When Prayer is Pain I n Exodus 32:31,32 is the al most unparalleled prayer of Moses as he intercedes on behalf of his people. “ And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin . . . .” And here occurs a pause in dicated by a dash after the word “ sin” as if Moses waited to hear God’s answer before saying more, “ . . . if thou wilt forgive their sin . . .” he prays. And in the pause that follows, his heart overwhelmed with grief, he listens for God’s re ply; but in vain he waits for an answer; there is no response. Then, with a burden that crushes him al most to death and a love that strug gles up in his heart on behalf of his people, he continues his inter cession: . and if not,” he prays, “ blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.” truth in Christ,” he exclaims, “ I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh” (Rom. 9:1-3).. What a picture of the heart of Paul. We think of him as a man filled with joy, not only rejoicing himself but bidding others to do the same. Yet here he declares that he has great heaviness and contin ual heart sorrow, that he is under tremendous pressure, that he car ries a burden every moment of the day and night. And oh, what a burden! How it crushes him! So great is it that he declares himself willing to be accursed, eternally separated from Christ, for the sake of his kinsmen according to the flesh. In other words, Paul feels ex actly the same as Moses felt. So wonderful is his love for his own people Israel that, after counting the cost, he is willing to lose all in order that they might gain all. And the only relief he can find is in prayer, mighty, unceasing inter cession for his brethren, the Jews. And now with such examples of intercession bom out of a broken, burdened heart, how lamentably weak and unreal are our prayers! Would to God we too might be thus burdened for others, that we might have power with God in the min istry of intercession. Oh, what prayer. How marvel ously this servant of God interceded for his people! What a burden rest ed upon his heart! It is almost im possible for us to comprehend the hitter anguish of his soul as he pleaded. How deep was his love! Did ever man pass through such an experience? And how feeble are our petitions in comparison with this great intercessor’s! Moses was willing to he forever separated from God, to have his name blotted out of the book of life and be eternally lost, if only his people might be saved. But Moses does not stand alone. There is one other who passed through the same experience, felt the same burden, endured the same agony and made the same offer. TTiat one was Paul, the mighty apostle to the Gentiles. “ I say the The highest form of Christian service is intercessory prayer. I state this without fear of contradic tion. And what I am going to say now is applicable to every Christian in the world, for all may have a part. You may not be able to
preach, but you can pray. It is your privilege to become an inter cessor if you choose to and thus accomplish the greatest work that God has committed to man. Now I want to mention some things which are necessary to re member if we are to engage in this, the highest form of Christian serv ice. First of all, it means that we must be standing on praying ground. That is to say, we must be certain that everything is right be tween us and God. Unless this is the case it is useless to even attempt to pray. “ If I regard iniquity in my heart,” declares the inspired Word, “ the Lord will not hear me.” That means that God will not even listen to my prayer, let alone answer it. To be standing on praying ground is to have put away every sin, to turn from anything that grieves the Holy Spirit and to separate myself from all that is displeasing to God. And so as we think of this, the highest form of Christian service and resolve to become intercessors, let us make sure first of all that we are standing on praying ground and that there is nothing between us and God. In the second place, intercessory prayer means that we have gotten beyond ourselves, our needs and problems and that we are in a place and position spiritually to enter in to this blessed ministry with Jesus Christ, taking upon us the burden for others in a real soul-travail and allowing the Holy Spirit to pray the will of God through us. Most of the prayers recorded in the Bible are for others. Moses and Paul, as we have already seen, thought only of Israel. Our Lord Himself seldom prayed for His own
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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