Intercession Prayer
By now everyone has probably heard of the car accident in
Missouri where a priest just showed up to administer the holy oils to the young
woman trapped in her car. It was at the young woman’s request that her rescuers
pray with her and that is when the priest showed up, calming the young woman’s
fears and help boost the morale of the First Responders whose equipment was not
able to get her out.
What a perfect example of Intercessory Prayer, prayer that is
asking for help for someone or something.
We sometimes think that prayer is all about God’s power to change our
hearts and minds. That is true, but we should not forget that prayers can
change His mind as well. Remember what God told Solomon: “If my people, upon
whom my name has been pronounced, humble themselves and pray, and seek my
presence and turn from their evil ways, I will hear them from heaven and pardon
their sins and revive their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
This promise tells us that what we do matters. What we do
releases grace, blessing, pardon and revival upon other people. We can
influence God and He does hear our prayers.
During World War II an entire country prayed for help when
British and French soldiers were trapped at Dunkirk, France on the beach. The demise of thousands of soldiers looked
imminent, when King George VI called for a day of prayer across England to help
these soldiers and the country of England which was on the brink of being
invaded by Hitler’s forces. Called the
Miracle of Dunkirk, when the day he was going to invade dawned with bad storms
and fog making it difficult for the Germans to fly and Hitler called off the
invasion, but the English Channel was calm enough for ships to rescue the
soldiers who were trapped bringing them home.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill called this rescue, “a miracle of deliverance.”
He said, “A guiding hand interfered to make sure the allied forces were not
annihilated at Dunkirk.” A day of national thanksgiving was called to celebrate.
Was this just an error in judgment on Hitler’s part along
with weird weather? Or was it divine providence coming as a result of people’s
prayers of intercession. Most people
believe it was a combination of God hearing people’s prayers and the bravery of
soldiers and rescuers involved.
The young woman in the accident believed that prayer would
help her have the courage to survive this horrendous accident and prayer would
help her rescuers figure out how to get her out. The mysterious priest, later identified as
Father Patrick Dowling, just happened to come along the accident and wanted to
help by praying with the rescuers and victim. When the fire department’s
equipment couldn’t get the young woman out of her car, another city’s fire
department arrived on the scene and their equipment did get her out. Many times we say things like, “It was a
stroke of luck” or “what a coincidence” that something happens, but maybe it’s
a combination of God interceding through the works of His people. He hears our
prayers then He speaks to each of us, helping us see how we can help each
other. And intercessory prayer is
interceding prayer, God interceding and each of us interceding by God’s call.
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