“But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:34-36 NKJV
The word “carousing” in this passage is the word” Kraipalê,” which means drunk, hungover, or disoriented. Sometimes, we are disoriented as to where we are physically. I remember years ago, while living in Fort Worth, I was often driving up to Oklahoma on the weekends, preaching at different cities like Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and others. Every weekend, I was in a different city, and I remember meeting a friend for dinner in Tulsa. When I left the restaurant, before I could drive away, it took me a moment to remember what city I was in and where I needed to go from there. I was disoriented.
People have also been disoriented in regard to time. I think we all occasionally forget what time it is and even what day it is. Right now, I enjoy pastoring a three-church district, where I preach in different churches on different Sabbaths. It has not happened yet, but I would not be surprised if one Sabbath I forget which Sabbath it is and drive to the wrong church. I am not sure if that would be a time or place disorientation, or both. In the passage above, Jesus wants us to watch and pray so we do not become disoriented as to time. Jesus wants us to be aware that we are in the final moments of earth’s history, and to watch and pray accordingly.
Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane,
https://www.goodsalt.com/christ-in-gethsemane-gcbas0217
In Gethsemane, Jesus asked His disciples to watch and pray with Him, but they kept falling asleep. Now, as Jesus is finishing His work of interceding for sinners in earth’s final moments, He wants His church to be awake and praying with Him.
Why does Jesus want us to pray with Him? Do intercessory prayers work? Yes, they do. When my mother was dying and was unconscious, I prayed for God to wake her up just long enough for me to tell her I loved her one more time, and that is exactly what happened. A few years ago, I baptized a mother and her three children, while the husband and father thought baptism was the craziest thing in the world. The family and I prayed for the husband and father, and a year later, I baptized him, too.
Others have told me of a spouse or loved one who accepted Jesus as their Savior after 30 or 40 years of intercessory prayer. I remember a friend in Oklahoma gave a testimony about how she left the church as a teenager, but her mother kept praying for her. Years after her mother died, she came back to Jesus. When she was rebaptized, her aunt told her that her mother had made her promise to “take over” praying for her when she died. That story has always stirred my heart and affirmed the power of intercessory prayer. I remember praying for my friend, whom I will call Anne, who had left our small group Bible study and the church. Every night I prayed, “Lord please send your Holy Spirit to work upon Anne’s heart.” After weeks of praying, she called me and told me she was coming back to Jesus because she felt “The Holy Spirit working on her heart.”
Intercessory prayer works, but how? I don’t understand everything, but considering a previous Sabbath School Lesson, Rules of Engagement, we are learning there are parameters in the great cosmic battle between Christ and Satan. Satan claims this world as his own, and while I know well that this is my Father’s world, there are rules to the battle. Temporarily, at least, there is some validity to Satan’s claim to this planet. Why else would he be allowed in those meetings with the other sons of God in Job 1 and 2? In John 14:30 and John 16:11 Jesus refers to Satan as the prince of this world.
In Matthew 8:29 NLT, the demons accuse Jesus of “interfering” with them. While I am sure Jesus was not breaking any rules, that does give us a hint that there are parameters in the cosmic battle. God cannot intervene where He is not invited, as that would be using force and manipulation, as opposed to love. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus stands knocking at the heart’s door, but does not force His way in, as that would not be love. We have to open the door to let Him in. This is where intercessory prayers come in. When we pray as members of humanity on behalf of humanity for God to intervene in the lives of humanity, He now has an invitation and is not using force. If Satan protests God’s involvement in meddling with human hearts, God can tell Satan, “I am not using force or manipulation. I have been invited to intervene.”
This is why Jesus encourages us in Matthew 18:19 -20 that when we gather together in His name He is there to work powerfully to grant our requests, Just as he answered Elijah’s powerful prayers. See James 5:14-18. Being gathered in his name does not mean we have to be gathered in a certain building. We may be in separate hemispheres and be gathered in His name.
In Matthew 6:10 Jesus prays for His Father’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. In Revelation 12:7-9 Satan was cast out of heaven. When we pray as humanity on behalf of humanity, it opens the way for God to cast Satan out of our hearts, homes and communities. The human heart still has free choice, but God can intervene on behalf of humanity within the parameters of the cosmic battle without using force and manipulation, as He has been invited to intervene just as Elijah prayed for God’s intervention in his day.
Elijah witnessed a great miracle on Mount Carmel when he prayed for God to intervene with the Baal worshippers in 1 Kings 18.
What are some amazing things you have witnessed after praying for God’s intervention?
