On page 63 Bonhoeffer
transitions from a focus on “prayer” to a focus on “intercession” – prayer offered
on concerted behalf of others (my distinction). He first points out that our
intercessions should be tied to “the words of the Bible”. This can take many
forms: We can draw from prayers of the Psalms; we can draw from prayers written
elsewhere in the Bible, such as Ephesians 1:15 – 23 and 3:14 – 21; we can intercede
based on Biblical promises and instruction; and we can intercede according to
intercessory patterns that we see in the Bible (Abraham, Moses, Habakkuk).
Bonhoeffer writes, “A
Christian community either lives by the intercessory prayers of its members for
one another, or the community will be destroyed…Intercessory prayer is the
purifying bath into which the individual and the community must enter every
day.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together,
Fortress Press, 2015 (Reader’s Edition), page 64.
Intercessory prayer is more
than checking someone’s name off a prayer list; this is not to say that we
shouldn’t pray short prayers for others, but it is to say that short prayers do
not always have the characteristics of intercessory prayers and that short
prayers are usually not intercessory prayers. At the risk of simplification, a “one
and done prayer” is not an intercessory prayer. We need short prayers so that
we can pray for many people by name, but we are also called to sustained
intercessory prayer for others. However, short prayers for individuals prayed
consistently over the course of months and years may take the form of
intercessory prayer – they are seeds that are planted and that, having been
watered and nourished consistently, grow into sustained intercessory prayers.
Here is an example of how what
begins as a short prayer can transition into sustained intercessory prayer: I
come to a new place of work. I begin praying for my coworkers by name. Due to
the number of coworkers I have limited time to pray for them (though hopefully
I also pray for them during the day as I work with them), so my prayers are
necessarily short. As weeks turn into months and as months turn into years I
continue my “short prayers”, however, the short prayers take on new
characteristics as link after link in the chain of prayer is forged – there is
greater depth, greater care and concern, greater love, and greater insight;
there is also greater sustained commitment and identification on my part with
the people I’m praying for.
Some elements of intercessory
prayer are: Identification with the person or people prayed for; sustained
commitment to intercede until answered; praying based on the Bible – having the
Word of God as the foundation of intercession, the form of intercession, and
the appeal of intercession – the latter means that we appeal to God on the
basis of His promises and His Word. Intercession may involve fasting, whether a
long period or dedicated short periods. Intercession always includes putting the interests of others before our own. As
we learn to intercede we learn to listen to the Holy Spirit as He directs our
prayers.
How vital is intercession? In
addition to Bonhoeffer’s words that, “A Christian community either lives by the
intercessory prayers of its members for one another, or the community will be
destroyed…Intercessory prayer is the purifying bath into which the individual
and the community must enter every day”; the Holy Spirit intercedes for us
(Romans 8:26) and our Lord Jesus, our Great High Priest, “always lives to make
intercession” (Hebrews 7:25). Intercession is the work of God and when we enter
into the koinonia of intercession we enter into the koinonia of the Trinity. Our
intercessory prayers transform us into the image of Christ, living intercessory
lives; and the more we live intercessory lives the more we will find ourselves
living in intercessory prayer. The Cross is the great intercessory proclamation
and manifestation of the cosmos – with Christ proclaiming that He and He alone
is the Great Intercessor; He invites us to know Him in His sufferings, His
resurrection, and His intercession.
All Christians have work to do, and
a work that all Christians can do, a work that we should all do, is the work of
intercession. The only barrier to intercession is self, the great open door to
intercession is Jesus our High Priest.
What does intercession look
like in our lives today?
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