The Importance of Intercession
Building Your Prayer Life–part 4
DAY 1
Intercession is praying for others. This week you’ll build a Prayer Notebook that will add variety to your prayer life on a weekly basis!
1. List below the people for whom we should be praying. Next to the names, list any specific items for which we should pray:
* 1 Timothy 2:1
* Ephesians 6:18
* Ephesians 6:19-20
* Matt. 9:38
* Hebrews 13:3
* Galatians 6:1
* James 5:16
2. The apostle Paul prayed for his fellow Christian brothers and sisters. For each of the verses below, list his prayer requests for other Christians:
* Colossians 1:9
* Col. 1:10
* Col. 1:11
* Col. 1:12
3. Who are people/leaders for whom you would like to start praying? Next to each, write a day of the week you’ll pray for each of them. (Example: Sunday–lost people; Monday–government leaders; Tuesday: pastors). Also include family, extended family, people at work, neighborhood, etc.
Sunday:
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
Saturday:
DAY 2
1. Most of the time when we pray for others we pray for their “daily” or “urgent” needs. Fine. But as you may have noticed yesterday, Paul prayed for some “big ticket” items for Christians he knew.
Read Ephesians 1:17-19. Next to each verse, list the items Paul prayed for the Christians in Ephesus.
* Eph. 1:17
* Eph. 1:18
* Eph. 1:19
2. Which of the above verses strikes you the most?
3. Is there someone who could use your prayer for them from one of these verses? Who? Pray for them right now.
4. Yesterday, you listed different groups of people for whom you should pray. Now, get out some paper. At the top of each page create a TITLE for that page using the groups you listed and/or the ones below.
a. Immediate family
b. Extended family (will have its own page)
c. Government leaders
d. Church leaders
e. Neighbors
f. Missionaries
g. Lost people
h. Christian brothers/sisters
5. Take one page, and list the specific people in that group for whom you’d like to pray. (Example: EXTENDED FAMILY: Grandpa Jim; Grandma Louise; my dad, my mom, my brother, my sister).
6. Pray for them now.
Day 3
1. We continue yesterday’s construction of a prayer notebook.
a. Immediate family
b. Extended family (will have its own page)
c. Government leaders
d. Church leaders
e. Neighbors
f. Missionaries
g. Lost people
h. Christian brothers/sisters
2. Take EACH page, and list the specific people in that group for whom you’d like to pray. (Example: CHURCH LEADERS: Seth, Lance, Kevin, Debra, Judith, etc.
3. Add names to EACH of your pages, above.
4. In adding variety to your prayer life, there are some people and items for which you’ll pray virtually every day. But there are many people and items for which once/week is fine.
5. Let’s look at another of Paul’s prayers for his Christian brothers and sisters.
Read Ephesians 3:16-21. List what he was praying…
* 3:16
* 3:17
* 3:18
* 3:19
* 3:20
* 3:21
6. Finish today with prayer for someone on one of your lists.
DAY 4
Today we look at why God does not sometimes answer our prayers.
1. For each of the verses listed, write down the reason(s) God does not sometimes answer our prayers:
* James 4:3
* Prov. 28:9
* Deuteronomy 1:42-45
* Hebrews 11:6
* Prov. 1:27-28
* Prov. 21:13
* 1 Peter 3:7
* Ezekiel 14:3
* Zechariah 7:11-13
* Psalms 66:18
* Mark 11:25-26
2. Which of these struck you the most?
3. Have you seen God say “no” to your prayers for any of those reasons?
4. From the list above, are there any things you need to correct:
* A relationship to mend?
* An area of obedience to follow through on?
* A sin to confess?
DAY 5
1. By now you your prayer notebook is taking shape! Over the last few weeks, you should have pages that give you “tools” for each of the different kinds of prayer we’ve studied so far:
* Praise: Verses you can use every day (lots of them that provide variety)
* Thanks: Keeping a running list of items, people, and God’s work for which you are thankful (Thursdays!)
* Confession: Verses you can use to help you humble yourself, experience God’s mercy and enjoy His grace!
* Intercession: You’ve added 7-10 pages to your notebook this week.
2. Yesterday we looked at reasons God does not answer our prayers. Today, we’ll look at what He is trying to form in us through either answered prayer, delayed prayer or unanswered prayer.
3. Below is a list of questions to periodically ask yourself. Read the verse(s) below each question and record any insights you see.
* Are all sins confessed?
Isaiah 59:1-2
1 John 1:9-10
* Are all relationships with others made right?
Matt. 6:14-15
* Are you seeking His will in all things?
1 John 5:14-15
* Are you seeking to glorify God above all things?
John 14:13-14
* Are you depending on the Holy Spirit’s guidance?
Romans 8:26-27
* Are you trusting God is spite of what seems to be?
Prov. 3:5-6
* Will you praise God no matter what?
Romans 8:28
1 Thess. 5:16-18
4. As we conclude the week, let me encourage you to use your prayer notebook. You are likely to find this sporadic. That’s OK. We’re just hoping that you are moving in the right direction: building a lifestyle of prayer!