1 Peter 5:6–9

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

Worship and Petition

There are three basic categories of prayer—worship, petition, and intercession—and all three are basic to the believer’s life with Jesus. All three are important for Christian growth and full participation in kingdom power. None are more or less effective than the others. Of these three, however, intercession may be the least understood and, therefore, the least applied. Understanding intercession helps us learn the full spectrum of our place and privilege in Jesus.

All three categories of prayer (worship, petition, and intercession) are embedded in 1 Peter 5:6–9. We will look primarily at intercession, but let’s begin with a brief overview of worship and petition.

First Peter 5:6 introduces us to some deeper truths about worship. “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” The apostle says that you exalt or bring praise to the Lord by humbling yourself before His throne. As you lower yourself, you lift Him up, and He is worshipped. And as you worship, He lifts you into His presence with Him. That’s a promise of God.

Worship includes praise, thanksgiving, adulation, exaltation, and celebration. There are all kinds of words to describe various aspects of worship. Some terms are very “quiet,” and others are “lively” and “jubilant.” Adore, bless, praise, lift up, shout, and clap are all worship words. We pray prayers of worship when we talk to God about who He is and how glad we are to be His children. We pray worship prayers when we adore, when we marvel, and when we glory in His presence. Prayers of worship come from hearts filled with gratitude to our God who knows and loves us.

Some people may say, “I don’t want the Lord to lift me up or exalt me—I might become proud.” Well, think about this: If you really humble yourself under His hand, you’re not going to be proud. He can exalt you, which means He can raise you up to become who you were meant to be and cause the maximum release of possibilities in your life. That’s what He wants to do.

One of the ways we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God in worship is through our physical participation. Moving into worship with both our spirit and our body helps us confront our fears and pride. We need to be aware that resistance toward physical expressions of worship is not motivated simply by deference to tradition or preference. It is oftentimes pride.

One of the most basic physical elements of worship is to come into a church and be physically present in the congregation. Some resist this. They think, I can worship God wherever I am, but what they’re really saying is, “I’m not going to submit myself to God’s program.” Yet it is God’s desire for believers to physically gather together. We don’t have church because it’s something people devised for themselves; it’s something the Lord said to do.

So we come together. It doesn’t have to be a big crowd. Jesus said two or three could gather and it counts, but they must come together in His name. You will find people today who are parked at home or outdoors hiking or biking. Not because they are sick or have a full work schedule or because they need a day to recharge their batteries, but because they’ve convinced themselves, I worship God in nature. While it’s wonderful to see the handiwork of God in nature, we need to confront our motives and be sure we don’t have an unwillingness to submit to God’s plan.

Another way we participate in physical worship is by lifting our hands in praise. On the one hand, there are some in the body of Christ who believe that to lift hands in praise is to follow a tradition of some groups or denominations. They see it as some kind of sectarian exercise. On the other hand, some practice it so routinely it becomes one other thing they do in church. The fact is that upraised hands is a biblically directed expression in the physical dimension that has profound possibilities. I recall when I was first introduced to this aspect of praise. I didn’t walk into service one day and think, That’s intriguing. Let’s just do it. Instead, I hesitated: This is hokey stuff. You’re not going to get me into this. Over time, however, I came to terms with the Word of God and discovered the real issue wasn’t my taste or tradition—it was my pride. That was the real issue. Worship confronts our pride. “Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God.”

Next, Peter speaks of “casting all your care upon Him” (1 Peter 5:7). That’s petition. Prayers of petition take the concerns that are on our minds and hearts and put them into God’s hands. They are the kind of prayers we say when we ask the Lord for something. We use words like ask, request, help, plead, give, cry out, provide, or heal. Our petitions often take forms like “Give us this day our daily bread,” or “Help me in my job interview Tuesday,” or “Please heal my mom of diabetes.”

Sometimes our petitions are literally consulting with God: “Lord, what should I do? Lead me and direct me.” The whole subject of the Lord leading our lives is a grand one. Seeking God’s will is a part of petition. We don’t want to confuse petition with intercession, however. Some people have mistakenly said the difference between intercession and petition is that petition is something you ask for yourself, while intercession is what you ask for on other people’s behalf. That is not right: Petition is asking, whether for yourself or for others, while intercession is a different kind of prayer.

Sometimes we embed our own will into our prayers of petition. We say, “Lord, I ask that You do such-and-such,” describing the plans we have. What we really want is to have God endorse our will. Jesus taught in what we know as the Lord’s Prayer to ask, “Your will be done,” but what we actually ask is, “Please let my will be done.” We ask God to accomplish what we think should happen or what our desires want. However, in true prayers of petition the focus is on God’s desires and plans. When we petition, we ask for God’s good will to come to pass.

Asking—petitioning—is casting your cares upon Him and trusting Him to take care of your needs. It is giving over to God the things that weigh you down and worry you. What’s on your mind? What’s the toughest thing happening right now? What’s a problem that needs a solution? What’s a provision that you need? Ask. Petition. Know that you can entrust to the powerful love of God the things you need for yourself and others and that He will take care of it.

Philippians 4:6–7 helps us know how to ask when we read, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Notice this passage tells us, “When you give it to God, you have peace.” You have to transfer the issue onto Him. The burden is no longer on you. You exchange the weight of the problem for the ease of God’s peace. But the peace that God gives us as we pray is not just any peace. It has the power to protect us from further worry or anxiety. God’s peace stands as a guard against fear, so we are able to move from petition back to worship and to offer up prayers of thanksgiving.

Three Dimensions of Intercession

In 1 Peter 5:8–9 we read, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” We find a number of different words in the Bible that convey the idea of intercession: wrestling (a struggle word), travailing (as in birth), and resisting. Here we read three phrases that have the word “intercession” written all over them:

• “Be sober.”

• “Be vigilant.”

• “Resist him.”

The word “sober” means to be sound minded, clearheaded, and alert. “Vigilant” has to do with...