INTERCESSION - Can we discover its nature. Is it a Gift or a Calling?
Introduction
All
prayer is communication with God but the language changes as we grow in Christ.
Intercession
strictly means standing in place of someone else in prayer but true Intercession is inspired by God, maintained in us by the Holy Spirit
and brought to fruition by God. This
means that we can expect to see answered prayer if we have clean hands and a
pure heart.[1]
In order to intercede we must be able to discern the will of God, not
pray for our desires and offer our solutions to the question in hand.
What we call Intercession in our Anglican services is nearly all
petition.
I
will attempt to show that because we are all called to a relationship with Christ then we can all
intercede and receive the gifts of
intercession. Mother Mary
Clare S.L.G.[2]
would seem to go further and says that "Contemplative prayer is open
to all, because it is the fruit of baptismal indwelling, a gift freely given and
bestowed, requiring us to pay the cost of purification"
But that condition might be the stumbling block.
She continues by saying that "there is no specialised prayer for
specialised people". According
to her, those of the Eastern Orthodox Church have never lost the normal
development of prayer through silence and listening that leads to the mystery of
the fullness of Christ.
But
there are some who believe that Intercession itself a gift, and it is this gift
that produces people who spend hours in prayer and are available whenever the
Lord calls them[3].
So
I will explore Intercession by looking at people who have spent much time in
prayer, including contemplative prayer, and listen to what God said to and
through those people. I
hope to discover common qualities and relate them to Christ, the Intercessor.