Is intercessory prayer valid?
Upvote:0
Correct! Praying for others' salvation seems futile IF you know they are not going to be saved:
The Parable of the Wedding Feast
22 Jesus again used parables in talking to the people. 2 “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. Once there was a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son. 3 He sent his servants to tell the invited guests to come to the feast, but they did not want to come. 4 So he sent other servants with this message for the guests: ‘My feast is ready now; my steers and prize calves have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast!’ 5 But the invited guests paid no attention and went about their business: one went to his farm, another to his store, 6 while others grabbed the servants, beat them, and killed them. 7 The king was very angry; so he sent his soldiers, who killed those murderers and burned down their city. 8 Then he called his servants and said to them, ‘My wedding feast is ready, but the people I invited did not deserve it. 9 Now go to the main streets and invite to the feast as many people as you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, good and bad alike; and the wedding hall was filled with people.
11 “The king went in to look at the guests and saw a man who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ the king asked him. But the man said nothing. 13 Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot, and throw him outside in the dark. There he will cry and gnash his teeth.’”
14 And Jesus concluded, “Many are invited, but few are chosen.”
(Matthew 22:1-14)
So, praying for others is like gathering all the people you could find (because this is the Lord's command to all Christian believers, so we must obey). Unfortunately, not all who are invited (or prayed for) will be saved (but, few will be saved).
Read Acts 16:25-34 as an example: Paul and Silas were praying and the prisoners heard them...Something happened that the jailer asked them what he must do to be saved. The jailer and his family believed in Jesus and was filled with joy.
Upvote:1
What if your prayer for them is part of the "choosing process"? If you are prompted (or commanded) to pray, then pray.
What God has foreknown, He has predetermined in the creative act. Will we be a part of His plan or will we step aside? Jesus did not do many miracles in Nazareth, the place of His upbringing, because of their little faith.
For example, God has determined that creation and Law declare His glory (Psalm 19). This is not a request...it is a statement, but if we will not willingly do it then inanimate nature will drown out our voice. God will be glorified!
As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” - Luke 19:37-40
As is well said by Ron Kenoly, "Ain't gonna let no rock out-praise me"
What God has determined to be contingent upon our prayers is contingent upon our prayers. Such knowledge is too lofty for us, we cannot attain it...obey.
More post
- 📝 Is paganism compatible with Christianity?
- 📝 What is the basis for a mythical reading of Genesis 1-2?
- 📝 Is it presumptuous to seek to become a priest?
- 📝 Persecution of Jewish people by Christians in Middle Ages?
- 📝 Are any written instructions to deal with accidental spilling of the Blessed Sacrament of Blood of Christ on the Altar or aisle?
- 📝 Is the Testament of Solomon Biblical?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for saying Christians are "friends of God"?
- 📝 If God created the sun and the moon on the fourth day what had been lighting the earth for three days?
- 📝 When are children held accountable for ther sins?
- 📝 How do you explain our existence when you say that God is almighty?
- 📝 What does the perpetual virginity of Mary add to our salvation?
- 📝 What is the history of periodically transferring parish priests?
- 📝 Is God really Merciful according to the Bible?
- 📝 Is it a sin to do "works" for the sake of "rewards" in heaven?
- 📝 Life of Jesus from the age of 12 to 30?
- 📝 Have the Jehovah's Witnesses predicted the end of the world?
- 📝 How to pronounce references in the Bible?
- 📝 Do Catholic priests need permission from a bishop to retire?
- 📝 Did the Apostle Paul believe in the immortality of the soul?
- 📝 What is the Book of Mormon story of Christmas?
- 📝 When were Protestants first called 'Protestants' and what were they, originally, protesting about?
- 📝 In what sense is the bible is "clear"/perspicuous?
- 📝 What is an overview of Protestant critiques of Swedenborgianism?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for it being acceptable to bring doubts to God?
- 📝 Are there any known non-trinitarian apologists in the Anglican communion?
- 📝 On what side was Jesus' stab wound?
- 📝 What does the Bible say Christians should or should not do on the Sabbath?
- 📝 Is there a Christian equivalent of Mandala (word or symbol)?
- 📝 What does Neo-Scholastic Thomism say about the Charismatic Renewal movement?
- 📝 What is Beth Sarim building built for?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 How do Catholics reconcile Christ's intercessory prayer with the doctrine of the Trinity?
- 📝 Is intercessory prayer valid?
- 📝 C.S. Lewis's petitionary prayer paradox
- 📝 When is the first time in church history we find a prayer ending with "in Jesus' name, amen"?
- 📝 Why is the Lord's Prayer different in the NIV and KJV?
- 📝 Which of Luther's 95 Theses are still potentially valid critiques of Roman Catholicism?
- 📝 Is prayer effectively second-guessing God?
- 📝 What are the stipulations for a mixed marriage to be valid in the Catholic Church?
- 📝 How valid is the JEDP theory?
- 📝 Is there a difference between prayer and petition?
- 📝 Is a confession valid if I only voice the sins I'm comfortable sharing and confess the rest in my heart to God?
- 📝 How are prayer and asking the saints to intercede distinguished?
- 📝 If God doesn't tempt us, why does the Lord's Prayer petition Him to "lead us not into temptation"?
- 📝 How do monothelites explain Jesus' prayer in the garden of Gethsemane?
- 📝 Are there any biblical examples of Early Church disciples praying to deceased saints in order to request their intercessory prayer?
- 📝 Is there any record of a visual method of prayer in the Bible?
- 📝 Does God Answer Every Prayer Asked In Jesus' Name?
- 📝 What biblical reasons are there for using the Lord's Prayer as a pattern for prayer rather than a prayer to repeat verbatim?
- 📝 Is there any tradition with regards to Zechariah's prayer in Luke?
- 📝 Why isn't the Eucharist of protestant churches considered valid by non-protestants?
- 📝 Did the Christian practice of having a prayer before Bible study evolve during Martin Luther's time?
- 📝 From a Reformed perspective, does retroactive prayer makes sense?
- 📝 According to the Catholic Church, could a "Jesus-name" baptism ever be considered a valid baptism?
- 📝 Can a devil use one prayer to prevent us from praying different one? (Catholic perspective)
- 📝 Is it valid to baptize multiple persons at once?
- 📝 How many laws from Old Testament are still valid in New Testament?
- 📝 Is LDS baptism considered valid by the Roman Catholic Church?
- 📝 Is Baptism of a child still valid if one of the pouring during baptism misses?
- 📝 Is it a valid Christian concept to attribute subjectively attactive physical characteristics, as blessings from God?
- 📝 Pre-Vatican II Latin Prayer