Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home by Richard J. Foster
Week 8: Moving Outward — Intercessory Prayer
Read Chapter 13 of Prayer by Richard Foster ("Intercessory Prayer"). Key Scripture: Romans 8:26–27; 1 Timothy 2:1–4.
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We turn now outward — toward others — and encounter one of the most mysterious and important forms of prayer: intercession. Foster challenges us to take seriously the staggering claim that our prayers for others actually matter.
Discussion Questions
8 questions1.Foster describes intercessory prayer as 'the most altruistic activity' we can engage in — a form of love that is both deeply personal and profoundly costly. Does intercession feel like love to you, or more like an obligation? What has shaped your answer?
2.Foster makes the bold claim that God has chosen, in his sovereignty, to work in the world through the prayers of his people — that things happen through intercession that would not otherwise happen. Does this claim thrill you, burden you, or both? Why?
3.Foster draws on the image of Moses standing in the gap — physically holding his arms up in intercession during the battle with the Amalekites — as a picture of the strenuous, sustained nature of real intercession. Is your intercession for others more like a quick mention or more like standing in the gap? What would change if you took the latter image seriously?
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