Intercessory Prayer, Christ, and Holy Week, Part 3

-

The third Old Testament example is the prophet Samuel, who speaks at length to the people of Israel when Saul is crowned king despite the warnings that a king could become despotic and enslave the people.  They wanted a king to be like everyone else.  This please sounds so much like politics today that I feel like using the abbreviation SMH!  “We want Bernie Sanders the socialist so we can be like the European countries.”  “We want Donald Trump so we can make America great again.”  In all three cases it seems that personal and corporate responsibility  for the future outcomes is being rejected to allow someone else to take care of the crowd.  A democratic republic demands the knowledge, responsibility,  and involvement of all citizens to work. 
In Samuel’s case, he says in I Samuel 12:22-24 some of the sweetest words in the Bible:  “For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has please the LORD to make you His people.  Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and right way.  Only fear the Lord and serve Him with all your heart, for consider what great things He has done for you.”
Samuel is interceding for the people through his prayer, but he is also interceding for God.  He is another imperfect example of the perfect Mediator.  And for him, to not engage in intercessory prayer for them is a sin.  Considering how often we are commanded to pray for others in the New Testament, it would seem reasonable to claim that a failure to pray intercessorily is also a sin. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kallman's Syndrome: The Secret Best Kept

-
I went to my cardiologist yesterday.   Every year I have to wear a Holter monitor for a day because of a heart ablation I had in 2007.   If you don’t know what a Holter monitor is, it’s a 24-hour mobile, wires-hanging-off-your-body EKG.   The nurse practitioner saw me, (not the doctor, which is ok because his voice puts me to sleep).   She was very sweet.   She asked me if I was still taking Estradiol and Progesterin.   “No,” I said. “I’ve totally gone off those.   I was on them for a very long time and I wanted to be sure to stop.” What I didn’t tell her is how long I actually had taken those hormones.   37 years.   I started with HRT when I was 17 because I have Kallman’s Syndrome.   You may never meet a person who has this condition.   It only affects 1 in 10,000 people (or 1 in 86,000, according to one source) so that’s quite a range and far more males have it than females (as do most negative things).   So, being female, I am quite an oddit
Read more

Do I Really Have to See the Barbie Movie?

-
 You know, I was going to write an essay about the Barbie movie .  I am pretty close to deciding that I don't need to spend $8 or more (plus gasoline), 3 hours, and some brain cells looking at pink (only pretty in its natural settings) silliness.  Therefore, I think I will also save the time writing this trying to explain why I probably won't see it unless it comes on YouTube and I'm too tired to do anything else.  Some are talking about it like it's the most profound art of the summer and an insightful exploration of sexual power dynamics. I have enough problems already. And I watched the other half of Barbenheimer already, Oppenheimer (it is brilliant except for the unnecessary and nauseating sex, which I guess was put in there to show what a womanizer he was).  I've already spent my 3 hours on movies for the summer.  Oh, and three on Sound of Freedom, but that was obligatory. And worth it; despite the controversies (ginned up by media that will attack anything
Read more