“In the matter of intercession, when we pray for another, the Spirit of God works in the unconscious domain of that one’s being about which we know nothing, about which the one we pray for knows nothing; and after a while the conscious life of the one prayed for begins to show signs of softening and unrest, of enquiry and desire to know something,” so writes Oswald Chamber (1874-1917) in Still Higher for His Highest.
This kind of commitment to faith is not written or proclaimed by theologians or ministers these days—at least I haven’t come across it—at least not with this precise clarity about intercessory prayer. It takes a huge leap of faith to believe this, and it is only by faith that we pray in such depth. This is no throwaway. When we tell someone we will pray for them, we are not saying so with the same attitude we might tell them to have a good day.
No, believing this puts our prayer in some ineffable place. It is not just that we believe people will be comforted knowing they are in our thoughts and prayers, or that we gain a good feeling by being helpful and loving—although this can be true. Rather, we believe that the spirit works in mysterious and inexplicable ways because we know it is true; and that makes all the difference.
For clarification. Chamber implies that we ‘know nothing’ when we pray for others. I believe that is true, whether we know the person or whether we hear a name through a prayer chain. What we do know is that God is love, and that God loves everyone.
This kind of commitment to faith is not written or proclaimed by theologians or ministers these days—at least I haven’t come across it—at least not with this precise clarity about intercessory prayer. It takes a huge leap of faith to believe this, and it is only by faith that we pray in such depth. This is no throwaway. When we tell someone we will pray for them, we are not saying so with the same attitude we might tell them to have a good day.
No, believing this puts our prayer in some ineffable place. It is not just that we believe people will be comforted knowing they are in our thoughts and prayers, or that we gain a good feeling by being helpful and loving—although this can be true. Rather, we believe that the spirit works in mysterious and inexplicable ways because we know it is true; and that makes all the difference.
For clarification. Chamber implies that we ‘know nothing’ when we pray for others. I believe that is true, whether we know the person or whether we hear a name through a prayer chain. What we do know is that God is love, and that God loves everyone.
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