To ask for Christ's sake, when there is nothing for His sake in the prayer, is really to use the Almighty name in heartless flippancy. Such asking is for self-sake, and may not be answered at all. It is interesting to notice that the words of Christ are interchangeable with His name.

John 15:7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you."

When we remain in Jesus, His words remain in us. We inhabit Him, and then His words inhabit us, and motivate our asking. Then, and only then, are we asking in His name. We ask with His words in and through us, and it is Him asking, whom the Father cannot refuse. Remaining in His Word means believing His Word, obeying His Word and loving His Word, and this results in powerful asking according to His Word, and in sure answers to His Word.

When our remaining in His Word results in the development of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives (Galatians 5:22, 23 ); when His love, His joy, His peace, His kindness, His goodness, His faithfulness, His gentleness and His self-control are expressed through us, our intercession becomes His intercession. The life of likeness to Him is sure of answers. We shall ask what we will. There will be no peril of self-sake intercession.

We are warned by Jesus:

Mark 11:25 "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses."

This principle of dealing with personal grudges, is dealt with again when Paul writes to the Colossians:

Colossians 3:13 "... bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do."

Holding a grudge against someone, and withholding forgiveness, will make all your intercessions of no consequence. You will labour on in dryness and unanswered supplication. You can get moving the rush of clogged up answers by lovingly reconciling and forgiving.

The ear of God will not be turned toward the intercessor who is knowingly cherishing sin. The psalmist concluded this:

Psalm 66:18,19 "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer."

To cherish sin is to favour it, to love it, to indulge it, to permit it. Though the sin itself may seem very little; what is regarded as a small fault, in the struggle of intercession, will grow so large in proportion that it will completely stifle the intercession. It will become a barrier that will raise such static that God will not be able to listen to you. These are days of sin devaluation by the media. Make sure that you are not housing some form of sin and making it feel at home. It will tune God out and your intercession will become merely hot air.

The apostle Peter, by the Holy Spirit, exposed this great hindrance to prayer, and peril of the intercessor.

1 Peter 3:7 "Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered."

Withholding respect from the wife hinders intercession. The wife must receive consideration in view of her important role and function in the Christian family. The husband is to act towards her according to his Christian knowledge of her role, not by the worldly way of looking at her. Her high place is that of being a joint heir with her husband of "the grace of life".

The husband is to give honour to his wife because they have both been honoured by God. Both husband and wife are weak, but she is the weaker; he must therefore be tender and considerate to her. God puts a very high value on the marriage relationship. There, good partnership is essential to answered prayer. Where there is an unsaved partner, there must be living in peace as much as is possible.

Dissension between the believing husband and wife prevent their united praying. There is no agreement on earth and therefore no agreement in heaven (Matthew 18:19 ). Family disagreement imperils intercession. There must be no withholding of the rights of the other. It brings about withholding of answers from God.

The enjoyment of true love, in full committed recognition of each other's roles, opens windows of heaven in blessing, and releases abundant answers to prayer. Take positive steps to repair any breach in your marriage relationship, or in your family life. Without unity your intercession is in peril.

The Lord told a parable to warn that self-love, which is expressed in self-worship, results in not being heard by God. The story is found in Luke 18:9-14. Two men go to the temple to pray: a Pharisee, and a tax collector. We are told,

Luke 18:11,12 "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men ... I fast ... I give tithes ..."

He was not heard. Jesus said:

Luke 18:14 "... for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

Being self-loving Pharisees will prevent us from being successful intercessors. The tax collector represents the "poor in spirit", who are justified and heard by God. To would-be intercessors the lesson is clear. Successful intercessors are "self-emptied", or "poor in spirit", and receive the answers to their petitions. The cure for self-love, and being kept from its peril, is to delight in the Lord, and love Him, and love His Word. Obey the Psalm:

Psalm 37:4 "Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."

Also, let His word remain in you.

John 15:7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you."

Beware, fellow intercessor, of the self-love of Phariseeism, the peril that withholds answers.