By Jade Angelo Gascon
Executive Assistant, On Eagle’s Wings Foundation

Intercession is the last thing I would imagine myself writing about.

Prayer’s fine with me. You know, asking providence for today’s breakfast, lunch, and supper; for courage when deadlines draw nigh; for supernatural strength in times of siesta while I’m at work; and for many other needs critical to my growth and survival as a human being.

Interceding for other people (or creatures) is not easy.

But intercessory prayer has always been something too hard for me to act upon and, honestly, to believe in.

For starters, intercessory prayer (or intercession) is a kind of prayer in which one continuously lifts up the lives (the needs and predicaments) of other people to God. It involves pleading on behalf of others, for others.

It’s hard to do. My family and I have enough trouble to consume much of my precious prayer time already. So why bother praying for a classmate who is heartbroken or a workmate who doesn’t know Christ yet?

It’s also hard to believe in. If God were sovereign, what’s the sense of continuously praying for people? Can’t I just pray once for them, and rest assured that God has it on record already?

At the 20th National Prayer Gathering (NPG) of the Intercessors For the Philippines (IFP) in Cebu on Nov. 17 to 19, all my antiquated misconceptions about intercessory prayer were phased out.

I learned that God calls every Christian to be an intercessor. Peter describes us as a “royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9). He alludes here to the role of priests as those who present prayers, thanksgiving and praise to God on behalf of people. Thus, praying for needs that are beyond one’s own benefit should be a habit every Christian must desire to develop as “royal priests.”

An Israelite high priest intercedes to God on behalf of the people

This intercessory duty cannot be performed by hearts that are not transformed. It’s easy to be compelled to pray for friends and family because they are people we care for. But interceding for strangers, enemies, and nations requires compassion of epic proportions.

Indian preacher Sadhu Sundar Selvaraj stressed during the NPG that the key element for intercession is a heart of compassion. Christians will always find excuses to not find time to intercede if there’s no single trace of compassion in their hearts that motivates them to intercede.

Compassion drives the believer’s heart to sacrifice time in prayer for people and nations in need. It fuels our spirit to de-emphasize self-benefitting prayers (these are not unnecessary, though), and move into a prayer attitude that spends more time on other’s needs. Selvaraj also pointed out that, “The act of intercession is the act of meeting with God by falling before him for pleading on behalf of another… You can’t stop praying until the burden is lifted from you.”

The only way to have this kind of compassion that leads to intercession is to sync our heartbeat with God’s. And His heartbeat echoes loudly throughout the Bible. It resonates with Good News to the poor, release to the captives, sight to the blind and freedom to the oppressed (Luke 4:18). This is Jesus’ anointing. This is the character of intercessory prayer. Centrifugal. Sympathetic. Salvational.

I can’t believe I’ve just written about intercession.

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By Jade Angelo Gascon
Executive Assistant, On Eagle’s Wings Foundation

I don’t know which is harder to believe: that icebergs are now heading to New Zealand according to glaciologists or that there’s still hope for the Philippines according to our politicians.

Iceberg heading to New Zealand

To remain hopeful for a nation dominated by a dynasty of surnames under which leadership it has become the most corrupt in Asia is not worth the imagination. It’s a waste of our precious Filipino intelligence.

And then 2010 is coming. Elections. What is supposed to be a chance for us to hope once more is also a chance for the ambitious to propel themselves to the pinnacle of political power. Now this isn’t hard to believe: There will be bloodshed. In the Philippines, the quest for public office is a violent, self-centered, animalistic adventure.

Even animals hope, though. So why shouldn’t we give it a try? I remember 2004. I was 17 and it was the first time I exercised my democratic faculties in support of a candidate. I was full of hope. But hope proved powerless in the face of evil. History would now testify to us that the 2004 elections is a big joke.

Even animals hope. Elephant seal hopes the iceberg wouldn't hit NZ.

I don’t want the joke to be on me again this 2010. So when I attended the National Prayer Gathering (NPG) of the Intercessors For the Philippines (IFP) on Nov. 17-19 in Cebu, I was, again, hopeful. Hopeful that the National Prayer Gathering would achieve more than babbling the usual prayers for my beloved Republic.

Since its founding in 1989, IFP has been rallying Filipino Christians to pray so that the Philippines would be free from various forms of national evils. Since then, nothing has seemed to happen.  And by “nothing” I refer to the “Hello Garci” scandal, the “Ondoy” tragedy, the extrajudicial killings, the coup attempts, the online sex dens in Las Piñas and Pampanga, the Transparency International reports, and the species of senators we breed today.

I must admit that I have somehow developed a skeptical mindset toward prayers for the nation. And I know I’m not alone here. Many Christians have certainly been weary of the Philippines.

A promotional poster of NPG held on Nov. 17-19 at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu

Praying—much less hoping—for the Philippines has become tiresome.

But at the NPG, nobody seemed tired. IFP Director Dan Balais kicked off the sessions with a fitting Scripture quotation from Ecclesiastes 3:1, reminding us of the truth that God ordains the times and seasons that govern nations. This idea is supported by Psalm 102:13 and Acts 17:26’s reference to God as “appointing” and “determining” times not just for individuals but even for nations.

The Philippines has long been under a season of judgment for its unfaithfulness to its claim as Asia’s Christian nation. We say we’re Christian but the way we practice business and government would make Jesus regret that His other name is Christ! Show me a fixer-free LTO agency and I’ll stop writing now. Unrighteousness teems richly in our society. This is why we’re under judgment. I must be quick to add, though, that judgment isn’t so bad, as many might think, for when God executes His judgments, people learn righteousness (Isa 26:9). Thus, a season of judgment is followed by blessing if the people would give in to its spiritual consequence of learning righteousness.

God changes times and seasons by changing the rulers of nations. Take note that Israel’s Biblical history was shaped and defined by the incumbent king. God’s delight on Israel depended on the righteousness or wickedness of its ruling sovereign. Following this principle, the Philippine 2010 elections is a ripe season for God to change the course of Philippine history.

Bishop Dan Balais is a leading figure in Philippine biblical Christianity. He inspires us to intercede for our nation.

Our history is not on auto-pilot. The NPG made it clear that God’s purpose for the Philippines would only head toward fulfillment if the body of Christ shall unite behind righteous leadership.

Knowing these Biblical principles energized me to hope and pray for the Philippines again. Though national renewal is hard to believe, it is not impossible. Besides, what Christian teaching exists that is easy to believe in the first place? The virgin birth? One God in three persons? Undeserved grace? The resurrection?

The difficult idea of a resurrected Philippines can only be realized by hearts and minds that have faith so strong they can resolve to believe in any other out-of-this-world Christian doctrine. This leaves all of us to no other choice but to submit to God in humble acceptance of our helplessness as a nation without His righteous counsel.

This Filipinos must believe.

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