"Intercessory prayer is not a technique for changing God's mind, but it is a releasing of God's power through placing
ourselves in a relationship of co-operation with God. It is an act. Prayer and action should not be opposed to each other, for prayer is action. Intercession means literally to stand between, to become involved in the conflict."
--Kenneth Leech
While I am a proponent of divine mystery, meaning that I believe that we are better served by contemplating the mysteries of the faith than by settling for easily understood explanations, I find myself wanting to make sense of the practice of intercessory prayer. It's not easy. The obvious, familiar difficulty is that God knows best what is needed and loves the people or persons for whom we are praying far more than we do.
I can imagine that God would want to share with us the joy of loving his creation and that intercessory prayer is an act of love. But there are far more compelling and courageous ways to love and to pray. Even the act of deep attention given to another person or any part of creation appears more loving to me then asking God to change something. Additionally, I can think of dozens of hard circumstances that produced fruit that would not have ripened if God had answered my prayer for reprieve. I feel more drawn to
the prayer, "Thy will, not mine be done?"
It is my hope that when we are encouraged to petition God, it means something very different than what I have seen modeled. The above quote speaks to something deep in me, especially the picture of co-operating with God. And to think about intercession as becoming involved in the conflict is also an attractive invitation. I sense that there is much in
what Father Leech is saying that I don't yet understand, but I intend to continue mulling it over. I simply recommend it to you for your own reflection. Does anything in this quote stir your understanding of intercessory prayer?
ourselves in a relationship of co-operation with God. It is an act. Prayer and action should not be opposed to each other, for prayer is action. Intercession means literally to stand between, to become involved in the conflict."
--Kenneth Leech
While I am a proponent of divine mystery, meaning that I believe that we are better served by contemplating the mysteries of the faith than by settling for easily understood explanations, I find myself wanting to make sense of the practice of intercessory prayer. It's not easy. The obvious, familiar difficulty is that God knows best what is needed and loves the people or persons for whom we are praying far more than we do.
I can imagine that God would want to share with us the joy of loving his creation and that intercessory prayer is an act of love. But there are far more compelling and courageous ways to love and to pray. Even the act of deep attention given to another person or any part of creation appears more loving to me then asking God to change something. Additionally, I can think of dozens of hard circumstances that produced fruit that would not have ripened if God had answered my prayer for reprieve. I feel more drawn to
the prayer, "Thy will, not mine be done?"
It is my hope that when we are encouraged to petition God, it means something very different than what I have seen modeled. The above quote speaks to something deep in me, especially the picture of co-operating with God. And to think about intercession as becoming involved in the conflict is also an attractive invitation. I sense that there is much in
what Father Leech is saying that I don't yet understand, but I intend to continue mulling it over. I simply recommend it to you for your own reflection. Does anything in this quote stir your understanding of intercessory prayer?
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