to practice intercession faithfully, consider the many examples in Scripture of its power and effectiveness. Great and remarkable things are recorded there as the results of this holy work. Intercession has stopped plagues, it has opened and shut heaven, and it has repeatedly turned away God's anger from His people. Abimelech's household was freed from the disease God had sent among them through Abraham's intercession. When Phineas stood up and prayed, the plague stopped immediately. When Daniel humbled himself and interceded for God's inheritance, an angel was sent at once to tell him his prayer had been heard. And, to give one more example, consider how God Himself appears almost overcome by the persistence of Moses when Moses interceded for his idolatrous people — 'Let Me alone,' says God.

This clearly shows — I might almost say — the unstoppable power of intercession, and how we may, like Jacob, wrestle with God and by holy persistence prevail both for ourselves and for others. There is no doubt that it is the secret, prevailing intercessions of the few righteous souls still remaining among us that have led God to spare this miserably sinful nation. Were there not such faithful ones, like Moses, still standing in the gap, we would already have been destroyed like Sodom and reduced to ashes like Gomorrah.

To stir you further to this God-like work of intercession, consider that it is very likely the ongoing occupation of the glorified saints in heaven. Though they are freed from the burden of the body and restored to the glorious liberty of God's children, their happiness will not be fully complete until the resurrection of the last day, when all their brothers and sisters will be glorified with them. We can therefore believe they are often earnestly asking our heavenly Father to soon complete the number of His elect and hasten His kingdom. Should we, who are still on earth, not often engage in this holy work alongside the glorious company of the spirits of the righteous made perfect? Since so much of our eternal happiness will consist in the communion of saints in the triumphant church above, should we not regularly intercede for the church militant here below? Should we not earnestly pray that we may all be one — even as the holy Jesus and His Father are one — and that we may all be made perfect in that unity?

To draw you into this great work and labor of love, remember that it is the ceaseless occupation of the holy and highly exalted Jesus Himself, who sits at the right hand of God, hears all our prayers, and makes continual intercession for us. So the person who is constantly interceding for others on earth is doing the very thing that the eternal Son of God is always doing in heaven.

Picture, then, when you are lifting up holy hands in prayer for one another, that you see the heavens opened and the Son of God in all His glory — as the great high priest of your salvation — offering and pleading the all-sufficient merit of His sacrifice before the throne of His heavenly Father. Join your intercessions with His, and ask Him to let them rise, through Him, as incense, received as a pleasing aroma, acceptable in the sight of God. This vision will strengthen your faith, stir up holy earnestness in your prayers, and make you wrestle with God as Jacob did when he saw Him face to face and his life was preserved — as Abraham did when he pleaded for Sodom — and as Jesus Christ Himself did when He prayed in agony, all the more earnestly, on the night before His bitter passion.

And now, brothers and sisters, what more can I say? You are taught by Jesus Christ Himself to overflow in love and in this good work of praying for one another. However humble your station, though as poor as Lazarus, you will become a benefactor to all humanity through intercession. Thousands — yes, tens of thousands — will be blessed because of you. And after you have spent a few years in this holy work on earth, you will be carried to that happy place where you have so often prayed others might go. You will be exalted to sit at the right hand of our all-powerful, all-prevailing Intercessor, in the kingdom of His heavenly Father forever.

I must press this duty upon you with special urgency now, because in all probability most of you who have heard me preach will see me no more. I am leaving — I trust under the guidance of God's Holy Spirit — without knowing what will happen to me. I therefore need your most fervent intercessions: that nothing will shake me from my duty, and that I may not count even my life precious to myself, so long as I may finish my course with joy and complete the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the Gospel of the grace of God.

While I have been among you, I have, to the best of my knowledge, not failed to declare to you the whole will of God. Though my preaching may have been an occasion of death to some, I trust it has also been an occasion of life to others. I earnestly hope that those to whom it has been life will not forget to remember me in their prayers. As for my part, the many kindnesses you have shown me — far more than I deserved — will not allow me to forget you. Out of the deep, I trust, my cry will go up to God, and while winds and storms blow over me, I will make my prayers to the Lord on your behalf. For it is only a little while before we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ — where I must give a strict account of the doctrine I have preached, and you of what you did with it. Oh, may I never be called as a witness against any of those for whose salvation I have sincerely, though too feebly, longed and labored.

It is true that some have accused me of acting from hidden and selfish motives, but it is a small thing to me to be judged by human opinion. I hope my motives are pure, but I beg you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God in Christ Jesus — pray that they may be even more so, and that I may grow in the knowledge and love of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

And now, brothers and sisters, what more can I say? I could wish to go on much longer, for I can never fully put into words the longing of my soul for you. Finally, then, brothers and sisters: whatever things are holy, whatever things are pure, whatever things are honest, whatever things are of good report — if there is any consolation in Christ, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any hope of our standing together with joy at the awesome tribunal of Jesus Christ — think on the things you have heard, and on what your pastors have declared and will yet declare to you. Continue under their ministry to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, so that whether I see you again or whether God brings me back to you at some point, I may always have the joy of knowing that your lives are worthy of the Gospel of Christ.

I almost feel I could willingly endure anything, if it might in any way advance the salvation of your precious and immortal souls. And I urge you, as my last request: obey those who have authority over you in the Lord, and always be ready to attend their ministry — it is our duty. Do not think I am seeking to elevate myself at the expense of anyone else's reputation. Rather, think of it this way: do not hold men's personalities in too high an admiration, but hold your ministers in high esteem and love, as they justly deserve for the sake of their work.

And now, brothers and sisters, I commit you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. May God reward you for all your works of faith and labors of love, and cause you to overflow more and more in every good word and work toward all people. May He truly convert all who have been convicted of sin, and awaken all who are dead in trespasses and sins. May He strengthen all who are wavering. And may you all go forward from one degree of grace to another, until you reach the full measure of the stature of Christ, and are thereby made ready to stand before that God in whose presence is fullness of joy, and at whose right hand there are pleasures forevermore. Amen! Amen!