I think that the best model for intercessory prayer is the Lord’s Prayer. It is a participation through the Holy Spirit in the prayer of the Son toward the Father to bring God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Meeting our needs and the needs of others is a big part of what God wants to accomplish, and we are to join in that work. That kind of prayer draws us into fellowship with the Triune God and immerses us in the big story of the gospel.

One of the most interesting sermons on prayer that I ever heard was this one by Greg Boyd.
http://whchurch.org/sermons-media/sermon/god-needs-prayer
If you don’t have time to listen to the whole thing, at least take a look at the “extended summary” page, which will give you an idea of what the sermon is about. But the sermon is much better than the summary.

“For me, everything changed when I began to understand that prayer is not a work that I had to do, but a gift that I could just receive.”

This makes sense in terms of individual prayer and soul-searching, but what about for intercessory prayer? Perhaps the direction for individual prayer is very similar in that you are communing with God so as to hear or discern what he might be saying about the situation/condition of the one being prayed for. Also perhaps our role as intercessor might entail us communing with God so that he might thoroughly convince us of his power to help or intercede in the life of the one that is being prayed for. Many different ways to look at intercession than the traditional evangelical method where you repeatedly lift up pleas and petitions for someone else hoping that God will solve their specific problem.

True story, I remember one UBF leader instructing us that when praying for someone else, you must pray with such fervor that you are literally rolling around on the ground, sweating and pleading for hours. I’m also reminded of a story in the gospel narratives of someone rolling around on the ground like a mad man, but maybe a connection is not warranted here… sigh, just couldn’t resist.

Brian, your section “Prayer as calling God long distance” is so sad and so true. That’s the model of of prayer that was given to me. Call God and talk at him, telling him what you’re *supposed* to say (rather than what is really on your mind and heart) and then quickly hang up the phone before God has a chance to answer. If that’s what prayer is all about, then it’s not surprising that I hardly prayed at all.

For me, everything changed when I began to understand that prayer is not a work that I had to do, but a gift that I could just receive. It started when I found the book Praying with the Church by Scot McKnight. http://www.amazon.com/Praying-Church-Following-Jesus-Hourly/dp/1557254818

From that book, I discovered that I didn’t need to generate the words or topics myself extemporaneously. I could receive them from God and from fellow believers in the church (in whom God’s Spirit dwells) by using the Lord’s Prayer, the many prayers recorded in Scripture, and prayers written by ancient and modern saints. Using prayers composed by other people freed me from the burden of having to talk, talk, talk from the emptiness of my own inner life and allowed me to shut up and listen and contemplate and rest in God’s presence and be filled and blessed.

Not long after than, I got a psalter that is loosely based on the Order of St Benedict which takes you through all the psalms (some repeatedly) in a four-week cycle. And I purchased the Book of Common Prayer which contains daily Scripture readings and psalms (Daily Office) and weekly Sunday worship prayers (Collects) and Scripture readings (Lectionary). This helped me to tune in to the life of the church by plugging into the liturgical calendar. I became aware of the passage of time and the role of time-awareness in communing with God and his people. Books by Robert Webber, especially the book Ancient-Future Time, had a big influence on me as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Future-Time-Forming-Spirituality-Christian/dp/0801091756/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401966108&sr=1-1&keywords=ancient-future+time+forming+spirituality+through+the+christian+year

Paying attention to the church calendar and marking the cycles of time that God built into each day, each week and each year have been an immense help. The awareness of sacred time keeps me rooted in God and the actual events of the life of Jesus Christ, and the life of his people (ancient Israel, the ancient church, and the modern church all throughout the world) so that my spiritual experiences are not just about me, me, me but are now infused with a sense that we (all the saints) are in the presence of God together. The communion of saints that is mentioned in the Apostles’ Creed is no longer a slogan or vague idea; it is part of my actual experience.

And about five years ago, it dawned on me why the prayers being offered in ubf meetings and worship services seemed so tedious, uninspiring, and mind-numbingly dull. It was because they were extremely ubf-centric. Everything was about ubf, ubf, ubf. The content was dictated by a human being (fellowship leader, chapter director, whatever) and the agenda was to raise an army to build an empire for the glory of ubf. Sorry to say that, but it was true. We tried to use words that glorified God, but what we wanted was for God to make us successful and to bless the world through us, never through anyone else. My church was too small. Oh, yes, that little book Your Church is Too Small helped me to see that. I read that book the same day it was released by the publisher and the content has stayed with me ever since.

http://www.amazon.com/Your-Church-Too-Small-Christs/dp/031032114X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1401967188&sr=1-1&keywords=your+church+is+too+small

To express/explain this cerebrally I would say that it is the merciful and unilateral work of the Holy Spirit that enables me to experience God’s very self (Ex 33:14, 19; Jn 3:8), who is Christ himself (Mt 1:23, 28:20).

It is mystical. It is mysterious. It is nothing but God’s mercy, love and grace.