INTERCESSION: FRIENDSHIP REQUIRED

By Wayne Warner… and a note from Sandy

6/2/99

Attending a conference, recently I watched a drama in real life play out in front of me. I watched a fellow go up for prayer and stand a very long time waiting for the speaker to pray for him. He had driven from out of town and especially wanted prayer. Every time the speaker would get close, he would zig zag the other direction and miss this hopeful man. This happened numerous times and finally I could tell that the speaker was about to leave without praying for him.

At that realization I overheard our pastor’s wife say, "I am going up front to get prayer for my friend." As she moved up to the front, I saw Sandy and the man’s wife stand up elsewhere and move forward with the same intention. I talked with them later and they all knew the speaker was about to leave without praying for this man. The Holy Spirit birthed in their hearts to be a mediator.

They gathered around the man and the speaker — and sure enough, as the speaker turned around, he turned the other direction and missed the man. Sandy was the only person left actually facing the speaker and she grabbed his hand as he was moving towards the door. "This man needs your prayers," she said as she placed the speaker’s hand upon the man’s heart. You could tell the speaker was surprised! He immediately began to pray for this man with his three friends standing with them and agreeing in prayer.

[Note from Sandy - It was incredible that I actually had the courage to do that! However I was driven by love and the urgency of intercession. From a different place in the auditorium I watched the same drama play out and the Lord so touched me with the pain of dashed hopes. I was in agony feeling the pull and tug of my friend’s heart as the speaker got near, then moved away — over and over again.]

[End of Sandy note]

What was quickened to me as I watched this whole drama play out was the story in Mark 2 about the paralyzed man and his friends. Four men carried a paralyzed man to Jesus on a stretcher, that he might be healed. When they realized they could not find a way to Jesus through the crowds or through a blocked door, they searched for another way. They saw a possibility through the roof and set about acquiring ropes and ladders. It must have been difficult to hoist the paralyzed man up onto the roof, but they were determined to get him to Jesus. Once they were on the roof, they faced the task of opening a hole that was big enough to lower the paralyzed man’s stretcher down in front of Jesus.

I can imagine the turmoil that these friends caused by digging a hole in the roof above Jesus and the crowds. Can’t you just hear all the grumbling as they went about their task? "Hey you’re making too much noise." "What a mess!" "Stop interrupting the meeting!" But these friends would not be stopped. Working together, finally after a tiring and laborious process they lowered the paralyzed man down in front of Jesus.

It is interesting that Jesus always goes right to the source of the trouble. These friends wanted this man to be healed. But Jesus probably surprised them by forgiving his sins. After all the work they had gone to and Jesus forgives his sins? But the Lord is in the business of healing the whole man, both the body and the soul. These friends got even more from Jesus than they had hoped for. Their friend was both healed and forgiven — what a gift.

After witnessing the drama at the conference and then thinking about this section of scripture, the Lord opened my mind to see that in most cases a person who is suffering and afflicted needs real friends to place them at the feet of our Lord Jesus. In the case of the paralyzed man, his friends had to be in one accord. First they had to agree that their friend’s need was something they could not meet. Second, these friends had to agree that they believed Jesus could meet the need. Third, these friends had to agree to a plan to get their friend to Jesus. Fourth, these friends had to work together to make their plan work. Fifth, these friends had to agree that nothing would stop them from getting their friend to Jesus.

I believe that what the church needs today are more friends that will go the distance for a friend in need. They need to be willing to overcome fear of man’s opinions, be persistent, and be willing to be held responsible for any mess that accrues in reaching Jesus.

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13 NKJV)

Lovingly,

Wayne & Sandy Warner