Ordinary People – Extraordinary God
A Teaching Memoir
by
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Experience 6
“Mom Pannell’s” Example of Intercession
Sometimes, God even answers more than we ask.
One of the most exciting types of prayer is intercession. Intercessory prayer simply means praying for others. The Bible gives us many examples, such as Abraham interceding for Lot (Genesis 18) and Moses praying for Israel (Exodus 17), and we often see Jesus interceding for His disciples (Mark5:45-46). Jesus is interceding for us today.
Therefore He is also able to save [a]to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
(Hebrews 7:25)
It is because of intercessions that Jesus is able to save us completely as we come to God through Him. WOW! That is exciting.
As Christians, we, too, have the privilege of interceding for others. The Lord proved the power of intercession soon after we became summer missionaries at Camp Nathanael in 1961. While we were at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, I received noticed from the camp director that I would be counseling grade school children during one of the early weeks of camp. These children came from the mountain schools where missionaries had contacted them during the school year. In those days, each child would memorize 200 Bible verses during the school year, and then they could attend camp free of charge.
Even though I had finished my second year of Bible School, I was still nervous about counseling children because this was a new experience. A counselor lives with the children most of each day and is in charge of devotions in the cabin.
While going to school in Chicago, we got to know a dear Christian lady that we affectionately called “Mom.” She cared for a granddaughter who would stay with us after school until Mom would get off work. Her granddaughter was six or seven years old. Lila and I became very close to them. Mom was a great prayer warrior, prayed much for us, and sincerely appreciated us.
I mentioned to Mom that I would be counseling at camp that summer. She wanted to know the date of the week I would have this important ministry. She indicated that she would pray for us daily. This meant she would be interceding for us every day. However, she gave me some instructions. Each morning I was to lift a specific boy to the Lord in prayer, and she would be praying for him that day. She said that even though she would not know his name, the Lord would know who he is, and we would connect in that way. That was long before cell phones and landline contact was expensive, so communication was not nearly as practical as today. It is so supernatural that I often wonder if I have it exactly right as I tell this story. This is the way it happened as I remember it.
Day 1: Monday – The boys arrived at camp, and I got to know them. I was very nervous as I realized the great responsibility of living with them and being an example. I figured there were at least four or five of the children who had never received Jesus into their lives. That day I lifted a boy up to the Lord in prayer, and we had an evangelistic service that evening. To my surprise that very boy came forward in the service and gave his life to Jesus. It was a joy to work with him the following day and encourage him and others in the Lord.
Day 2: Tuesday – This was our first full day of Bible study, handicraft, baseball, swimming, and the evening service. At the beginning of the day, I lifted another boy up to Jesus, and I was stunned that night as that very boy also went forward and received Jesus into his life. Wow! That was exciting.
Day 3: Wednesday – Again, we went through a full day of camp with all the activities and sumptuous meals. Of course, I lifted another boy to Jesus in prayer. I really wanted to call Mom and tell her what was happening, but that was impossible. That night we had campfire services. Each cabin built its own campfire and had its service around the fire. All I remember about that night was that the very boy I lifted up to Jesus also came to Jesus around the campfire. It was unreal. God answers intercession! Mom was just lifting each specific boy to Jesus on the appointed day. What a great lesson I was learning.
Day 4: Thursday – Again, I lifted up a boy’s name, and Mom was praying and interceding for the person behind that name. What do you think happened? That very boy was saved Thursday night. As I write this, I ask myself, did this really happen? Well, it certainly did! The Holy Spirit was teaching me a great lesson.
Day 5: Friday was the last night at camp. The afternoon was what we called “field day.” At the beginning of the week, the campers were divided into four different teams, and on Field Day, the competition all came together with running races, tire rolling races, swimming races, etc. It ended with an all-star baseball game in the evening with two teams playing the other two teams. It was the most exciting day of camp. The evening was capped off with a mountain top service. Everyone crossed the swinging bridge over the river and climbed the mountain. Lightbulbs dangled from poles, piercing the darkness along the pathway, winding to the summit. It was a magical experience just making our way to the top. There was a huge bonfire waiting, and the campers took their seats around it.
Well, I was a little afraid to see the last service come because Mom and I had a perfect record thus far. Each boy I had lifted up to Jesus for Mom to pray for had been saved. I didn’t want to spoil Mom’s record. I think I must have forgotten for a moment who was really in charge there. It was the God of gods and the Lord of lords. Mom was only an instrument, obeying His command and accepting His invitation to intercede.
There was one boy left. His name was Ruben, and he was a very outspoken and stubborn child. He said he did not want to go to heaven because he wanted to be with his friends, and he knew they would not be in heaven. I tried to lift him to the Lord that morning, but it seemed impossible. He did not come forward after the singing and preaching when the invitation was given. I realized that we do not always get our prayers answered like we think they should. Four out of five – I thought that was really good. The devotions that night at the cabin were on the second coming of Jesus, and then all the boys went to bed. What a great week it had been. All the boys in my cabin were professing Christians, except Ruben. They all went to sleep, all except one.
At about 1:00 AM, I felt a tug on my bed. It was Ruben. He was in tears and wanted to receive Jesus into his life. What a thrill it was to pray with Ruben as he opened his stubborn heart to Jesus. The Holy Spirit had broken him as he saw his sin and how Jesus had taken care of it on the Cross. After he received Jesus, he was then ready for eternity. Ruben was from Ohio. He was later baptized, and we heard that he had become a vibrant Christian. At twenty-three years of age, he was killed in a car accident, but 2 Corinthians 5:8 promises, Absent from the body and present with the Lord.
Can you imagine Mom’s joy when we told her about the week and how God had used her intercession? I know the Lord was teaching me the power of faith-filled intercession. What a great tool God has given us to be used for His glory. May we not be like the people in Ezekiel’s day when God looked for people to stand in the gap and intercede for Israel.
So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.
(Ezekiel 22:30) Emphasis mine
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About the Book
When God speaks, who listens? When God calls, who follows?
With the Bible as his road map and the simple assurance that God answers prayer, Ralph asks us to join him vicariously and see how God can take everyday people, willing to say “Yes,” and accomplish extraordinary eternal things.
This book is a collection of experiences Ralph had throughout his ministry as he continued to obey God’s call to follow Him. Ralph’s desire is for the reader to delve into each experience and see the natural touch of an extraordinary God upon the lives of ordinary people.
He says any born-again Christian who answers the call of Jesus to follow Him could write such a book.
About the Author
Ralph Bauer was born a farmer in the mid-west. His family, for generations, had been farmers. It was in his blood. When he married at a young age, he and his wife (Lila) assumed the family farm and the hard-working life that went with it.
Although raised in the church, Ralph (like you and me, perhaps) was not an overly religious man, and he carried on his life as a young husband, father, and farmer (an ordinary person), until one day, while out on the tractor, plowing the field, God spoke to him. And Ralph, having no idea of what, where, when, and why, but having a simple knowledge of the Who (God Almighty), left his tractor and farm behind, and he and Lila began the journey of a lifetime.
In this book, you will follow Ralph and Lila’s life as they leave the farm, moving their little family to Chicago to attend Moody Bible Institute, and then to the mountains of Kentucky, ministering with Scripture Memory Mountain Mission. Ralph taught the Bible in over 25 schools bi-weekly and helped establish a growing mountain church.
Later, they followed God’s call and moved with their four children to the Caribbean island of Trinidad. Working for nearly 30 years with The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM), they helped establish churches across the island. They organized a program with a network of teachers who weekly carry the gospel into most primary and junior high public schools throughout the country.
Ralph and Lila have retired, but God’s work continues in the mountains of Kentucky and across the island of Trinidad. To God be the glory! Great things He has done!