Last week I was reminded of the power of intercession, i.e., praying for the needs of others or for a particular cause. After taking 8 teenagers to Camp Covecrest last year, I decided to reserve 16 spots for another Life Teen Camp this year, but then had the challenging task of filling all of them. As the deadline to drop unused spots approached on March 1, I found myself spending a great deal of my daily prayer time asking God to fill all 16, knowing that the experience could be life-changing. With only a few teens committed the week before the deadline, reaching that goal seemed unlikely, even though I was doing what I could to spread the word. To make a long story short, we not only filled our seats for Camp Hidden Lake on the weekend before the deadline, but now have a short waiting list for the Camp.

God can accomplish whatever he wants without our prayers, but at times he seems to insist on waiting for us to ask. One of Jesus' parables even teaches us that we won't get certain things unless we repeatedly ask God for them: In the Parable of the Persistent Widow (Luke 18:1-8), the widow received a favorable decision from the judge only because she asked him over and over again. There are some good things - things that God would want - that will come about only if we ask God to accomplish them. I often think, for example, of the alarming words of Our Lady of Fatima on August 19, 1917: “Pray, pray a great deal, and make sacrifices for sinners, for many souls go to Hell because they have no one to sacrifice and pray for them.”

It seems to me that Lent is an especially appropriate time to set aside time to pray and fast for others. This 40 day season of penance is patterned on Jesus' 40 days in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11) and Israel's 40 years in the desert (see Exodus and Numbers). The Gospels don't explicitly say that Jesus interceded for us in the wilderness but we can be certain that he did - Every single moment of his life was offered for us and for our salvation. As the high priest of the New Covenant, “he lives forever to make intercession” for us, even now in heaven (Hebrews 7:25).

The books of Exodus and Numbers describe times when Moses' prayer changed the course of Israel's history during their years in the desert. In Exodus 17, while Israel was in battle with Amelek, the Israelites won only because of Moses' prayers: “As long as Moses kept his hands raised up [in prayer], Israel had the better of the fight, but when he let his hands rest, Amalek had the better of the fight” (Exodus 17:11). Later, when the Israelites sinned against God by worshipping the golden calf, God threatened to strike them down and begin a new people under Moses' leadership, until Moses begged him not to: “The LORD answered: I pardon them as you have asked” (Numbers 14:20). Even though the Lord is quick to forgive, he did not extend his mercy until he was asked to.

I can't help but wonder out loud why God has arranged his plan of divine providence to require our prayers for some things. God is both all good and all powerful, so why doesn't he just give his people whatever is best without waiting for us to ask? Many good things certainly come our way without anyone explicitly asking, but why do others require our petition or intercession?

It seems to me that this is part of God's plan for us to learn to rely wholeheartedly on him while still being active participants, not merely passive spectators, in bringing about his kingdom. He wants us to learn to spend ourselves in prayer for the good of others and for the salvation of the world. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, he wants to conform our hearts to the interceeding heart of Jesus the high priest, so that we, too, live to make intercession for one another. He wants all of us in the Church to “be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).

During this season of Lent, then, let's respond to the needs that we see in the world with intercession. Let us beg God to pour out his mercy and grace upon the world. He longs to do so, but also desires that we learn to ASK him for these things repeatedly in prayer. We should do whatever is in our own power to bring about good in the world, of course, but we must also develop hearts that trustingly implore God to do what only he can do.