Intercession, Every Christian's Duty
By George
Whitefield
1 Thessalonians 5:25, "Brethren, pray for us."
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If we inquire, why there is so
little love to be found amongst 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 excellent part of prayer,
INTERCESSION, or imploring the divine grace and mercy in behalf of others.
Some forget this duty of praying
for others, because they seldom remember to pray for themselves: and even those
who are constant in praying to their Father who is in heaven, are often so
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 to
their brethren, which their sacred profession obliges them to aspire after, and
without which, though they should bestow all their goods to feed the poor, and
even give their bodies to be burned, yet it would profit them nothing.
Since these things are so, I shall
from the words of the text (though originally intended to be more confined)
endeavor, to show,
I. FIRST, That it is every Christian's duty to pray
for others as well as for himself.
II. SECONDLY, Show, whom we
ought to pray for, and in what manner we should do it. And,
III. THIRDLY, I shall offer some motives to excite all
Christians to abound in this great duty of intercession.
I. FIRST, 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 amongst 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
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 lodestone 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
operation 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, to which not
every one can attain: for, if we are all commanded to "love our neighbor
(that is every man) even as ourselves," nay to "lay down our lives
for the brethren;" then, 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
hath set us an example, that we should follow his steps" in every thing
else, so hath he more especially in this: for in that divine, that perfect and
inimitable prayer (recorded in the 17th of St. 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 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.
II. Whom we are to intercede
for, and how this duty is to be performed, comes next to be considered.
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, and 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
3. THIRDLY, you ought, in a more
especial manner, to pray for those, whom "the Holy Ghost hath made
OVERSEERS over you." This is what
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, and 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? 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 it is,
not to pray for your ministers! For shall they watch and labor in the word and
doctrine for you, and 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 giveth 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 should 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 villify 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 to come and heal her."
In like manner, when 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 is 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 an important
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,
and give all seasonable direction. 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
petitions to their particular sufferings and afflictions; for otherwise, we may
never ask perhaps for the things our friends most want.
It must be confessed, that such a
procedure will oblige some often to break from the forms they use; but if we
accustom ourselves to it, and have a deep sense of what we ask for, the most
illiterate will want proper words to express themselves.
We have many noble instances in
holy scripture of the success of this kind of particular intercession; but none
more remarkable than that of Abraham's servant, in the book of Genesis, who
being sent to seek a wife for his son Isaac, prayed in a most particular manner
in his behalf. And the sequel of the story informs us, how remarkably his
prayer as answered. And did Christians now pray for their friends in the same
particular manner, and with the same faith as Abraham's servant did for his
master; they would, no doubt, in many instances, receive as visible answers,
and have as much reason to bless God for them, as he had. But
5. As we ought thus to intercede
for our friends, so in like manner must we also pray for OUR ENEMIES.
"Bless them that curse you, (says Jesus Christ) and pray for them that
despitefully use you, and persecute you." Which commands he enforced in
the strongest manner by his own example: in the very agonies and pangs of
death, he prayed even for his murderers, "Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they do!" This, it must needs be confessed, is a difficult
duty, yet not impracticable, to those who have renounced the things of this
present life, (from an inordinate love of which 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 offenses 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,
III. To show the advantages,
and offer some considerations to excite you to the practice of daily
intercession. And
1. 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
those 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; 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 farther, to excite you to the
constant practice of this duty of intercession, consider the many instances 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 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 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 till 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 now 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, 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 favor, 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 O 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 should never 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 becometh 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 your 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 any man's person too much in admiration; but
esteem all your 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, and at whose
right-hand there are pleasures for evermore!" Amen! Amen!
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Note: George Whitefield was a
notable evangelist of the late 18th century. This sermon was not his last
sermon, but was probably preached shortly before his death on September 30,
1770.