The Middleman

Sometimes it is to the financial benefit of the buyer to remove the "middleman," one who increases the cost of goods due to their involvement.  For instance, when I planned to propose marriage to Laura I did not buy the solitaire from a shopping mall but from a gem cutter.  In doing so I avoided the markups which are common with jewelry sales and was able to buy a better ring than I could afford otherwise.  The middleman in this context can be an unnecessary man, and I believe this can be true in the arena of prayer.

Paul said this in Philippians 4:6:  "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God..."  This is a verse which divinely instructs and guides us, and it also convicts us when we have gone astray.  Being anxious is a normal human condition and common response to trouble, but anxiousness is not to mark a child of God.  Our prayers are also to be marked with thanksgiving as we make our requests to God.  There is nothing wrong it itself with asking for others to pray or to desire for others to intercede on our behalf.  But there is a problem when we are very good at making our requests known to men but neglect to actually bring them before God.  Prayer meetings have a tendency to be heavy on sharing with others what is happening and how we want God to intervene but light on making our requests known to God.

Concerning prayer Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:1-6:  "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, ² for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. ³ For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴ who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time..."  Why rely upon the help of middlemen when we already have one God and Mediator between God and men, the Man Jesus Christ?  When we speak to the Father Jesus is not only our Mediator but our Advocate, one who speaks kindly on our behalf (1 John 2:1).  The people to whom we share our troubles are only able to intercede on our behalf through the same Jesus Christ we trust.

I started thinking:  why do we have the inclination to hope in people rather than trust God?  Perhaps it is because we don't value the personal access God has given His children by His grace.  Perhaps we don't always believe God actually hears us.  Maybe we hope someone in our circle has a more "direct" line to the Almighty than we seem to.  But the reality is God commands us to bring our requests to God.  God has given us by His Spirit the ability to know we have made our requests to God because of the tangible result within us.  See the conditions in Philippians 4:6-7:  "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."  The peace of God accompanies the hearts and minds of all who let their requests be made known to God.

The ability to communicate a prayer request to people through email is a wonderful advancement, and it is a blessing to be able to intercede on behalf of others.  But let's not be content to pass off our responsibility to let our requests to God be made by middlemen when we have a Mediator who loves us.  God will always do His part, so let us do ours.