The most interesting conclusion in reading all these books on prayer is that few if any of them compel men to open their heart, get up and do something for their fellow men -- something more than lip service. None of them suggest opening the heart and feeding the hungry soul, to encourage the oppressed, to stop oppressing the less fortunate as vital adjunct to prayer. The reason for this situation is simple. Sales! Faith that leads man to power and control sells better. The Christian literature is soaked with this ideology. Love is seconded. It is still there and it is still important, but it is seconded. The depth of perception given to this simple woman says it all.
 

Lip service and delegations of various duties, to God, are not the objectives. Through prayer, it was meant for God to delegate to man, duties and tasks to serve his fellow man. Rather than making God seek to do our will, prayer was meant to help orient man, in the endeavor of seeking to do the will of God. And to be perfectly clear, the will of God is not to spend most of our free time bowed in prayer. It is not "to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him."

There is a significant difference between doing and speaking. Speaking comes very easily. The most selfish of persons can be made to say something. Anyone can pray for someone else, stand back, and see what happens. Words are cheap. Contrary to the Intercessors’ suggestions, our words are not magnified by the Holy Spirit to the end of moving God's hand. Our words are magnified and heard by God when we have magnified, heard and heeded to the needs and wants of the lesser than we!
 

Inside the intercessor self

In my experience with intercessors, I have been exposed to these extremes in a very direct way. One Sabbath, after a baptism, in the company of friends, I was approached by a small group of church members, concerning the subject of prayer. The fascination of Intercessory prayer took hold of my interest as a U.F.O. phenomenon takes hold of its victims. To say the least, I was intrigued by the possibilities. The thoughts came to me, "Maybe I never knew how to approach God before. Could it be that the Sanctuary leads us closer to God by following the trail of the Priest?" The amazing possibilities multiplied in my mind like a well-leavened bread in a warm place. In a few days, my head was on fire. I felt that I learned something new, which I needed for so long. I got down on my knees and prayed, following the steps prescribed.

Having anticipated my exposure, to this phenomenon, in His mercy, God seems to have orchestrated a complementary incident. It was to occur on the same day, of my initiation to Intercessory prayers. A very poor member of that church, having seen my self aggrandizing displays of expensive clothing and material possessions, approached me with tears and asked to speak to me in private. As a distinguished Pharisee, I agreed to meet with her outside and hear the nature of her difficulty, as soon as I finished talking to the Intercessors. After all, it is imperative to establish that every good Pharisee has to have his priorities in their proper order. My needs come first.

Outside of words, the other Pharisees did the best they could to convey to me what was waiting for me outside. Eyes probably rolled, in the murmur that accompanied my escorting Mrs. Poverty outside of that home. I invited her to sit in my fully loaded Grand Prix STE, and probably turned on some soft music, on the 8-way sound system, that makes you feel as if you are there. With large tears, trickling down her face, she began to tell me the story of her life. Mr. Compassionate, however, became a little agitated. I figured out what was about to happen. Money! She needs money!

I was right! Looking at her, as she spoke, with every second tooth missing, because of lack of proper oral hygiene, I began to look back at myself. How do I deal with this? She probably brought this condition of poverty on herself. If she were judicious, like me, this, probably, would never have happened. She would not be in need of help.

Nevertheless, after a thorough humiliating investigation, like a proper Pharisee, I promised to help her daughter with some $300.00. Her daughter came and picked up the money as agreed and I promptly called the other Pharisees to double-check if my investment was safe or in danger.

Was I in shock when I found out the story of Mrs. Poverty. No one expected that my money would be returned. Nearly everyone counseled me not to bother. "She does not care about herself and always expects others to help her. She will not return your money" was unanimous. Oh well! Another example of the righteous being abused, I thought. How difficult it is to be good, sometimes.

The condemnation, tar and feathers imposed on that poor woman had a profound effect on me. I found myself wanting to talk to her and say that it would be improper for my money not to be returned. Have you ever come close to doing something so outrageous that you shiver at the thought? Heaven, help us come to terms with reality! What kind of monsters are we? Looking back, now that a few years have gone by, I realize how mad I was. What is sanity? How insensitive can we become? Reason does not seem to help, when selfishness abounds.

Concerning Intercessory prayers and the mechanics, where were they? If intercessory prayers bring us so close to God, where was the compassion? How could God hear people like us? Why would God have anything to do with us? We revel at the thought that a new method might set God into action and we ignore our primary responsibility. When prayers fail, rationalizations do not. We rationalize everything bad away, and discover all the good reasons why God should do this and that for us. There is no end to the list of promises used to remind God on what to do for us.

To put us all to shame, my money was returned to me in full, when I most needed it. God has put us all to shame. I will never stop being embarrassed by my disposition toward this woman. What did I give? Nothing! What did I expect? Everything I prayed for! What can God do for people like us? ___________________. You fill in the blank.

If you should fail to realize the lesson in this, the opportunity to give, is a gift from God to you. Do not let it slip by! I gave nothing because I got it all back. Now I have to wonder if God is saying "Here is your money Mr. Scrooge." Yes, I can look at the bright side of it and, like a good banker, say she made use of my money. OK? It is like saying to your girlfriend, you pay for the expenses tonight and I will accompany you with my good looks. Maybe I should have charged her interest?

Some readers may still feel that there was nothing wrong with what I did. It may seem proper to ascertain that we are not giving moneys to leaches. However, I doubt that Yashua did that when He fed the thousands or returned sight to the blind. Yashua does not compel us to ask, why somebody is hungry, and then feed him or her. When somebody needs food, or clothing or other, it does not matter why, if we have the means. We can always help them plan their life better after their need is satisfied. The bad reasons for being in need are probably there to separate the Scrooges from the tender hearted. It is amazing how God finds simple ways to separate the goats from the sheep.

For those that feel a loss, resulting from this critique of Intercessory prayers, I hope that this terrible situation exposes the essential elements needed to uncover some layers of our self deceptions. It seems almost impossible, for me, to believe that I could ever have come to this unpleasant state of existence. I scrutinized the life of a less fortunate neighbor to such a degree that my attempt at giving was devoid of any goodness. Many times we become so blind to ourselves, that we allow ourselves to commit acts of such ferocity and malignancy as to be appalling to the stone hearted.

For situations of that category what is needed is light, sobering light and perspective! Fortunately, Yahweh has thought this problem out thoroughly.
 

The stark juxtaposition of these elements has brought a sobering light on the subject of Intercessory prayers. I am happy that I am able to understand and be repulsed by my actions. The ability to face one self, and hate one's own actions, is part of the process required for change. As you can see, when God teaches a lesson, He drives it home.

Concerning knowledge of God and light, if you should choose to hold an opposite view to the one presented in this book, consider using the above promise to blackmail God with. This promise, I feel sure, is one that God will act on speedily. If you are not sure and undecided, regarding Intercessory prayers, here is the promise that will clear things up for you. First, try helping the needy, for a while, and if that does not work, you can always delegate it to God, later. Stipulated with a single condition, "And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul" we have a promise that can be understood and acted upon so easily, since the needy are everywhere.

If we desire to know Yashua, it is necessary for us to engage in the works that He worked, not studies. Professionals are made in the field, not in the classrooms. Lip service and long complicated prayers will do nothing for us. God is the author of simplicity. Complexity and confusion come about when our character deviates from the path. Complexity and convolution are used to blind the eyes to truth. When our heart is bent on control of others, when Lucifer's kingdom begins to appeal to us, then we need darkness for comfort. Deep dark caves, away from the sunlight of truth become necessary so we can do the works of our heart. Complexity, convolution and confusion provide this environment.

If we desire to know Yashua, it is necessary for us to engage in works of tender mercy, and not judgment, first. Mercy precedes judgment. Judgment comes last! Mercy allows the true nature of the character to come to expression, so that judgment can be fair. Additionally, judging actions is dramatically different from judging a character. These things are good to keep in mind when we deal with the needy.

Concerning prayers for others, we need to know where to position them. Prayers for others are secondary actions after the heart was changed and we have exhausted our resources. When our friends are in a distressing need and we are not able to supply them with our help or we do not know how to help them, prayer becomes an appropriate action. Yahweh, show me how to help this person, which you brought to me. I don't know how, rather than, Lord, you feed and take care of them.

A matter of attitude

The perspective of enthroning man to decide what is good or bad for a mission, world objective, or the next door neighbor, is questionable. The use of mediators or mediums, with lip serving incantations, to obtain the desired results, is rooted in many of the religions, of the world. The distance from the simple Christianity of Christ determines the eminence of this practice. The more adverse religions seem to imbibe more in this practice. Men take it upon themselves to say, control or effect their desires into the lives of other beings. This self centered or self glorifying endeavor is expressed in many other ways. From wars to political upheavals, in religion, down to cradle bickering of siblings, the fight for supremacy and control finds expression.

Intercessory prayers, like some religions or cults, claim the power to effect changes in other peoples' lives. The cult of Voodoo claims the same thing. Using some ritual incantations and communications with the spirits, results are to be obtained by the medium to affect the lives of other people. In both situations, bypassing the free will of subjects is found to be acceptable. To attempt to separate these practices, by claiming that Intercessors should be licensed because they mean well, falls short of being justifiable. The idea of good varies from religion to religion. It is clearly good for the few in power, since their will is being serviced.

Entertaining the idea that the exercise of some unappealing or unfair practice by Satan's camp gives license to Yashua's followers to counter the Devil with the use of the same practices, is poor judgment. The war with the satanic forces does not involve a "tit for tat" engagement. If the Devil practices forcing the will, it does not mean that God or we should do it as well. When enemies of our faith scorn us, are we right in thinking that such situations give us license to scorn or deride them? Some Intercessors belive so.
 

That, however, is not what the intercessors prescribe. In line with their desire to dominate control and oppress, advice is given to address the Devil and revile him with a variety of accusations and frowardness. Yes, people are told to speak to the Devil in their prayers.

In all these attempts to make prayer a handle of power, an important element becomes prominent. The aspiration to power and rulership over others stand out like a sore thumb. This attitude dominates all the prescriptions of the Intercessors. Even the presumptive name "Intercessors", gives it away.

The nature of Yahweh and prayer

Contrary to popular belief, the foundation of God's kingdom is not that of power. We all make too much fuss about power because of our lust for it. This is well exemplified in our view of God. Our fears flare up instantly when our view, concerning God's omnipotence is challenged. The famous argument of God's foreknowledge brings out this point best. For some, it seems imperative to retain all potency, whether logical or not, with God. God can do anything! It does not matter if it makes sense or not, our insecurities demand that God can go back into the past and into the future at will. Violations of common sense are acceptable as long as God's powers remain unlimited. The more powers we ascribe to God the safer we think we are. Nevertheless, omnipotence is not what underlies God's greatness. Omnipotence is not how humanity was saved from the grip of the enemy. God's acts of justice and mercy are not at all based on the foundation of power. Concern with omnipotence is not what makes God say words like:
 

A new truth came out of this most peculiar decision and experience. Love surfaced like never before. There was no talk of omnipotence on the cross. In view of what was at stake, Satan did everything he could, to trip Christ into resorting to power. Consider the temptations in the wilderness. If you are the Son of God, try using your powers. At the cross: If you are the Son of God, come down so we may believe you. The old challenge of the Devil, that God's mercy and justice are based on His power, as typified in the story of Job, came to an abrupt end. The beings of the universe realized with certainty, for the first time, that, God's love reigned supreme.

If we are to become like Him, we are to emulate God's great sacrifice of relinquishing power and basing our doings on love and hope for others. Our attempts to motivate God to do this and that, according to our desires, should be changed to attempts of how to understand and impart God's love. It is that love, which moves mountains. The mountain that can be thrown into the sea through faith, which Christ spoke about, was not a physical mountain. It was clearly a parabolic reference to doctrines and religions of the worlds. It is not God's power that changes any soul to be good or bad. God's great love is the miraculous provision that changes man. God's omnipotence has never and will never save a soul. It is useless to try to shelter in it. That objective was accomplished by His incomparable love.

It remains for each one of us to realize how deep the claws of evil are embedded in our hearts. Even our attempts to correct the situation of evil seem to be stained with strangely self-centered purposes and aspirations to power. Lord, bring this man to the truth (against his will)! An unconverted heart has difficulties letting go of the idea that power is the way.
 

If God, who is so well informed about each one of us, does not violate the freedom of man's will to bring him home, how much more befitting is it for us to exercise this care. If God takes such precautions to be so non-invasive, how should we view our flagrant impositions on others? Lord, prevent him from doing this and that. Lord, separate these two people. Our pretense of care does not give license to invasive behavior. Even genuine care does not license us to violate the freedom of will of another.

The seeming appearance that some intercessory prayers, invasions of privacy and interference with the wills of others, bring results cannot be used as evidence of divine guidance. How many times will we hear testimonials of this sort? Yet, the end does not justify the means.

Just because we had things our way does not mean that God was behind it. Seemingly good results will never justify badly founded mechanics that pervert the truth. A hundred converts does not necessarily imply divine support. Yashua exposed this truth as follows:
 

Yes, it makes us vulnerable to give up hope in power. It is also frightening. It takes courage. If you think about it. However, there was a time when we all were less concerned with power. In childhood, Mom and Dad (a type of our Father in heaven) held a type of God's omnipotence. We were free to enjoy the beauty of life. Lack of concern with power gave us a sense of freedom that some adults can only desire. This very experience, this disposition and freedom is what Yashua desires for us.