“Let these words of mine, with which I pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires...”
~1 Kings 8:59 (NRSV)
The obedience of faith is augmented never more than by prayer.
As we read Solomon’s caption above—part of a postscript to his prayer of dedication for the opening of the Temple—we can understand the unique desperation within his heart that the Lord’s favour would rest upon the Temple, Israel’s king, and the people; especially in the midst of a sacrosanct life bearing much temptation and danger.
Then we consider our own needs, by knowledge of spiritual trepidation, because we know we are given to spiritual disobedience all too easily, and so quickly we run to our edified understanding—prayer is entirely good for coping with the barb of temptation and the presence of danger.
Prayer Meets The Danger Of Temptation
So many things of life prove to be snares. Life might otherwise prove simple to live, but by the notion of hindsight we know that our pride blinds us and many falls could be prevented by nimble prayerfulness. Yet, we will go our own way.
If we would only pray more we might be protected more. That is the simplest analysis of a key part of the Lord’s Prayer: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one,” and even Jesus’ instruction to Peter, James, and John at
And, of course, the Apostle Paul commends the Corinthians to prayerful obedience because God will not test us beyond our limits (1 Corinthians 10:13).
It can be commonly experienced, via the life of faith—prayer meets danger part way on its destined path toward us. It won’t always prevent such danger, but prayer does bequeath over us the gift of the Lord’s spiritual intercession.
Prayer Bequeaths The Lord’s Spiritual Intercession
In the mode of prayer we elucidate the Spirit of blessing within the Presence of God; that is the nearness of the Lord and we are, therefore, provided the inspiration, courage, and the strategy to obey.
By prayer we ask our God to maintain us and our cause in virtuosity.
And the Almighty, the living God, is not given to rejecting such requests. As the Apostle James put it, and Jesus himself also, the Lord gives good gifts, both generously and ungrudgingly (James 1:5; Matthew 7:11).
Spiritual intercession by prayer, then, plays a massive part in our spiritual fortunes. It enrols the Lord’s spiritual intercession by return; knowing the nature of our prayer is to follow the good path, by the words of our prayer, the act itself, and the will to obey, God will anoint such intent.
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The simplicity and power of faith resounds never more than by the act of prayer in the midst of temptation and danger. Prayer is a sure way to get through both.
© 2011 S. J. Wickham.
Postscript: this is a partner article to, Prayer In the Moment’s Need.
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