restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations

                

Will You Pray?

 David Alan Black

If Michael Peroutka and Chuck Baldwin are to make any progress as our quarterbacks, we must play the position of intercessor. An intercessor is simply a person who has accepted the responsibility of holding others up in prayer.

Jesus Himself is the Great Intercessor. He said to Peter, “Simon… I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail” (Luke 22:31). And John 17, commonly known as the Great High Priestly Prayer of Jesus, is a model of intercessory prayer. Jesus said, “I am praying for them” (John 17:9). When Jesus ascended to heaven He assumed the position of intercessor for each and every Christian.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote a book entitled Life Together. In it he emphasized that “a Christian fellowship lives and exists by the intercession of its members for one another, or it collapses.” He then added:

The struggle we undergo with our brother in intercession may be a hard one, but that struggle has the promise that it will gain its goal…. To make intercession means to grant our brother the same right that we have received, namely to stand before Christ and share his mercy” (Quoted in Benson and Benson, Disciplines of the Inner Life, p. 71).

As intercessors for Michael and Chuck we must generate a constant flow of praise or concern as we pray. Our prayers will seek to provide a protective shield around them – and their families – as they take the point. A major part of our intercessory prayers will be that their spiritual passion might be constantly renewed, and that they might not grow weary in well doing.

I often wonder how many people consistently pray for our candidates. You know, it is not unusual to hear of gifted people falling short of the goals they should have met. Could it be that they were never undergirded by the prayers of the saints?

Let your spouse be your front-line partner in this warfare of prayer. Since the day we attended Michael’s announcement dinner in Baltimore, my wife and I have had the daily privilege of upholding him and his family in prayer. And now we have added Chuck and his precious family. We consider this as part of our load, and we accept responsibility for it gladly.

I once heard a fascinating (though frightening) story of intercession. A Salvation Army officer was once praying over some female officers about to leave England for America in 1860. He prayed:

Lord, these ladies are going to America to preach the gospel. If they are fully given up to Thee, be with them and bless and grant them success. But if they are not faithful, drown ’em, Lord; drown ’em.

They did in fact succeed, and their success prompted William Booth to say, “My best men are women!”

Dear friends of the U.S. Constitution, we need no cheap optimism under religious auspices to buoy us up. We realize that the way of the crown is always the way of the cross. But I believe that our Father would be pleased to give us much more if we had faith to ask Him for it. Caleb asked for a mountain. Hezekiah asked for an extension of his life. Jabez asked for an enlargement of his coast. We too need to push out our borders, to possess our possessions, to enter the rest that God has for His people.

To be under God’s guiding hand is a worthy prayer to offer on behalf of our beloved candidates, and we may assuredly make our requests with confidence.

If you are willing to join the Peroutka Prayer Brigade, let me know. I will add your name to the list of intercessors below.

May God’s will be done.

July 14, 2004

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com. His latest book is Why I Stopped Listening to Rush: Confessions of a Recovering Neocon.

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We, the undersigned, promise to uphold Michael Peroutka and Chuck Baldwin, and their families, in regular intercessory prayer.

Dave & Becky Lynn Black, Bradford Hall, VA

Nathan Black, Nelson, VA

Karl & Kim Hofmann, Raleigh, NC

Charles & Mary Porter, La Center, WA

Jonathan & Alison Grubbs, Sanford, FL

Brandon Arnett, Richmond, VA

Clint Hale, San Antonio, TX

Mark Dankof, Philadelphia, PA

Joe Eldred

George Lansing

Clinton & Brenda Crawley, Griffin, GA

Andrew D. Gettis, Lakeville, MN

Dave DiTucci, Schriever, LA

Grace Bible Church, Gray, LA

Paul Teachey, Wake Forest, NC

Debbie Hopper, St. Louis, MO

Scott Bartholomew, Dallas, TX

Jared & Helen Henson, Franklinton, NC

Dave Strittmatter, Vineland, NJ

Michael & Darla Munday, Crofton, KY

Robert & Elizabeth Krupkin, NH

Douglas Strother, Torrance, CA

Scott Brown, Wake Forest, NC

Cal Wortman, NJ

Lowell T. Patterson

Oscar A. Jimenez, Las Vegas, NV 

Jack & Lois McLain, Jupiter, FL

Bob Bent, Gulf Breeze, FL

Ray & Sandra Erickson

Betty L. Hollifield, Bradenton, Florida

Gary Furnish

Wayne & Rebecca Whitworth, Los Alamitos, CA

Howard & Arlene Wright, Wimauma, FL

Anthony & Patti Carter, Fayetteville, TN

Pastor H. Ray Eldridge

Pieter Friedrich, Sacramento, CA

Matthew R. Gamel

Bob & Joylynn Hardesty

Pastor & Mrs. Donald L. Smith, Platteville, CO

Stiles Watson, Youngsville, NC

Todd Pedlar, Decorah, IA

Brad Creviston, Davie, FL

Jim Angle, Ringgold, GA

Jim & Diane Pearson, Maryville, TN

Jim Bob & Amy Howard, Cedar Park, TX

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