July 5, 2004

"Spirit-Led Intercession"

Spirit-led intercession is prayer for others; it's not prayer for ourselves.  Maybe that's one of the reasons why there are so few intercessors because when we go to prayer, sometimes we just want to talk about ourselves and work out our own problems.  There's a time and place for that.  But intercession is not about us.  It's about the concerns in the heart of God.  Spirit-led intercession is primarily directed to the Father.  It's always in union with Jesus and is directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

One time when I was in Medjugorje at the foot of the blue cross, I was lost in my own thoughts about what was going on in Medjugorje.  I was thinking about the beautiful messages, the beautiful children, and all the wonderful things that they were hearing and experiencing with Our Lady ever single day.  I was thinking to myself that it would be wonderful to have Mary as a spiritual director.  All of a sudden, much to my surprise, Our Lady interrupted my thoughts.  In the Spirit I could hear her say so sweetly, "Oh no.  I wouldn't want to be your spiritual director.  I would want you to have the same director that I had."  I said, "Really?  Who was that?"  She said, "The Holy Spirit.  He taught me everything I ever knew about love."  There's the Director.  There's the love power. 

What does Spirit-led intercession do?  It always prepares the way for the Lord.  It prepares the way for Jesus to come into hearts: to heal, reveal the Father, set someone free, or connect someone with the Father.  Spirit-led intercession always prepares the way of the Lord.

When we pray, we want to know, "What does God want to do?  What does He not want to do?  What is His mind?  What is His heart?"  That drove us even deeper into relationship with the Holy Spirit because St. Paul tells us that "No one knows what lies at the depths of God but the Spirit of God" (1Cor 2:11).  It's only the Holy Spirit who knows the mind and the heart of God.  And so in order to know what God's plan is, we want to constantly ask the Holy Spirit for His revelation.  The Holy Spirit is the One who helps us recognize God in everything.  He helps us recognize Jesus in one another as well.  As intercessors, our constant prayer is, "Lord, teach us how to pray."  We never assume that we already know how to pray-we ask.  Assumptions can leave the door open to pride, and pride opens the door to the enemy. 

How do we learn how to pray?  We simply stop, look, and listen.  It's that simple.  We stop whatever we are doing.  We especially stop all the noise that is going on within us.  That's where all the noise is.  We try to get quiet inside.  We look with the eyes of the heart; we look with that contemplative gaze-"What does God want us to do here?  What is God seeing?"  Jesus said, "The Son cannot do anything by Himself - He can do only what He sees the Father doing" (Jn 5:19).  "What is He doing?  Father, show us how to pray."  Then we listen.  This is contemplation.  When we ask the question, we listen for the response.  It comes in many ways, but God will always respond.  He will always show us how to pray.  Once we know His mind and heart, then all we do is play that right back to God.  We listen to what God is saying to us, and then we simply ask Him to do what He wants to do, which He has already revealed to us.

Excerpt from "Spirit-Led Intercession," Jacksonville, FL, 2002.