Chapter two

Instructors of the Lord
 

 

"Oh Lord, we ask that your hand will divide these two people and reunite this person to his/her spouse. We ask you to empower this person to do your will."
In chapter one I talked about the misuse of prayer in handling the sins of our brothers and sisters. Intercessory prayers, however, extend well beyond the boundaries of the first chapter discussion. The idea of interceding for our fellow men has different meaning to different people. Sometimes the same people have a different interpretation, depending on the angle of our question. As you may remember we are asking several questions to understand what prayer is not. Some of us understand that sins are the business of Yashua (Jesus) and His ministration exclusively. Others, as we discussed, assume this ministration to be theirs as well.

Another group, wedged right in between, however, believes that there is a special ministration, extended to us. Some intercessors endorse the ideas we discussed in chapter one, yet, they feel that God has provided a niche for a special type of prayer intercessor. They propose their duties to be of a directive nature. They believe that God needs man’s advice to make up His mind on what to do.
 

.. . , the possibilities of prayer are seen in the fact that it changes the purposes of God. It is in the very nature of prayer to plead and give directions. -E.M.Bounds Purpose In Prayer p. 97
  In their view, we are commissioned to communicate the needs of people, unto the Lord, through prayer. God in turn would promptly awaken His arm and fulfill their petitions and directives. This ministration is understood as open for men and is also frequently defined as "Intercession" by most if not all the intercessors I discussed in chapter one. Please understand that though these ideas rarely exist in their pure form, this analysis will help us to understand with great precision where to find the weaknesses in the foundation of these dangerous theories.

For the sake of clarity, let's outline the three groups again:

        1. a) Called to be intercessors for sins and 'God's power' to go to others.
        2. b) Called to ask for 'God's power' and blessings to go to others.
        3. Non-intercessors, ready and willing to be used.  

 

In this chapter we are going to discuss item b) which relates directly to our third question of chapter one. Let’s review our question list.  

1.- Does man have power over God? 2.- Does man have power, through prayer, to make/permit/compel God to do something, that He would not do ordinarily? Examples:
  a) To forgive sins of others at our request and at our confession of their sins. (not trespasses against the petitioner)

b) Act in the lives of other people where He would not normally act until we send our petition.

c) Act in our lives where He would not normally act until we send our petition.
 

As we saw earlier there are four questions here. These questions are asked to help us figure out, what prayer is not.

I concluded in chapter one, that only the Savior can intercede for man's sins. Christ's daily ministration is exclusive and requires great respect from us. This feature of His ministry, however, is perceived, by many, as paramount. Some Christians place the highest esteem on Christ's function of justifying man. The phrase "Christ is all in all" and "Christ and Christ alone" fill the acoustics of many churches on weekly basis. These are probably well meant slogans, but upon reflection, rather than joining the throngs in mindless applause, the Savior calls man to light. Though it may be hard at times, we are compelled to have presence of mind at all times. After all, this is the reason that Adventists abstain from liquors and drugs.

Christ's ministration of justifying the sinner is of unsurpassed value to the sinner. Yet, within the Sanctuary, there is another ministration whose value is not lesser than that of disposing of committed sins, (the daily ministration). The Sanctuary is a place where all three entities of the Godhead operate symbiotically. Within the plan of Salvation, Christ's ministration is complemented by the ministration of the Holy Spirit. This may be a surprise to many, but it is a Biblical concept. While Christ’s ministration deals with disposing of committed sins, the Holy Spirit's ministration deals with the prevention of sins. This ministration, if we think it through, has an equivalent value to that of Christ's. The prevention of sin, or sanctification, has not enjoyed the overwhelming popularity of justification, on the modern day pulpits, nevertheless its popularity in the scriptures is not diminished. The prevention of sin has been God's concern since the time of the apple bite.
 

Psalms 17:5 Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.

Psalms 18:36 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.

Psalms 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.

Psalms 37:31 The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.

Psalms 119:133 Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.

Proverbs 16:9 A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.

Jeremiah 10:23 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.

1 Peter 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

Jude 1:24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
 

God's activities, to keep us from falling, are as beneficial and life saving as the forgiveness of sin itself. They both preserve the affected individual from the weight of sin or condemnation of the law. Forgiveness of sin, imputed righteousness, and justification are on one side of the coin. Prevention of sin, imparted righteousness, and sanctification, are on the other side. The results of both ministrations lead to the same goal. The common goal is ‘righteousness’! Imputing righteousness and imparting righteousness, both lead to righteousness. This is a comprehensive plan. Nothing is left out. The ministration of the Holy Spirit In the previous chapter I made a big fuss about Christ's ministration being taken over by men. Now, if we think about this, the same holds true for this other ministration. Let’s ask ourselves, "Could this ministration be delegated to men?" Satan learns a lot faster than we do. If there is a place to insert a wedge it will be tried. Satan will not pass up an opportunity to dabble with other ministrations of God. Not the way we know him. His goal is to remove righteousness and thus alienate man from God. His take on this is "let man die for his own imparted sins". Consequently, all ministrations for separating man from sin will be tampered with.

If it is a misuse of office to intercede for another's sins, then, praying and directing God on how to deal with a sinner constitutes an equivalent trespass. "Lord, my friend needs patience and self control I pray for you to supply his need". To compel God to act in a manner that He would not otherwise act, would be to imply that we have a greater concern about His creation than He himself or a better idea on how to run things. "Oh Lord, keep my friend from falling" implies that God cares about His creation pretty much, but He is not willing to do 100% on His part, until someone sends up a petition. As is evident, Intercessors supplement their intercessions with instructions.

 
... Be specific as to what these people need. Ask God to show them and name what you want them to be shown. Transcribed from a cassette tape by Carol Zarska American Cassette Ministries
  Perhaps God will not act until we persuade Him into action, with eloquent deliverance of humble prayer. The trouble is how to tell God what to do, humbly. Perhaps God needs clarification of the situation! Perhaps He is sleeping and needs to be awakened! Elijah understood this problem well. He dealt with these types of individuals.

By implication, the intercessor’s impressions of God seem to portray very closely the character of the Greek gods, whose moods affected their judgment. These gods seemed to demand humility and submission but would occasionally forget to carry out their part of the bargain. And if they get drunk, then watch out!

The Christians, however, believe that their God is not disposed that way. Regretfully, our behavior or private understanding sometimes does not catch up with our verbal expressions or what we think we believe. Sometimes we harbor contradictory beliefs. Every Sabbath we sing "Hear our prayer oh Lord . . . incline thine ear to us . . . " A newcomer might get the impression that God is deaf and needs a MiracleEar piece or a little song like king Saul to go into action. Then, in the sermon, we hear "Before they call I will answer". A stark, stunting contradiction is entertained and after a little time the mind accepts it as normal phenomenon. Due to the nature of some contradictions the resulting damage is immense. The next contradiction is accepted easier and a bridge to anomalous thinking is ascertained.

Many contradictions seem to have been dredged up from the Dark Ages and the Greek mythology. God is still perceived, by many, as froward and ill disposed, not really wanting to deal with man. In Constantine's time, the Pagans introduced the Greek gods from the Pantheon into the Christian church. They baptized them into the faith by renaming them to names like Peter, Mary etc. Interestingly enough, it seems that those gods did not come in alone. Their attributes and characters followed close behind. The God of the universe began to be represented in light of these imaginary gods. The fear of the wrath of Zeus is being taught faithfully on daily basis through many Christian institutions including the family.

Yashua the forgotten name The dispositions of Zeus, as well as his name, seem to be appendages difficult to dissociate from our God. Interestingly, Yashua the son of Mary and Joseph, was renamed to Jesus (Je-Zeus). Jove was the pagan Roman God. His short form "Je" combined with "Zeus" slipped in and replaced the original name of Yashua, the Son of the Living God. Please note that Yahweh and Yashua both begin with Yah, the same way we, humans, use the family or last name.

The Scriptures promise many blessings in addressing God by His name. "Well, Jesus is a common name by which Yashua is known and it really does not make any difference", one might object. It is also true that Sunday is just another day like Saturday. Both, the name of God and the Sabbath, however, have a commandment associated with them. Also some key verses in the Scriptures suggest inherent value in God's name.
 

Psalms 105:1 O give thanks unto the LORD;call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.

Psalms 116:13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.

Isaiah 12:4 And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.

Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Colossians 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Yashua (Jesus) Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

Psalms 80:18 So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.
 

Yahweh, however, is very different from the concept of Zeus. He is very different from what many Christians imagine Him to be. Many Christians promote that God is a God of wrath. When we ask them how that could be, they say that God is the Creator of all beings and He can do and be whatever He pleases. These views are appalling, but they have many adherents.

The God that I know is a God of mercy and not a God of wrath. His loving kindness and mercy are such that even His name is holy. It is not to be used carelessly, because the purity of His character is beyond human comprehension. Our lips and descriptions can only take away from His image and for the sake of not confusing others, we are advised not to use His name in vain. But we don’t have to worry about that since we never even use it anyway. We have renamed Him to questionable names that strongly resemble other pagan gods. This, actually, is very convenient because we never even get close to breaking the third commandment. In view of the troubles in the last days one of the small prophets, exclaimed:
 

Joel 2:32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.
  Regretfully, even the word LORDis a faulty translation. Prophet Joel used the name Yahweh in this text. So, can we be sure that God will respond to other God's names or just other names period?! Are we willing to take that chance?

I realize that some of us are not sympathetic to the idea of restoring God’s original name and I hope that those readers will be able to get beyond this detail as we forge ahead. Nevertheless, from here on I will refer to the Savior by His original name "Yashua" rather than "Jesus."

Back to instructing the Lord If we assume God to be this, Zeus-like, less than 100% God, then, it could be said that many people would end up in heaven as a direct result of the efforts offered by certain individuals. Brother A prayed a fervent prayer and since "... The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much", James 5:16, the Lord answered his prayer according to his instructions. Yes, God acted in the life of person B in a manner that He would not have done otherwise. Today that person is a good standing member of the church. Right?

This sounds good to some. However, this damages God's image. Maybe the damage is barely perceptible to those that won't see. Yet, like a hairline crack in a crystal, the damage is really quite fatal to His character. Our salvation or well being is no longer dependent on Yashua. We now have a new link in the chain. The praying ones become a variable in our welfare. We are really talking Zeus here and not Yahweh. How would you feel if I told you that "I am able to offer you a chance for salvation"? This conviction is derived from the faulty thinking that we can in some way direct the Lord on what to do. Throughout this literature on intercessory prayer we find this assertion.
 

...we, who are praying, are giving them [individuals being prayed for] the opportunity to have that same chance for salvation. Intercessory prayer by Carol Zarska p. 9
  "Well that makes sense" some may object, "because we are the medium by which the Lord carries out His wishes". The question is whose wishes are being carried out, here, God's or the petitioner's? It seems rather that the petitioner is the originator here. Why else is the responsibility laid on him?
  ... But how will we feel if we do not do our best to give them every opportunity. Ibid. p. 10

How important, then, that we understand how to be intercessors so that no one is left at the end of time without God unless they have simply chosen to resist all [our] efforts in their behalf. Ibid.p. 5
 

Knowing that the world depends on you, what a burden to bear, when you wake up in the morning. According to Scriptures men’s salvation hung on the Savior’s shoulders on Calvary, but intercessors have added a new variable in the equation. They believe that without them God would have a tough time saving the rest of the world! They state that unabashedly.
  Praying men are the men that have done so much for God in the past. They are the ones who have won the victories for God, and spoiled His foes. They are the ones who have set up His Kingdom in the very camps of His enemies. E.M.Bounds Purpose in Prayer p. 83
  Praying for God to act in the life of another individual is becoming a complicated issue. To deal with these difficulties, however, Intercessors advance many abstruse explanations. None of these explanations are exhaustive and some are not confluent with the others but all are advanced to defend the "Intercessor's" views. Often, the defender of the cause advances the conflicting ideas within the same argument. Some explanations are simple and their implications can be exposed readily, while others are quite subtle and tricky to reduce. In the remainder of this chapter I will discuss some of these explanations and try to expose the subtleties that often go unnoticed. Call out by name with instructions As you may have seen, some of the suggestions, which the Intercessors advance are hard to swallow, yet, they do bear sway on their victims because they come with a multitude of rationalizations which zero in on the individual from all sides. In defense of the above exposition the intercessors promote comments like the following:
  And I knew exactly where to find the power to help such people-in prayer and supplication to God, who waits for our requests for help so that He will then have the legal right in the sight of inhabitants of the universe to move with power into Satan's domain and rescue his captives. Incredible answers to prayers p. 57 by Roger J. Morneau

"But when Satan comes and says "These are mine . . . they didn't ask for help". Jesus can say "No they didn't but I have a praying saint that has asked, so Satan, back out of the way", and he [Satan] does. Transcribed from a cassette tape by Carol Zarska American Cassette Ministries
 

Let's study the above statements. Here the suggestion implies that asking God's help for a friend will awaken God into action and result in making Satan step back. In this way we ensure some specific blessings, from above, for the party in concern. This leads some to the generalization that if we specify a person by name, God is happy to respond and return the blessing according to our request. Having many friends and desiring to insure the maximum good for them, however, could lead to serious difficulties, since praying for the case of each may lead to tedious and lengthy prayers that occupy much of the petitioner's time.

The practice of this type of prayer is often justified with assertions that these are the sincere desires of the individuals and that they are doing nothing more than praying God’s will. Yet if such an intercessor should suddenly die, and these are just wishes, what difference would it make for the individuals which are being prayed for? God would carry out His own wishes regardless. Mr. Roger Morneau supplies the answer to this enigma.
 

Feeling a sense of responsibility similar to what a father feels about the well-being of his children, I asked myself, "If I were to die, who would plead for the merits of Christ to be appropriated to those on my prayer list?" . . . . As a result, I began telling the Lord about my worry that my intercession could cease suddenly, leaving others deprived of much needed help. Incredible answers to prayers p. 68-69 by Roger J. Morneau
  Ah, so we now realize that these are not just wishes according to God’s will. Now it is clear that should an intercessor die, he would leave "others deprived of much needed help." Their prayers do make a difference. And as we will see later, the difference is really quite salvific.

On the receiving side, however, it would seem that the more friends you have, the higher your chances for salvation would be. This realization may indeed be very useful if we find it to be true. That is why so many turn to men for help rather than God.

If name mentioning is necessary, to invoke the arm of God, then, we could delegate a group of righteous individuals to read off every name of every person existing today and formulate a request for continual help and protection. By the way, this is widely practiced and sometimes even by Adventists.

Prayer is a mystery for many and it is likely that this is done "just in case there is some truth to that". Depending on the intensity of the obsession, this practice is executed with corresponding diligence and extent.
 

I need 21 strategic intercessors in my team in Pretoria. They need to come from different parts of the world and include a variation of race, gender and age. During the conference the Strategic Intercession Team will be divided in three groups of seven people. Fourteen of them will be praying in a designated room on the site of the consultation while seven attend the conference. Seven of them will be rotated every three hours so that everyone has the opportunity to join the consultation. The prayer time will last for the duration of the consultation (from 08h00 - 22h00). The team needs to be formed as soon as possible to get them registered for the GCOWE conference. The intercessors have to pay the registration fee $ 520 for the conference.

Kjell_Sjöberg,_Uppdated_1996-12-29 Http://www.crossnet.se/www/sjoberg/E9612_5.htm
 

Incidentally, there are "Prayer Subjects" books sold throughout Christian bookstores that cover every subject one could think of. From African Missions to Russian political issues, some prayer-subject books exceed a thousand pages with 8-point print. The very existence of these books seems to suggest that there are thousands and millions of subjects, which God can forget to care about and we are there to remind Him!

We do many things without the full understanding of the implications and the Holy Spirit in great condescension interprets the purport of our actions accordingly. A time comes, however, when each tenet and stronghold must be tested. None of us are immune against every deception nor does the Lord leave His people in blindness forever. Our responsibility is that of grooming and improving the understanding of the truth. Now is the time to test this particular practice.

It is hard to imagine a loving God capable of knowing current thought and the inclination of the heart, yet requiring a nudge or name mentioning with instructions to be triggered into gear. It seems rather inconsistent.
 

Psalms 139:2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

Psalms 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

Amos 4:13 For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.

Jeremiah 17:9 I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
 

Some "Intercessors" pray over lists of names written on paper. That might seem more practical, yet reducing God's arm to save and then extending it with a piece of paper seems rather futile and hypocritical. The implication that God needs to be reminded, told or permitted, is the device which makes it seem that God's arm is shortened. Implying the help of man to be indispensable is the fictitious lengthening of His arm. This practice is nothing more than an intrusion without which the situation would be the same. The only benefit seems to be for the "Intercessor" to receive gratitude where no gratitude is due. The idea of Natural separation from God - The great chasm The above assessment is often accompanied with discomfort. You may wonder if people have any part to play in this maze. You may wonder about our functionality and ask if I am suggesting that we are redundant? This is not the case, but please be patient, as this point will be revisited in much greater detail.

I will, however, discuss the "Intercessor's" reaction to this apprehension. As far as they are concerned, there is nothing to despair about. To retain their functionality they introduce the idea of a "natural separation from God". This idea is provided as an explanation for God's inability to complete His work of salvation. It is quite unscriptural, but if it were true our redundancy would truly be obviated. In fact our function would suddenly becomes critical. We become quite important in the salvation process for others.
 

Since God's access to us is limited by our choices, we are more vulnerable to the temptations and power of the evil one if we are not praying. We need to be interceding for people who are not asking for themselves, for they are separated from God by the carnal nature, and by personal choices - identified with sin and Satan- natural in harmony with the mind of Satan. Because of this natural separation from God, it is so important that someone be praying for those who are not praying for themselves, so that the power of God can go to them by our permission and request. Intercessory prayer by Carol Zarska p. 5
  Now, finally, logic reconciles the chasm of "the mystery of prayer" and we understand how things operate when we pray. Or do we? Biblical background for this "natural separation from God" impeding God's ability to reach man would now be a precious gem. There is no support for this imagined "natural" separation. The Savior bridged the very chasm, which separated the sinners from God. The Scriptures reveal the great news with heavenly pathos of hope and love for lost humanity. Heaven resounded with songs and praise for the bridge builder Yashua, when He completed the bridge across the chasm. Sister White expounds on this idea and gives support to the thought that the chasm, or as the intercessors would put it, "natural separation" was bridged. In Testimonies, volume 5, page 230, she gives an unmistakable account of this. Using this quotation of Sister White to suggest that the chasm remains open or that there remains a separation between Man and God would prove deadly, to the Intercessor's cause, as we will see in a few paragraphs. Yet, though unthinkable, this quotation is used for that very purpose.

Here is another attempt to answer this inability of God:
 

It is not that God lacks the power to intervene in the life of every person in this world, to lead him or her to Himself. But rather, God's eternal plan for the salvation of the world limits His involvement with us.

God limited Himself voluntarily in working with human beings in order to protect our individual freedom and to silence Satan's cries of unfairness. Yet when we pray wholehearted prayers for others, all heaven leaps joyously and freely into operation to answer our prayers. We have by our intercession actually released God to work in a way He was not allowed to before we prayed. Satan's power is broken. Carrol Johnson Shewmake, Sanctuary secrets to personal prayer. p. 53-54
 

I will say more about this idea later. Suffice it to say that this voluntary limitation needs to be understood better. Biblical references would be even better, but there are none. Discovering what Satan's cries of unfairness are about, would sure bring some light on this subject. How is our freedom enhanced if God steps back? Common sense says it isn’t.

If you feel confused at this point, let me clear some cobwebs. Regardless of what argument is used, there is nothing that man can invent to delegate to God. No possibility exists which He has not already thought of doing or which He has not explored. We have a caring God and happily He is also omniscient. God does not neglect His duties. But mostly, He does not neglect His children. The loving God, who was willing to part with all the glory of heaven, the honors, and praises, is now viewed as weak, lacking, limited and/or subjected to man's or Satan's fancy, or fictitious rules and superstitions which cannot be documented in the Scriptures. Yet the very Scriptures present a different view of God from the intercessor’s model.
 

Isaiah 50:2 Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst.

Isaiah 59:1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
 

Do we have a God unable to complete the work of salvation, which He so gloriously started. Is this the same God that Paul spoke about?
  Hebrews 7:25 "Wherefore He is able also to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them."
  The satanic host is pleased to represent God as limited or somehow subjected in some way, and of all things, subjected to man and man’s requests. The pagans gloated secretly at introducing the ritual of displaying Christ on the cross. In their design, they saw fit to imply the superiority of their gods who had such great powers to put the Christian God to death. Little did the average man perceive the implication of this ritual. The same holds true here. The same characters have brewed up and sustained an idea of the Christian God, able to do all things, but yet subjected to man and his whims. The chasm is used, as a distraction to make a point, where there is no point. More will be said about this later. For now we need to see the diversity of these rationalizations. The free will of man When the situation gets difficult, some intercessors will object, "God cannot help man against his will no matter what power He wields." True, God will not force the will. But the issue about the will, here, is squashed within the concept called "power of God". Fusion of concepts is ideal to befuddle an issue. By fusing several concepts one can throw an argument into a vortexic spin which cannot be resolved at all. Attributes that belong to item A can be ascribed and accepted as pertaining to item B and vice versa and an implicit equation is created. At that point any folly can become doctrine. These types of complexities are specially handled, but fortunately we do not have to delve into that, since our concepts can be separated and the argument cleaned up.

God will not force the will, though He has that power! But if it is the will, that is in question, then how is it that, in the intercessor’s view, man has power to permit God to force or bypass the will of others and make "the power of God . . . go to them"? What is implied, in this bypass of the will of man? The Scriptures tell us that the reason God can't reach the sinner is:
 

Isaiah 59:1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:

Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

Isaiah 59:18 According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompense.
 

It is one issue, for a petitioner, to permit God to change his own heart or permit the so called "power of God" to go to himself, but it is another issue to treat all "human will" collectively and crisscross individual rights, responsibilities and wills. The Chasm, which the Savior bridged and the unwillingness of an individual to cross the bridge are made into one and the same and both are labeled as "natural separation". The intercessors do not distinguish the vitality of the other individual’s will to do as they wish! This is an important aspect of their doctrine. Personal boundaries do not matter. The will becomes a collective aggregate. For example, it seems that guilt can be transferred from certain criminals to individuals like the intercessors.
  I concluded by recounting an incident in Tokyo in 1990 in which God led me into public repentance. As an American, I humbled myself before about 1,000 Japanese leaders and repented of the sin of dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. Following that, Japanese pastors took the microphone and repented, using great emotion, for the sins Japan had committed not only against America but against many other nations. C. Peter Wagner in Churches That Pray p. 149
  Is guilt transferable? Think about this. This is not quite so easy to figure out. What if we confess the sins of an individual that is unwilling to repent. An amusing response I heard was the insistence that, the receiver may still refuse the "power of God" after we pray for him. But we were under the impression that this type of sinner was in that state already to begin with, before we started praying! We are advised to pray for that type of sinner in specific--the type that God is unable to reach, because he does not pray for himself or because of other personal choices like unwillingness. Here is the evidence of this intercessor’s view .
  For a long time it has been my conviction that as Christians we ought to do for others what they cannot or are unwilling to do for themselves-to deal with the sin in their lives. Jesus set the example for us. As He died on the cross, He asked the Father to forgive the sins of those who crucified Him (Luke 23:34). I cannot explain what happens when we ask God to forgive the sins of another, but I have seen the transformations that begin taking place in his or her life. God never violates the free will of anyone, but when we pray for someone else, it permits Him to work in lives with special power. He unshackles the individual from the chains of sin so that he can use his freedom of choice to choose good. Incredible answers to prayers p. 11-12 by Roger J. Morneau

Since God's access to us is limited by our choices, we are more vulnerable to the temptations and power of the evil one if we are not praying. We need to be interceding for people who are not asking for themselves, for they are separated from God by the carnal nature, and by personal choices - identified with sin and Satan- natural in harmony with the mind of Satan. Intercessory prayer by Carol Zarska p. 5
 

Well we can't deny that will is central anymore. The shifting rationale has to be recognized for what it is. The intercessor’s ideas are like gopher’s tunnels with many optional exits. When one does not work, then another one is used. Well, now we recognized the nature of this escape hatch. We are advised to pray for those that willfully ignore God's calling. We are advised to pray for the "unwilling."

Now then, within this doctrine, we ascertain an inability of God. The obstruction is claimed to be the natural separation from God. If this were not so then the following intercessor’s permission would not be needed.
 

"... Because of this natural separation from God, it is so important that someone be praying for those who are not praying for themselves, so that the power of God can go to them by our permission and request." Intercessory prayer by Carol Zarska p. 5


In view of this, we are compelled to conclude that the will, of the person we pray for, can be bypassed or forcibly and imperceptibly removed. Since they, themselves, are not giving the permission or request or even worse, unwilling, we can act as an agent in their stead and obviate their will! The intercessors go on to say:
 

. . . it permits Him to work in lives with special power. He unshackles the individual from the chains of sin so that he can use his freedom of choice to choose good. Incredible answers to prayers p. 12 by Roger J. Morneau

". . . so that the power of God can go to them by our permission and request." Intercessory prayer by Carol Zarska p. 5


Though wrapped in pretty words full of promise, like "special," "intercede," and "unshackles," this theory is talking about forcing the will of an individual. When asked, point blank, intercessors often admit that they are talking force here. Whether bypassed or forced imperceptibly, personal right infringements are clearly present here and we need a new doctrine to explain away this enigma. The denial:
 

God never violates the free will of anyone, but when we pray for someone else, it permits Him to work in lives with special power [by violating their will]. He unshackles the [unwilling] individual from the chains of sin [against his choice (will)] so that he can use his freedom of choice to choose good. Incredible answers to prayers p. 12 by Roger J. Morneau


. . . is a powerful lesson in anomalous thinking and quite central in this doctrine. It is used to distract those that come close to understanding this aberrant theory. By comforting them with this assertion, they recognize the natural apprehensions of the reader and distract him from employing reason to verify the intercessors’ claims! Reason is short-circuited and a false conclusion is supplied assuring the reader that the idea was well investigated by the author and infringements of other’s rights are not violated! The truth is that it is a flagrant lie!

Assert and then deny It is inevitable for apostasies to have a wrinkle in reasoning. Whether trickery or poor insight the nature of their strength is hidden in contradictions or faulty reasoning which are hard to extract. The more complex the wrinkle in reasoning the longer the life expectancy of the heresy. Once the wrinkle is discovered, however, the final protection is achieved by denying the reasonability of a truth, totally, and claim that it means the exact opposite. We will see another example of that shortly.

If we endorse the intercessors’ views, the suggestion we get from the above is that God is a tyrant who shifts His responsibility to the intercessors. Only a careless tyrant would place the lives of his subjects in hands of mutterers. This view is a doctrinal disaster, which heaps contempt on the loving and caring God we serve. It does not speak well of Him, Who was willing to give all to retrieve the lost. Yet, the author of this confusion disclaims any abnormality. In retrospect, During the Dark Ages, the entire Christendom has been sprinkled with destructive contradictions of this kind. Rationalizations of this kind are useful for one thing only, to weaken the healthy mind.

Here is another example of this intellectual zigzag. First the assertion:

Praying for Someone's Salvation

To pray for someone's salvation often seems like an impossible task to us. We may have already tried to reach out to someone by sharing our faith with them. We may have repeatedly prayed for them and even asked our growth group to pray also. If nothing visible happens after several weeks or months we easily get discouraged. We may stop praying for that person and even question if he or she would ever respond to God. But God's Word tells us in Mark 10:27, "With God all things are possible."

Remember that our prayers change the power balance in the invisible world. They enable a person to choose between accepting or rejecting Christ. . . .
 

The implication is clear. Our prayer makes the difference on whether someone may accept Christ, or not. Then the denial!
  ... We are sometimes misled to think that our prayers can coerce a person into accepting Christ. That is untrue. Only God's Spirit is able to draw a person to know Him. . . .
  Then assert again
  ... However, our prayers can remove some of the "interference" that Satan uses to distract people.
  At the end of this contradiction we might conclude that we could enable another person to choose "good" because we remove the "interference". Short of removing the "interference" the third party would be lost. The pretense of humility and refusing to take credit for coercion becomes pointless! The salvation of the individual is still returned into the hands of the petitioner. We are made to believe that we can "enable a person to choose between accepting or rejecting Christ", but we cannot "coerce a person into accepting Christ". "Only God's Spirit is able to draw a person to know Him..." Hmmm… It might seem that there is an important distinction involved in this analysis. It sounds as if something of value was advanced. The trouble is to figure out what that something is, since ultimately the salvation of individuals is made to depend on the prayers of the petitioner who removes the interference. The truth is that this analysis does not involve reasoning. It pretends reasoning.

The zigzagging effect of asserting and denying certain ideas accomplishes an important objective for the tutors of faulty thinking. The subjects become confused and vulnerable. They refuse to believe that their tutors have a flaw in their reasoning and being unable to resolve the enigma they blame themselves for not grasping the entirety of the idea. From then on they become prey to anything they are told. Many perceive the contradictions at the very first instance, but friendship and a smile often have a strong pull.

This method of indoctrinating is not unique with Roger Morneau and Carol Zarska. It is accurately transferred to all the adherents. Sooner or later they all use it because it is a vital point of the doctrine. It is the only means by which it survives.
 

It is not that God lacks the power to intervene in the life of every person in this world, to lead him or her to Himself. But rather, God's eternal plan for the salvation of the world limits His involvement with us.

God limited Himself voluntarily in working with human beings in order to protect our individual freedom and to silence Satan's cries of unfairness. Yet when we pray wholehearted prayers for others, all heaven leaps joyously and freely into operation to answer our prayers. We have by our intercession actually released God to work in a way He was not allowed to before we prayed. Satan's power is broken. Carrol Johnson Shewmake, Sanctuary secrets to personal prayer. p. 53-54
 

The tampering with the free will of man is a continuous trespass by the intercessors. The tricky denial and affirmation of the same assertion are the earmarks of this theology. In the first sentence God is claimed to have the power to intervene and lead man to Himself, but in the following text we discover that He limits Himself because He wants to preserve our freedom of will. This choice of words, once again, hides the unappealing truth of the idea. Cursory reading misses the point. It is left for the student to reason out that the first assertion implies a violation of the freedom of will.

Carrol Shewmake goes on to say that, because of His eternal plan of salvation, God limited Himself to protect our freedom of will. This clearly suggests that God's normal modus operandi is not to protect our freedom of will. The plan of salvation is what compels Him to allow the freedom of will. Let's read it again.
 

"God's eternal plan for the salvation of the world limits His involvement with us. God limited Himself voluntarily in working with human beings in order to protect our individual freedom" Carrol Johnson Shewmake, Sanctuary secrets to personal prayer. p. 53-54
  Now, through "our intercessions" we release "God to work in a way He was not allowed to before we prayed." The author asserts here that we permit God "to lead him or her to Himself", but more than that, this final permission releases God from the responsibility of protecting "our individual freedom" of will. Now He can force others, to come to Him, because the petitioner gave Him this permission! Though this was not readily discernible, at first sight, it leads to the following conclusion: Once permitted, God works in man's life by force. Is that true?

You may think this to be a misunderstanding, but this is a familiar tune that all intercessors sing the same way. They carefully conceal what they really mean. Here is an echo of the same idea by another intercessor.
 

God has put restrictions on Himself. He moves according to certain rules or principles that He has ordained to be. For instance, when He gave man choice, He will not FORCE a man to do anything. He very easily could, but He is governed by His own principles.

An indisputable Biblical principle is that our prayers for others will release the power and activity of God in their lives. Because of this, we should be encouraged to intercede for those in need. Many Christians have become indifferent to their God given responsibility to "pray one for another." . . .

-Anonymous document on http://www.knownet.net/users/JGalloway/interced.txt

"THE RELEASING POWER OF AN INTERCESSOR"
 

Once again, we learn that God does not "FORCE"! Then, the intercessor makes his petition, which releases God to act otherwise, and that fact is indisputable! The intercessors’ conclusion is: "God makes use of the power to force individuals." and they say all this in such a way as to avoid stating "God will force the will of others when you pray."

The difficulty with this entanglement is that, when exposed this way, a few intercessors will claim that it is not force when we permit God to act in the life of another. Yet when their arguments are analyzed the use of force is the only way that their arguments can stand up. Their doctrine has not worked out the sanctification process correctly. They claim to see it, but they do not recognize that God's real work of sanctification is not done outside of free will. This truth seems hidden from them though they claim to recognize it and vocalize its tenet.

Admittedly, sanctification can be difficult to understand, especially if the student is not particularly interested in the subject. Frequently, the complaint is heard that too much thinking about this and that is not required for salvation. We can be saved without it. Unfortunately the same individuals also undertake to educate others in subjects like sanctification, which they have not thought about very much. Subsequently they are disturbed at objections to their views. These two sides are at odds with each other. If we decide to become tutors, we also need to recognize the responsibility of giving reasonable defense for our views or relinquish the position. We can't have it both ways.

Man’s choice In God's world, we are not forced or hypnotized to do right. By default, such a state of affairs would wholly undo the idea of individual responsibility. God's work in us is done exclusively through influence. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit does not take over at any time, concerning personal character! The Holy Spirit reasons with the heart of man. The topic of sanctification is worth a thousand pages. It will be studied more deeply while we review the books of God's justice during the millennium. It is not an easy topic to deal with, but enough is known to conclude that God does not violate our freedom of will, even when we permit Him!!! "Lord, take control of my life" does nothing but evoke pity from the Lord. The petitioner gains no benefit. To the consternation of many, God's respect and estimation of us is staggering. Our fall is so great that we do not know how to value our own lives. It is high time to wake up and realize the gift that God extended to man.
  Higher than the highest human thought can reach is God's ideal for His children. Education, p. 18.
  The ideal, which God has in mind, is not reachable by force or some obviation of the will of man. In the realm of individuality, God submits everything to the will of man. I do not hesitate to say this. It is for man to choose. Man's choice, not God's force, defines the character of the individual. The statement "It is not that God lacks the power to intervene in the life of every person in this world, to lead him or her to Himself." is aberrant, impertinent, or non-descriptive of the God of heaven. Its portent is that God has the power to lead man to himself, without man's free will, and that bothers Satan, so God limited Himself to shut him up. Come to think of it, that rationale makes Satan into a nice guy! The use of power, to the end of drawing man to God, does not make any sense. The use of this power does not enter His mind! God does not intervene (a nice way of saying "force") to lead man to Himself. And after all, why avoid the word "force" if that is what is meant? Forcing the will is OK For a moment it almost seemed that the mystery of prayer was resolved by the intercessor’s rationale, but now, we have more difficult issues to explain. So, does God have the right to force people? The way out of this difficulty is to claim that, God has the right to violate human rights, here, and who are you to object? Romans chapter 9 could be used to support these claims. This assertion we can deal with because honesty is involved. At least we know from the start what is in the equation.

Unfortunately this view does not have legs to stand on either. If God has the right to violate the individual's freedom of will, He should/would have done it earlier. He should have gone ahead and extended "the power of God" without the permission or request of the intercessor and thus violated the right of the receiver directly without the incriminating inclusion of a third party. Is that why the mysterious laws, restrictions and self-limits are not discussed with more details by intercessors? "God has put restrictions on Himself" "God limited Himself voluntarily in working with human beings". Now, we understand that the imperative need of the intercessor is a groundless idea. It becomes clear that the intercessors' ministration is not functional. Aha! So that is why this natural conclusion is not used by the intercessors! The jigsaw puzzle is coming together.

In the name of Apprenticeship "Well, God wants us to be co-laborers of His" one might object "and that explains this whole schema just perfect". If God withheld a blessing before being petitioned and acts now to force the will, of another man (or should we say "intervene"), to accept His power, then, He proves on 2 counts that He did not care for the recipient as much as the petitioner does. First, He had to be reminded and second, He violates the will of others to accomplish His means. Quite clearly the recipient has no real rights, or freedom of will. Evidently the same holds true for you and me. Does man only have freedom if he is on the good side? That would be similar to saying, "You are free to do what I tell you to." Of course, it is absurd to imagine that this is what God offers man, but it is the implication of this belief. Once inside, there is no way out of this riddle. Concept fusion is a nasty habit. It is called CON - FUSION. Back to the chasm To take up the point we suspended earlier, another group of intercessors will argue that "we are not talking about the will being an impediment of God's power". The individual can always refuse God's help. We are saying that, the "natural separation from God" is positioned in front of the will of the recipient. This position, as we can see, changes the schema of our analysis entirely. In this situation we need to explore the nature of this "natural separation from God". We need to determine, what that abstract is, and how this abstract has created a realm where men have control over God's actions.

In short, no such explanation is possible. The idea that some "natural separation from God" has created a chasm which man can bridge, have dominance or any say so, is outrageous blasphemy against Christ and His accomplishments on Calvary. The Savior died to bridge the only chasm that existed between man and Him! He died for that specific purpose! There was no one else to do this job and in love He took a great risk to bridge the gap which sin created.

In view of the great truth, about what Christ accomplished on the cross, escapism and faulty reasoning is all that is left for the self appointed intercessors. There is no shortage of that. This same syllabus that outlines this "natural separation from God", in an attempt to justify this novel man-made chasm, and lacking Scriptural support, it quotes the following statement, from the spirit of prophecy, in an adjacent paragraph;
 

"In the apostasy man alienated himself from God. The separation was wide and fearful. But Christ has made provision again to connect us with Himself. The power of evil is so identified with human nature, that no man can overcome except by union with Christ. Through this union we receive moral and spiritual power . . . " Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 230
  Reading this, I get the idea that Yashua, not man, bridged this great separation of man and God! Christ is the only way, the only door, but according to them Christ was not enough! To make a seat for themselves within the realm of influence, they think little about the greatness of God’s plan of salvation. In fact they think nothing of God’s plans and reopen the chasm which God’s love bridged.
  Because of this natural separation [referring to Testimonies 5,230] from God, it is so important that someone be praying for those who are not praying for themselves, so that the power of God can go to them by our permission and request." Intercessory prayer by Carol Zarska p. 5
  Christ is completely displaced here. In this outrageous blunder, Carol Zarska denies the very premise of the quotation she is supplying. The cry, "Because of this natural separation …" has no place in our Christian language. The separation was bridged. "Christ has made provision again to connect us with Himself". The chasm is not gaping any more. Anyone that wishes may come to God an obtain forgiveness. The job is done! Being short on reasonability, apostasy denies the reasonability of a truth and claims that it means the exact opposite. To state something so aberrant and contradictory to truth, brings to memory the audacity and flagrancy of the Vatican. These methods of beclouding truth are not new. It is an old resource of error. With amazing insight, Sister White exposes it.
  ... When engaged in discussion over these theories, their advocates will take words spoken to oppose them and will make them appear to mean the very opposite of that which the speaker intended them to mean. EGW Battle Creek Letters p. 108
  This is that very situation here. The "chasm" view, nevertheless, is the "raison d'être" of intercessory prayers. It is the nexus of the movement! The general definition of this view can be found in the Intercessor's SPIRITUAL WARRIOR'S PRAYER GUIDE.
  As intercessors we stand between God and a person, asking God to intervene for his or her need. But we also stand between Satan and that person, battling and pushing back the powers of darkness. To bind evil spirits means to restrain them by speaking directly to them and forbidding them to continue their destructive activity. The Holy Spirit's power energizes our words to loose the person from the enemy's hold. Then in prayer we ask the Holy Spirit to minister to that person's need and help him or her walk in obedience to God's Word. The Spiritual warrior's prayer guide by Quin Sherrer & Ruthanne Garlock 1992 p. 217
  Not even the papacy claimed such enterprising functionality, in the peak of their reign. Their goal was authority. As we said before, "Why protest against the Catholic view at all?" If we should engage in a conversation with any intelligent person, holding the Catholic view, we would have no defense. Yes, we could demonstrate stubborn mindedness, in "rationalizing in" the unreasonable, but no better contribution could ensue from us.  
Unless someone intercedes, there are those who will never be saved--the Devil has too great a hold on them. Unless someone stands in the gap, there are some who will never be healed. We need people who are willing to be intercessors. Ed Dufresne, Praying God's Word p. 47


The "natural separation" or "chasm" is renamed as "the gap" and the same theory is stated. It is as if Yashua's functionality was not sufficient or even non-existent. He seems to need some help from us to save others.

Paul says it all in the following verse.
 

Hebrews. 7:25 Wherefore He is able also to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him


In darkness we stumble, but God has enlightened our way with beams of great light. Here is another interesting comment which decorates the glorious halls of Adventist truths .
 

Here we see the great Intercessor presenting His petition to His Father. No middle man comes between the sinner and Christ. No dead prophet, no buried saint is seen. Christ Himself is our Advocate. EGW Bible Commentary Vol. 7 p. 914
  With or without man, God is able to effect His plans. For us to take over His responsibility is more than a questionable affair. It is more properly called presumption. To crown self as the vital link in the salvation of others is an act of blasphemy against God!

To sidetrack for a moment, it is noteworthy that there is nothing natural in the separation of God and man. It might be that the word "natural" was meant to imply "nature-ly" or "nature-like"--alluding the separation to be in the realm of the nature of man. There is not enough information to conclude the opinion of the author either way. Enough is revealed in God's word, however, to conclude that, there is nothing natural, about the separation of man and God. This separation is as abnormal, discrepant as abnormality gets.

The imperative of man's assistance Thinking back, on the intercessors’ views compels us to reevaluate the meaning of many ideas we have taken for granted ‘til now. We need to rethink certain ideas to make sure we do not fall for ideas like that again.
  • What are the moral boundaries of an individual's own will?
  • What are the moral boundaries of an individual’s influence?
  • What are "Individual rights"?
  • What rights does one individual have over another?
  • What are God's rights over individuals?
Due to the intercessors’ alteration of where the perimeter of man's will ends, new ideas are born which have no place in a society in which freedom of will is exercised. By endorsing the right to violate other people's wills, the intercessor’s ideas are half-truths cross-connected in such a way that new ideas that do not pertain to reality can be asserted. Once two items (like wills of two people) are fused or subordinated improperly, they provide a rich new base of seeming plausibilities. It becomes difficult to arbitrate the common territory among two active wills. Divorce judges can testify to this. The problem becomes slippery and hard to handle. This richness, however, becomes an effective tool to respond to any inquiry in a seemingly favorable though inconsistent way. Wishful thinking and rationalizations take center stage and emotional appeals rather than reason guide the inexperienced students to catastrophic conclusions.

God is the creator of the universe and that gives Him many rights and much territory to work on. Nevertheless, when it comes to individuals of His creations, God knows the boundaries. He values His freedom and extends the same moral freedom to us! When it comes to our free will, God does not fail to respect it. He does not disregard it nor does He bow to it. And yet, both of these truths are taught contrarily in the intercessors’ doctrine.

The God given freedom provides ground for love and personal relationships. Relationships, however, do not provide secondary and tertiary links to the Almighty. When we court the enemy and step away from God’s Holy Spirit, we fall outside of His ability to help us. Christ’s provision of forgiveness is there, but we choose to ignore it. The choice is ours. This being so, is man, now, going to have some greater "powers" than God, to reach deeper and further than God, into this situation? Intercessors answer "Yes", but shockingly and contrary to popular belief, we are not essential in the plan of salvation of another human being.
 

I saw that God could carry on his work without any of man's help; EGW Spiritual Gifts, Volume 4B p. 37 This statement is very clear! It is well supported in the Scriptures.
  Isaiah 50:2 Wherefore, when I came, was there no man? when I called, was there none to answer? Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem ? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness: their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst.

Isaiah 59:1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save;

Hebrews 7:25 "Wherefore He is able also to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them."
 

How do we, as Adventists, bypass these grand and simple ideas and opt for blasphemy? Save the unpardonable Ignoring the Scriptures, we are left to believe that we are in charge of the situation and we offer salvation to men. This theory, with a little fudging, brings one to the fallacious deduction that men can be saved despite blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Think about this carefully! Those that sin against the Holy Ghost, those that are "not willing" to hear the Spirit's calling, have a serious problem. God does not want them. God refuses to have anything to do with such people. Do you find this assertion shocking? The intercessors stretch the idea of God’s mercy beyond the limits of reason. They compel us to seek out the scoffers and those that do not want God in their lives. If this is true, then what can we conclude about Yashua's disposition toward them.  
Matthew 12:31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

Luke 9:5 And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.
 

Yashua directed these words at the Pharisees and others which had clear evidences to convict the heart. They, however, chose to resist them. They were unwilling to turn to God. If we could somehow ascertain such a condition of unwillingness, can we safely roll up the sleeves and ignore Christ’s condemnation? How irresponsible to compel one another to pray for unwilling characters, when Christ said, "shake off the very dust from your feet". How improper to interfere with the lives of people whose personal choices are to keep away from God. To act that way would not be representative of Him who sends us! We have better people and duties to attend to. Yet, the intercessors make a strong case for the unwilling! The unwilling are their focal point.  
For a long time it has been my conviction that as Christians we ought to do for others what they cannot or are unwilling to do for themselves-to deal with the sin in their lives. Incredible answers to prayers p. 11-12 by Roger J. Morneau

"Since God's access to us is limited by our choices, we are more vulnerable to the temptations and power of the evil one if we are not praying. We need to be interceding for people who are not asking for themselves, for they are separated from God by the carnal nature, and by personal choices [unwilling] - identified with sin and Satan- natural in harmony with the mind of Satan." Intercessory prayer by Carol Zarska p. 5


What can we make of this advice? Shall we rush to our knees and teach God the art of human mercy?

Yashua is the bridge-the ONLY Intercessor Yashua, Himself, is the only bridge between God and man. He is thoroughly sufficient and completely capable to accomplish His work. He is also willing to invite others to participate in His outworking, so they can see His character more closely, and be changed, influenced, not because they are indispensable, or necessary in the salvation of their fellow man, but for their own benefit. God is willing to impart the qualities and attributes of His own character to the willing man -- the characteristic of loving others. Through association God wants to influence us and develop a superior character. This is accomplished by drawing the petitioner closer and making him identify with the character and cause of God.  
I saw that God could carry on his work without any of man's help; but this is not his plan. The present world is designed as a scene of probation for man. He is here to form a character which will pass with him into the eternal world. Good and evil are placed before him, and his future state depends upon the choice he makes. Christ came to change the current of his thoughts and affections. His heart must be cut off from his earthly treasure, and placed upon the heavenly. By his self-denial, God can be glorified. The great sacrifice has been made for man, and now man will be tested and proved to see if he will follow the example of Jesus, and make a sacrifice for his fellowman. EGW Spiritual Gifts, Volume 4B p. 37-38


God, not man, takes personal charge of each man's salvation. We are not the originators or dispensers of salvation. We are auxiliary tools available for use as God wills. Our participation is for our own sake. God's love creates bridges and connections between men so that they may love one another! Those that will be saved will not have us to thank for their salvation. They will thank us for our willing participation! We can offer comfort and love to make the suffering easier, but nothing, nothing, not even the lack of our participation can endanger the salvation of our brothers and sisters.

 
John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

John 11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. [not die unto eternity (proper translation)] . . .


Yes, others may hurt or kill them, but none shall "pluck them out of my hand" or kill them eternally, is the promise. When we come to God in a contrite spirit and ask for forgiveness, we can be sure that no one can obviate the ensuing results and separate us from Him. Nothing but our own decisions can interfere with our salvation.

The complement of this protective care, as well, is rooted in God and His doing, not men:

 
Ezekiel 34:11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.


It is God, as well, who goes out after the sinner, despite what we may conclude, when we preach His word.

 
John 10:29 My Father, which gave them me,is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.


While on earth, not even Yashua assumes that it was His own doing that brought the disciples to Himself "My Father, which gave them me". We, therefore, ought to follow Him in humility and not wrongly assume our function as imperative or finalizing. And if we choose not to contribute, the stones will speak out. The caterpillar will crawl and accomplish God’s will! The bird will sing his song and accomplish the work of God!

No one is greater than God in the salvation of man! Nothing worth while saving depends on us for the simple reason that we could bungle it up. If things depended on us, God would not extend these two guarantees. Could you imagine God saying "Well, sorry Danny, but there was no one to pray for you. I wish you the best". To profess such ideas would be to imply lack of care and ability from the tender loving Almighty Yahweh. Nevertheless, that is what intercessors teach, though they do not state it plainly enough to be clear about this.

Power in numbers Some Intercessors feel that it is by degrees or multiplicity that the power of God is invoked. If two people pray for one person, some Karma-like economic system will be set in motion and a greater benefit obtained. This is not new, in Eastern Mysticism, nor is it outside of the range of possibility, but now the door for pantheism is wide open. We may well ask, "Who holds the power, us or God?" The issue becomes obscure and false humility cries out "It is the Lord", nevertheless we manipulate God to exercise this power and we take the credit. The phrase "I was praying for you, you know?" is the Intercessor’s all time favorite. The unspoken words are (that's why you are doing better)!"

As we mentioned earlier, it would seem that the more friends one has, the more chance there is, for making it to the kingdom. Can you imagine what would happen if you could get 20,000 people praying for you? Wow! God would not be able to say no! He would really be impressed with your case and your needs would be met. Strange as it may seem, many intercessors believe this to be true. Here is an interesting explanation I found on the Internet.

 
The most important Benefit one can have from intercessory Prayer is a louder and more powerful prayer. Think of it this way, four children in a family and the middle aged child asks the father of that family for a ride to a friends house. The father tells the child not now, however the three other children speak up and voice the same request for their brother. This request becomes a much more powerful request and one that the earthly father grants because of the others becoming involved. So it is with our Father in Heaven, the more of us praying your prayer the louder and more powerful it becomes. Let Chaplain Al have your Prayer request TODAY at email<chaplnal@concentric.net We can say some amazing things when we ignore the truth. Quest for power is sometimes like wearing welding goggles on a moonless night in a deep forest. Some intercessors read even greater meaning into the power of prayer.  
It is the prayer force ever living and ever praying; it is all saints' prayers going out as a mighty, living energy while the lips that uttered the words are stilled and sealed in death, while the living church has an energy of faith to inherit the forces of all the past praying and make it deathless. E.M. Bounds, Purpose in prayer. p.26 This "deathless force" is presented as a motivator for God! Viewing God and prayer in this light, it becomes easy to understand where this is leading. The focus has shifted from God being our helper to this mysterious force. God becomes subject to this force. Perhaps there is something to the Star-Wars slogan, "The Force be with you!"  
The prayer of faith is the only power in the universe to which the great Jehovah yields. Prayer is the sovereign remedy. Robert Hall (quote borrowed from Purpose In Prayer by E.M.Bounds p. 45) According to Robert Hall, prayer and not God, is the sovereign remedy! Furthermore:  
We can have all that God has. Command ye Me. This is no figment of the imagination, no idle dream, no vain fancy. The life of the Church is the highest life. Its office is to pray. Its prayer life is the highest life, the most odorous, the most conspicuous. E.M. Bounds, Purpose in prayer p. 25-26 Hey! There may be something to this! In the Bible it says:  
Psalm 82:6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.


Maybe that is why the intercessors rightfully feel that through intercessory prayers, they are in the seat of power. Their prayers basically tell God what to do!

The possibilities and necessity of prayer, its power and results are manifested in arresting and changing the purposes of God and in relieving the stroke of His power E.M.Bounds Purpose in Prayer p. 15 I had to rub my eyes after reading this. Consternation is a light word to express my reaction. What comes to my mind is usurpation. How is this different from Lucifer’s claim of being in the seat of power?  
Ezekiel 28:2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou [art] a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God: There is no difference. The intercessor’s ideals are misplaced aspirations, which lead the Christian in the wrong direction.

Back to our subject of "power in numbers"! All of this would classify Elijah, John the Baptist etc. as poor candidates for making it into the kingdom. They had few friends. They did not have their 20,000 prayer warriors to intercede for them. Common sense suggests that Yashua's allusion to gathering together is not meant in the way the Intercessors interpret it.

 
Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.


Like other wonderful truths this verse is often taken way out of context. It is not in any way a license for strange forces, pantheism or some forms of pagan huddling, congregating or seancing. The benefits involved in a group of two or more are manifold; love toward others, agreement, help, multiplicity of counsel, etc. Being gathered in His name implies a common purpose that is in line with His will. When God influences one person to act, the results can be significant. How much more so when two or more people agree and unify their purposes. Consider the following words of Sister White.
 

The time has come for a thorough reformation to take place. When this reformation begins, the spirit of prayer will actuate every believer and will banish from the church the spirit of discord and strife. Those who have not been living in Christian fellowship will draw close to one another. One member working in right lines will lead other members to unite with him in making intercession for the revelation of the Holy Spirit. There will be no confusion, because all will be in harmony with the mind of the Spirit. The barriers separating believer from believer will be broken down, and God's servants will speak the same things. The Lord will co-operate with His servants. All will pray understandingly the prayer that Christ taught His servants: 'Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.' Matthew 6:10. Testimony Vol. 8 Page 251 If numbers and magnitude of lip service are truly helpful, I wonder how some fine, humble Christians, I know, have survived to this day. I never heard them ask someone to pray for them. They learned courage and patience in isolation. Their faith is strong and filled with trust and hope in the Great Living Yahweh. I do not mean to impose, aggrandize or prescribe this standard above another. Some people need moral support from someone they can see and touch. God will provide for every willing soul, but our help does not lie in man. The uniting of brethren was not advised to accentuate or increase the leverage of man.  
Isaiah 2:23 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils, for wherein is he to be accounted of.


As we can see, the promise "Where two or more are gathered together", may be badly understood. It does not make claims on the power of God. We still have difficulty showing that one petitioner has any effect on changing God or His will. We will discuss this point further in the section "Seek to do the will of my Father".

The act of asking Other intercessors feel that God withholds from doing everything He can, until we purely and simply ask. But here as well, one would have to explain a God whose concern is dependent on possibly capricious fancies besides aforementioned difficulties. Intercessors believe in a God that would not do 100% until compelled by some methodical fancy. He has the power to do, but He withholds until we address Him in the way that will tickle His fancy. And to make things worse, the method is nothing more than lip service; "Do it to them, Lord, I give you permission". --an insulting assumption, by all standards!

To belabor this point may be futile, yet because of the "intercessor's" excessive emphasis we may want to inspect some additional details. Compulsions to ask unceasingly persistently have been promoted by many. In his book "The necessity of prayer", by Edward M. Bounds, the author puts emphasis on this in two chapters both named "Prayer and Importunity". He states:

 
Importunate praying never faints nor grows weary; it is never discouraged; it never yields to cowardice, but is buoyed up and sustained by a hope that knows no despair and a faith which will not let go. Importunate praying has patience to wait and strength to continue. It never prepares itself to quit praying and declines to rise from its knees until an answer is received. The necessity of prayer pp. 58 E. M. Bounds In this scenario faith, stubbornness and audacity become a blur. He continues that persistence is needed for a good reason. He teaches, moreover, that an answer to prayer is conditional upon the amount of faith that goes to the petition. To test this, He delays the answer. The necessity of prayer pp. 56 E. M. Bounds The definition of how God replies, lacks conviction for me. The answer to prayer is often digital in nature. It could either be "Yes" or "No". The amount of faith seems to be defined as something that could have different degrees. Somehow the whole idea does not hold water as a general solution. What more could be given to those that are willing to wait longer? Unless the answer could come out either way, depending on the endurance, this is strange reasoning. The greatest difficulty is this. At what point do we get the point that the answer is "No!" if, according to this advice, we never relent? The whole thing sounds more like a union strike!

The truth is that we are in enough trouble on this planet as it is. God is not blind to that. No unnecessary delays are employed to test humanity in their plight. God does not need to test. This representation of God may be lacking. According to the Savior's account, God is anxious to answer his people. No bridge or chasm or ill disposition, no limitation, except our own free will, is left in the way. Understanding how God answered our prayer, however, often takes time. It is not a two-day turn around phenomenon.

What is surprising in Mr. Bounds' book is that no self-questioning seems to go on. When we pray about something that we would want from the Lord, we may need to review the request and it's viability, from time to time. The request, "Lord, please bring my uncle to the truth, if it is your will" sounds good and the Lord will not be offended, though it does not depend on Him. It was God's will, for the uncle to come to the truth, even before the petitioner's prayer was formed. The request is pointless, though it betrays a bond of love between the petitioner and the uncle. The petitioner is praying according to the will of the Father, but his conception of the Father's rights is not clear. The impeding will is not likely to be the will of God, but rather that of the uncle! This last point, as we discussed earlier, is denied by the intercessors, hence they are not sensitive to this realization.

Nevertheless, we need to be sober concerning our petitions. Many imposing requests make no sense in the real world. We ask God many impossible things. "Let, I pray thee, my two sons sit at your sides in the Kingdom". Christ has two sides and she has two sons. Perfect! Many requests violate the will of others and we think nothing of it. Lord, stop him from doing that. The desire to rule, as Lucifer does, is difficult to get rid of. It reaches deeper than we expect. It permeates down to the elemental parts of the soul. We need to know when to quit and the general solutions provided by the intercessors do not provide for this.

Importunate prayers, like other avenues, can also become an obnoxious endeavor to have one's own way. We need to make peace with the idea that we will not have everything our way. Faith is not hypnosis. It does not consist of convincing yourself and others that what you want is necessarily what should be granted. The intercessors however do not perceive this truth. They combine faith with their wish list, soak it in presumption, and fabricate the following ideas.
 

10 Conditions Of Answered Prayer
(Mark 11:23)
1. Have the FAITH of God! (Romans 4:1; Hebrews 11:3; Galatians 5:22-23)
2. PRAY; say in no uncertain terms what you want!(Mark 11:23-24;Matthew 17:20; 21:22; John 15:7)
3. Have UNLIMITED FAITH WITHOUT QUALIFYING and LIMITING GOD'S WILL or what you want! (Matthew 17:20;21:21-22;Mark 9:23; John 15:7,16)
4. REFUSE to doubt in the heart! (Matthew 17:20;James 1:5-8)
5. BELIEVE that what ever is asked will be given! (Matthew 7:7-11; 17:20; 21:21-22; Hebrews 11:6)
6. BELIEVE that whatever is asked is already granted!(Matthew 17:20;1 John 5:14-15)
7. Be AUTHORITATIVE and command to come to pass what is asked!(Matthew 17:20; Mark 9:23)
8. BELIEVE that what you want is God's Will!(John 15:7;Matthew 17:20; 21:21-22; Hebrews 11:6; James 1:5-8)
9. NEVER SAY "If it be Thy Will," concerning anything you ask that IS definitely promised of God in His Word!(Psalm 84:11; 1Corinthians 1:20; 11 Peter 1:3-4)
10. Have a CLEAN HEART AND LIFE WITH GOD and man!(John 15:7; 1 John 3:22-23)

"Whatsoever," "anything," "all things," "what ye will," "what things soever ye desire," "what soever he saith," and other unlimited terms are found, assuring the absolute certainty of, and the possibilities of answered prayer."
Web page http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/9623/index.html
 

If this is faith, what is folly?

For those who believe persistence is necessary, I have the following sober advice.
 

". . . to claim that prayer will always be answered in the very way and for the particular thing that we desire, is presumption. EGW Messages to Young People p. 96 A Real Life example of Intercessory Prayer So far we have been studying, facets of intercessory prayer, by looking into isolated ideas separately. Now we need to look into intercessory prayer in its practical or real world, form. Here, we will see how, massive complexity and confusion can overwhelm the mind and force it to give up reasoning. The problem becomes nearly insurmountable and one does not know where to start in the effort of reasoning out what is going on. Through such intimidation, even the most adept give in and let up on testing consistency. The immensity of contradictions and implications make it impossible to verify on the fly. Jolted with this complexity, many people lean on credentials of the speaker, peer pressure or the mistaken idea that "the Church would not allow dangerous heresies to come in." Unfortunately, like water slipping between fingers, heresies have a way of sneaking in past the guardians and all these hopes for safety become nothing more than a broken stick. The task of filtering in the good things always ends up as personal responsibility.
  A brother asked, "Sister White, do you think we must understand the truth for ourselves? Why can we not take the truths that others have gathered together, and believe them because they have investigated the subjects, and then we shall be free to go on without the taxing of the powers of the mind in the investigation of all these subjects? Do you not think that these men who have brought out the truth in the past were inspired of God?"

I dare not say they were not led of God, for Christ leads into all truth; but when it comes to inspiration in the fullest sense of the word, I answer, No. I believe that God has given them a work to do, but if they are not fully consecrated to God at all times, they will weave self and their peculiar traits of character into what they are doing, and will put their mold upon the work, and fashion men in religious experience after their own pattern. It is dangerous for us to make flesh our arm. We should lean upon the arm of Infinite Power. God has been revealing this to us for years. We must have living faith in our hearts and reach out for larger knowledge and more advanced light. Review and Herald, March 25, 1890.


All new ideas need to be studied carefully. We are to invite God's help and engage our own mind into deciphering what is truth and what is error.

Let's continue with the real world example of intercessory prayer teachings. The following text, by Carol Zarska, was transcribed from a cassette tape, on the subject of Intercessory prayer. In this excerpt she gives an example of how intercessory prayers work, in the real world.

 
My daughter, Karen, and I felt very impressed to pray concerning this upcoming marriage [of the other daughter] ... We set aside a week to have special prayer where we would pray together, morning and evening, every day, and any time in between that we could, for her, that this marriage would be broken up, (if it was God's will to break up the marriage). Now you know, we don't tell God what to do and we were not telling Him what to do. We felt that God wanted us to pray that prayer, but we claimed the promise or I did, Karen had other promises that the Lord led her to, but the promise that I claimed during that period of time was in Psalms 127:1 "Unless the Lord builds the house it's builders labor in vain". That text came to me when I asked God 'what text do You want me to claim' and God gave me that, I mean it just came to my mind and so I said all right Lord and every day I claimed that promise.

So that gave God leeway because if He was building the house then it wouldn't be in vain and the marriage would go through, but if He weren't building the house then He had this promise on my lips every day, before Him, to not let it happen. Transcribed from a cassette 'Intercessory prayer power' by Carol Zarska


Let's see if we can capture the whole idea. God influenced the petitioner to pray. The purpose of the inspiration was to remind Him "to not let this marriage happen".

 
". . . but if He weren't building the house then He had this promise on my lips every day, before Him, to not let it happen."


Either, God is forgetful and needs to be reminded or as stated elsewhere, He needs our permission, petition, injunction, watchfulness, support, request whatever, and in this case, several times a day. The first problem we face is, "Do permissions we give God expire after a little while?" If so, what is the duration of a cycle?

Let me generalize the intercessors’ position and try this again.
 

v) God compels us to ask Him, to do something for the other person.

w) His power cannot go to that person, unless we give the permission.

x) We, however, cannot tell God what to do,

y) Yet He cannot do some things unless we give Him permission or request, regarding someone else's case!

v) Nevertheless, God impresses us to request of Him to do something for the other person.


Ignoring the obvious contradictions, let's pretend that this sounds as a workable loop. Starting at "v" passing "w", "x" and "y" we return to point "v." In this chiastic we see clearly that, unless we grant request/approval (points "w" and "y"), this process stands still. Nothing gets done. That clearly leaves us in control! By exercising the power of "permitting God" we are still in charge and indispensable in the affairs and salvation of men. Somehow this does not agree fully with an earlier claim, "We can't tell God what to do", but it is consistent with other parts of the intercessory story. Maybe there is something to "We can’t tell Him what to do", yet we can permit Him to do this and that.

. . . it permits Him to work in lives with special power. He unshackles the individual from the chains of sin so that he can use his freedom of choice to choose good. Incredible answers to prayers p. 12 by Roger J. Morneau

... so that the power of God can go to them by our permission and request." Intercessory prayer by Carol Zarska p. 5

"...we, who are praying, are giving them [individuals being prayed for] the opportunity to have that same chance for salvation." Intercessory prayer by Carol Zarska pp. 9

According to the intercessors, then, we can hold things up and really mess up the plan of salvation. Let’s see? There is a leverage position here. Perhaps He better be nice to us, and that goes for the sinners too.

Intercessors contend that, "God would only ask us to exercise the power of permitting Him if we allow Him to inspire us with the Holy Spirit to require exactly what He desires. And if we are not ready and willing, He will find another". That, unfortunately, leads us to backdoor manipulations, which incriminate God. If God moves us to vote and influences us how to vote, to give Him some permission without which He cannot act, then the law, that inhibits Him from acting on His own, is violated with unfair practices. This reminds me of the Rabbi who stands in the elevator unwilling to push button #47 on the Sabbath, but if some Gentile should happen to drift by and press a floor number close enough... These are all methods of short circuiting the Law. The Pharisees, the Mafia, the Roman church, the politicians, etc. use it and live by it! Does God have a part in this?

Yes, the Mafia may not think that there is anything wrong with that! Are we surprised? What should surprise us, is, when our opinions of God land in the sewer! The crowning jewel of this labyrinth is that no such law exists! This idea is wholly unsupported by the Scriptures. God does not wait for uncaring or caring men before He takes action! As we saw previously, we do not have a permission to grant to God, on the behalf of others. Crisscrossing individual rights only makes the author seem incompetent. This entire theology is built on this false premise.

We can rightly ask: What was the point of this labyrinth, to begin with?! Why build a complex web, to explain nothing? This brings to memory the mechanic who sprinkles lots of nails around the neighborhood to increase business. When victims come in to have the tires repaired, convince them that they need more work done on the car. Intercessors invent "natural separations" demons and frightening situations to assemble the crowds and the entire complex becomes a profitable economy.

Additionally, why should a petitioner feel compelled to extend some leeway to God, if God has inspired the petitioner's prayer to begin with? The implication might be that it is because the petitioner is not sure that God asked her to do that. Good point, we should not presume! This leeway is outlined with the conditional proposition "if He was building", but a leeway was already extended with the former proposition "if it was God's will to break up the marriage". The secondary leeway is not necessary at all. What was the use of the secondary leeway? The answer is found in:

"That text came to me when I asked God 'what text do You want me to claim' and God gave me that, I mean it just came to my mind and so I said all right Lord".

 Clearly, if God gave the petitioner this text, then it is a confirmation of the Lord's will to pray for the break up of the marriage. The context seems convincing. Why else would God convey this verse? Is it to confuse the petitioner? Not likely! God is not the author of confusion. Double leeway does not need to be granted by the petitioner, if God gave this tool, unless there is some doubt. It is worse than useless. It is clearly an expression of doubt! At this point the situation should be clear and the petitioner should rejoice for having found out the will of the Lord--a very excellent state of existence, the Nirvana of Christianity.

The first and only necessary uncertainty was expressed in the following statement:

"My daughter, Karen, and I felt very impressed to pray concerning..." It should not be followed by any more doubting, if the experience was truly genuine and worth mentioning. That, doubting is going on, is obvious from much of this text. "... God gave me that, I mean it just came to my mind and so I said all right Lord". So which is it, "God gave me that" or "it just came"? The words "I mean" suggest a correction of the former statement and expose the answer. Are we to believe that whatever comes to our mind is necessarily from the Lord? Are we incapable of recalling appropriate Scriptural texts to life situations? How far down do we drag the idea of inspiration?

The bomb here is that if God, not the petitioner, is