The Beauty of Intercession

A friend left a voicemail last night, telling me that he was sick with the flu and his wife was also sick from some complications after giving birth in the last month. He ended his voicemail by asking me to keep him in his prayers.

It got me thinking of prayer and what it really means to pray for someone else. What I realized about intercession -- asking God for specific things for yourself or others -- is that it signifies our complete weakness as humans in comparison to God. Whenever someone wants prayer, they are in essence saying that what they want to happen cannot happen in their own strength; and they look to God for help, suggesting He alone can provide for what they want.

Too often, I see prayer as a good-luck charm, as something I do so that I might have a better day. I lack humility in my prayers, not realizing that I'm conversing with a God who could give me anything if He wanted.

Bill Hybels said in a simple but profound statement that "the most common cause of unanswered prayer is prayerlessness." I wonder what would happen if I actually prayed. Would my life change? Would the lives of the people around me change?