Making Intercessory Prayer (Eph 6:18-20)
Speaker: Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew
Date: 17 Oct 2021

 Download Sermon

Sermon notes taken by:

Haw Yew Nyen


Intercessory prayers are prayers that can only be made by believers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Believers can pray for themselves and also for others (including unbelievers), and God will hear their prayers. This is because of the Father-child relationship which God has with every believer. The moment a person repents of his sins and accepts Jesus Christ (who has died on the cross for the sins of this world) as his Lord and Saviour, he is no longer an enemy of God but has instantaneously become a child of God.

 

God has commanded believers to pray always (Eph 6:18) and without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17). This is needful as we live in a sinful world full of temptations and lusts. Constant prayer allows us to be vigilant as we seek God to equip us with the armour of God to protect us from the fiery darts of the wicked, as well as to defend and attack. We must be alert and watchful always in our walk with God as one moment of weakness can be detrimental to our witness for Christ. We must with all perseverance and supplication” (Eph 6:18b) continue to pray and to never give up while we live a life of holiness for God in this world. We must always pray for our own spiritual wellbeing and to take care of our spiritual life first, by setting aside time every day to do our Quiet Time and to study God’s Word. It is only when our own spiritual lives are well taken care of can we then have the spiritual maturity to pray for others and to help them grow spiritually.

 

Besides praying for others, we also need others to pray for us (Eph 6:19). Our prayer items must not be just the physical aspects of our lives. Our prayers must always help us draw closer to God, to have more faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, to obey and do the will of God. We need to know what our calling or ministries are in this world so that we can then pray with the right motive and purpose. Believers are called to be ambassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph 6:20), to be His representatives here on earth. Thus, we must strive to live a life of holiness and bear a good testimony for Christ, especially to unbelievers. We must pray and ask God to help us to bear that holy witness and be effective in sharing the Lord Jesus for His glory.

 

Intercessory prayers are to focus on the spiritual. It is to enable believers to be more effective ambassadors of Jesus Christ. It is needful as it will protect us from sins and temptations, and will draw us closer to God. It will help us to persevere and to guard our hearts so that we do not misrepresent Christ but serve Him fervently and pray without ceasing for ourselves and others, for all things spiritual.

  © Copyright 2018 Truth Bible-Presbyterian Church     PDP