Christ prayed and prays for His people (John 17, Romans 8:27, 34)
He prayed for His Father’s glory in His atonement and in His enthronement to His Father’s right hand. He prayed that by these, He would give eternal life to all those given Him by His Father before the foundation of the world. He prayed for the people of God as the people equally belonging to the Father and the Son. He prayed that the many sons given Him by His Father would be brought to glory. He prayed they would be kept from evil and the evil one. He prayed that they would be sanctified by His work and by His word. He prayed that they who were one in electing love, who were one in adopting grace, who were one in His redeeming work, would be one in His sanctifying grace, one as His own body, and one with Him in glory.  The Lord Jesus Christ prayed for the glory of His Father, His own glory in the salvation of His people, and the perfection of His people according to the purpose and promises of God His Father.

Moses interceded in prayer to God for Israel
Exodus 32:32   Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.

Exodus 33:13   Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.

Exodus 34:9   And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.

Paul prayed for God’s people
He prayed for his countrymen, Israel after the flesh. Romans 10:1   Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

Paul prayed for all the saints, both those to whom he ministered who were present in his lifetime, and for the church over time (Ephesians 3:14-21). He comforts and encourages the saints with the knowledge that they are prayed for by Christ (Romans 8:27,34), prayed for by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:26), prayed for by him. In this he is an example for us to follow.

• He was earnest in prayer; he was not reluctant to pray for Christ’s sheep. It is proper that others know we are praying for them. This is to God’s glory. This is love. This is to their comfort.
  
• If Paul ministered the word to them, would he not also pray in their behalf towards God? Moses and Paul and indeed all the saints, follow the Lord Jesus in this, that they minister to one another and enter heaven in prayer for those they minister.

Paul mentions his prayers for the saints in all of his epistles

Romans 1:9   For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; 

Ephesians 1:16   Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;

Philippians 1:4   Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy

Philippians 1:9   And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; 

Colossians 1:3   We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 

Colossians 1:9   For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 

1 Thessalonians 1:2   We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;

1 Thessalonians 3:10   Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith. 

1 Thessalonians 5:23   And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

2 Thessalonians 1:11   Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: 

2 Timothy 1:3   I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; 

Philemon 1:4   I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers. 

The Lord hears the prayers of His people
Psalms 34:17  The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. 

Psalms 50:15   Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. 

1 Peter 3:12   For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

Christ teaches us to pray (Matthew 6:9-13)
To God as our Father. ‘Our Father:’ He is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, and He is our Father, His adopted people by electing, predestining grace (Ephesians 1:3-5).

To God in the heavens. ‘Who art in heaven:’ He is in heaven ruling as sovereign, who does all things for His own glory, the glory of His Son and the good of His people.

To God whose name is holy: ‘Hallowed be Thy name:’  He is holy. His will and His work are only good. He only can be trusted. He only will do right. He will do right for His people.

To God whose kingdom is yet to come in its completion. ‘Thy kingdom come:’ The rule and reign of Christ with His people, to the praise and glory of the Father, will most certainly come according to His eternal will and promises. We are to pray to this end.

To God whose will is supreme, is only good, and is the only will that makes a difference. ‘Thy will be done:’ We pray for God’s will to be done, not ours. His will will be fulfilled. It is our desire. We are to pray for it.

To God who works all things on earth according to His will in heaven. ‘On earth as it is in heaven:’ God’s will is established in the very heavens, where none can alter, thwart, assault or speak against His purpose and work. What is done in heaven will be done on earth. This is our desire. This is our hope. This is our prayer.

To God who must and does provide all things for us. ‘Give us this day, our daily bread:’ We look to our Father at all times for all things. We deserve nothing, and we can do nothing unless He gives to us freely of His own, according to His good pleasure.

To God, sovereign in mercy and grace, our only Savior, in the Lord Jesus Christ. ‘Forgive us our debts:’  Knowing God’s holiness, knowing the plague of our own hearts, knowing our thoughts, motives and works, knowing our own helplessness to save ourselves, we stand in constant need of deliverance and cleansing from sin. We have an Advocate with the Father. He has instructed us so to pray. “For Thy name’s sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity, for it is great. (Psalm 25:11)”

‘As we forgive our debtors:’  Grace changes us.  It teaches us we have offended much. It teaches us we have been forgiven much for Christ’s sake. It teaches us that God was in Christ, reconciling us to Himself.  And it teaches us that if we have been forgiven much, we must be merciful and gracious and forgiving for Christ’s sake.  This is where faith works itself out, in how we treat others.  Lord, so make me to go in the path of Thy commandments and incline my heart to Thy testimonies (Psalm 119:35,36).

To God our Deliverer from evil. ‘Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:’ “He said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation. (Luke 22:40)” God alone can convert this heart and keep me from evil. We are prone to evil as the sparks fly upwards (Job 5:7). There is none good but God. He only is good. If we are ever to be delivered from our evil nature and from the evil world and from the evil one (Satan), it must be by grace, all-sufficient grace, all-accomplishing grace in our all gracious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As Christ prayed His Father to glorify Himself in His atoning work to give eternal life to His people, both in their present possession by faith and in their future experience, so we pray that God our Father would take the things of Christ, would give to us the victory Christ earned, the righteousness He worked out, the payment for sin that He made and by these, deliver us from all iniquity!

‘For Thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever, Amen.’  Worship Him, O ye His saints! (Revelation 4:10-11). He who reigns will fulfill His word. He will accomplish all His will. He will do all His pleasure. All things are of Him, through Him and to Him ( Romans 11:36).  All things come of Him, are worked out by Him, and are done for His glory (Colossians 1:16). And He rules over all to subdue all enemies and redeem all of His sons, and bring all of them without fail to glory. Yet we are to pray for His glory to be done in our salvation!  Lord, do as you have said (2 Samuel 7:25).  Fulfill your everlasting covenant-will (Ezekiel 36:37). Take away all of our iniquity and receive us graciously (Hosea 14:2). You alone rule. Your will alone is good. Not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory (Psalm 115:1). None other would or could save us (Hosea 14:3). We will not trust in men. We will not trust in our works. We will not trust in anything from us, imagined or considered.

Our prayers are heard for Christ’s sake
We have boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:19). We don’t enter physically in our present body, but we enter now by prayer, in faith, considering and depending on the gospel declared to us from the Word of God.  This is the breath and life of a believer. It is all because of Christ. It is all for God’s glory. It is for our salvation according to the good and gracious will of God.

God’s preachers and God’s people ought to pray at all times
Everything we do in the service of our Lord, we can only do according to the will and by the strength of Christ.  We are therefore to pray that His will be done and that we might have strength to do His will: That the word might be preached; that Christ be exalted; that His people be saved (see Acts 4:29-31)

Ministers of the word are to pray continually.

Acts 6:4   But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.

Those to whom the word is ministered are to pray continually.

Acts 2:42   And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Jude 1:20   But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost.

We are to pray ‘in the Holy Ghost,’ that is, our prayers are to be according to the revealed truth of the gospel and we are to ask that we be moved to prayer, and be enabled to pray, and that our prayers be according to the will of God in all things, and that in all we do, the Spirit of God would give us to call upon the Lord, and look to Him and to do so without ceasing.

The saints are to pray for one another to be saved from their sins. What a mercy!  That we would be exhorted to pray for those who sin, and that we who sin would be given the gift of others praying for us before the throne of grace!

1 John 5:16   If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.

Saints are to pray for one another in all of our troubles

Acts 12:5   Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.

James 5:14   Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Note: In Scripture, oil represents the Spirit of God. He brings to our remembrance all things the Lord Jesus has done for us. This is what the saints do for one another -- Malachi 3:16. Anointing the sick with oil was done in days of old. The important thing is that Christ is held up before us that we might believe Him. Sickness may be due to sin. This passage promises forgiveness. The saints ministry to one another, and bringing our troubles to one another for prayer, should never be neglected or taken lightly. Sickness humbles us. The word of Christ, through prayer, lifts us up.

When Paul departed from the Ephesians, he reminded them what he had told them and warned them of dangers to come. Before departing, he prayed with them all, no doubt that they would remember his words and be kept by faith in the grace of God.

Acts 20:35-36   I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all.

Paul, having given a comprehensive and detailed explanation of the gospel in the book of Romans, summarizes several things in a condensed manner in chapter 12, which the saints were to attend to with all diligence.  Among them hope, patience and prayer.

Romans 12:12   Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

Husbands must respect and honor their wives, as Christ did His church. He loved and gave Himself for His own. As we are weak and He is the strong, so the wife is weaker in body than her husband, and husbands are to therefore give honor to their wives, though they are weaker, and live together with them, preferring their needs over their own, praying for them, serving them, and doing all things for them as unto the Lord.  Husbands are heirs with their wives of the same grace of life in Christ.  If husbands do not treat their wives with honor, if we dishonor them, if we fail to respect them, if we fail to hold them up in honor for the Lord’s sake, then our prayers will be hindered.

1 Peter 3:7   Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

We are to pray more earnestly, seeing that eternity is imminent.

1 Peter 4:7   But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

We are to pray for men in all stations of life, And that we might lead a peaceable life in godliness and honesty.

1 Timothy 2:1-2   I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. (Proverbs 30:7-9   Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:  Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:  Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.)

Oh, that our great and gracious God and Savior would hear our prayers for Christ’s sake!

Psalms 54:2   Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.

                                                                                     -- Rick Warta

Isaiah 53:7   He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

Everyone will stand before God in Judgment
Each of us will one day give an account of Himself to God.  This thought ought to strike terror into the heart of every unbeliever. Yet, for the believer, the Day of Judgment will be a day of joy.

I can understand the terror that rises whenever the thought of Judgment is mentioned.  It is for this reason that so little preaching makes any mention of Judgment and eternal punishment. Yet the Bible is clear.  

Romans 14:12   So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

2 Corinthians 5:10-11   For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.

How can I be just with God?
When a man, like me, mentions Judgment, the initial reaction to the hearer is (at least subconsciously), “Where do you get off thinking you can speak down to us of Judgment?!”  Believe me, naturally, I am as terrified of Judgment as you are.  My confidence is not in my goodness, not in my intentions, not in my works, not even in works done for good under God's influence.  I am a sinner through and through just like you; in fact, because I know myself, I must take my place far lower than you.

However, when Job faced his own questions about why God afflicted him and the accusations of his ‘friends’, and the prospect of facing God in Judgment, he said this about himself and all men,

Job 9:2-3   I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God? If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand.

Job had a low opinion of himself because he had a high opinion of God.  The two always go hand in hand.  How bad is sin?  You will see when you look at what God did when He found it on His own Son:  He plunged the sword of His justice, the curse of His law, into His bosom.  He made Him drink the dregs of damnation dry from the cup of His wrath and indignation (Zechariah 13:7; Isaiah 51:22; Revelation 14:10; John 18:11; Isaiah 53:5).

Job knew that even if before men, even if in his own estimation, he was blameless before God’s law, yet his conscience would say something else; it would condemn him.  As Paul found in his own experience, “I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. (Romans 7:9)”

When you think of your obedience, your best works, does your conscience condemn you?

Only one answer
To Job, the big question was, “How can man be just with God?”  This is the burning question.  The answer to this question is the only acceptable answer to God in the Day of Judgment.

Judgment Day will be the great “final.”  We must pass the final to pass the course. If we fail on Judgment Day, we will be sent to hell.  According to Matthew 7:22-23, many (not just a few), on that day, will appeal to what they have done.  Without exception, even the very best of man’s works, even works done under the influence of God, will not be accepted as the basis for a man to enter life, to enter heaven, to be saved in the end.

Jesus makes it clear (Matthew 7:13-ff; Luke 13:23-ff): the gate of salvation, the gate to life and heaven, is narrow and difficult to find and enter; it is ‘strait.’  It is narrow because few find it. It is narrow because there is only one gate. It is narrow because it condemns all sin in man.  And it is narrow especially, because it excludes all works of men, of whatever sort.  It is narrow because it allows only one answer to God: the one that will satisfy His justice. In other words, it is narrow because it is a salvation in Christ alone, because of grace alone, through faith alone, according to scripture alone, to the glory of God alone.

What is this defense, this “answer?”  Only one is correct.  Judgment Day is the final and ultimate test.  There is only one question on this test, “How will you stand just before God?  How will you give an account of yourself to Him?  How will you answer for your obedience and your disobedience?”

The only acceptable answer is the one that God Himself has given.  The only acceptable answer is the one that perfectly and completely meets every requirement for obedience.  The only acceptable answer is one that satisfies God’s justice against any violation of His law, no matter what that commandment is or where it is given.

Is God too picky?  Not at all.  God is good. God is not too picky.  But we, as men, naturally think so, because we are sinful.  God is holy.  No man is righteous; no man does good.  You might recoil in disbelief at such a harsh assessment, but it is not mine; it is God’s.

Romans 3:10-12   As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

It is true, God is holy.  He is “a Just God.”  He is just and holy beyond our comprehension. But here is the amazing grace of God. He is also “a Savior!”  

Isaiah 45:21   Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Savior; there is none beside me.

In Isaiah 45:21, God says that from the beginning of time, He has been saying something that no one else has said.  It is this, “...there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Savior.”

Isn't that good and glorious news?!  Oh yes, but how, does this help me?  How does this answer for me?  After all, isn't it before God that I will stand on Judgment Day?  Yes!  That is actually good news.  For you see, men are neither just nor are they saviors.  But God is both, and all that God is, He is in Christ, both Just and the Savior, both His justice and His grace are met in Him.  And Christ is therefore the confidence and trust of His people. Notice the good news to every helpless, hopeless sinner in the verse that follows, Isaiah 45:22, "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I [am] God, and [there is] none else."  The Lord Jesus Christ is that God. No other God than God in Christ; no other Savior but He. As Peter said of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in Acts 4:12, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

Christ, The Answer
Here is the answer, the only correct answer, that will withstand the scrutiny of God’s own Word on the Day of Judgment.

Isaiah 53:7   He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

You see, the answer to God’s justice and the way that God is both a Just God and a Savior is in Christ, and in Him alone.  Isaiah 53:7 says that when the Lord Jesus Christ was charged with sin, that He did not open His mouth.  He stood guilty in Judgment.  Not as the Judge, but as the one judged!  He said to the soldiers, and in reality to every accusation and enemy of God’s people,

John 18:8   Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way:

Christ is the Lamb of God.  He was chosen as the Lamb of God before the foundation of the world.  The Lamb was for sacrifice to God.  He was for sacrifice to God for the sins of God's people.  The Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, was the sacrifice to God for the sins of His people, whose names were written in The Lamb's Book of Life, in God's eternal decree, who was slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).

God’s people, in themselves, stood guilty before the law of God.  The Lord Jesus took their sin (2 Corinthians 5:21).  He was made under the law (Galatians 4:4). Everyone accused Him of wrong.  The chief priest, the rulers of the Jews, the scribes, the Roman law, all those who cried out for His crucifixion, the angry mob, Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, slave and free, prisoners and freemen, and most significantly, God Himself.  As I once heard Don Fortner say in a sermon, ‘This man, more than any man who ever lived, deserved to die!’

The Lord Jesus, as the Lamb of God, stood silent when the law accused Him. That’s the purpose of the law:  “That every mouth may be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God. (Romans 3:19)”  God’s people stood guilty.  Judgment was set. The Judge examined the law.  The Judge examined the evidence.  Christ stood up for His people.  “He was made sin (2 Cor 5:21)” for them.  The Judge cried, “Guilty!”  Justice cried, “Crucify Him!”

At that point, an answer was given.  At that point, The Answer was given for all of God’s people. At that point, Christ did not answer with His words, because He, as guilty, could not defend Himself. He had the sin of His people on Him and He was truly and actually guilty and therefore worthy to die.  So He did not speak.  He did not answer.  But in truth, He did answer! He answered with Himself, with His life!  Every statement in scripture about the lamb, the sacrifice, the offering, the transference of sin, the substitute for God’s people was then and there accomplished and perfected and fulfilled.

I have an answer in Judgment!  It is the same answer that God gave before the foundation of the world.  It is the same answer that was given when the Lord Jesus stood silent before the accusation of the law.  It is the same answer spoken in the gospel and applied to me by the Spirit of God in my conscience now, causing me, by faith alone, to seek refuge from Judgment in Christ, my answer.  This is the same and only answer that God will accept in the Day of Judgment!

The Lord Jesus Christ did not answer for Himself, because He answered for His people when He stood before the law guilty and justly condemned.  He did not answer then that I might have an answer to God now and at all times, even in Judgment.  He answered with Himself!  “He offered Himself to God. (Hebrews 7:27; 9:26)”

Oh, blessed and great Answerer for my soul!  Oh, blessed Advocate for sinners (1 John 2:1-2)!  Oh, blessed God, who is both Just and the Savior of His people!  Oh the joy I will have and all of God’s people will have in Judgment when they hear the Judge say in their defense, “Who is he that condemneth?!”  And then the books will be opened.  The Book of Life will be opened, revealing God's immutable choice and purpose of life and glory for His people in Christ.  The book of Christ's accomplishments for His people, the book of Scripture. And the Judge will read in triumphant defense for His people, He has already given the text:  “Who is he that condemneth?  It is Christ that died! Yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us! (Romans 8:34)”  Who can condemn one whom God justifies (Romans 8:33)?

From before the foundation of the world, God has given and accepted only one answer.  He gave this answer for Adam and Eve when He made them coats of skins: The Lamb slain.  He gave this answer for Abel when Abel brought an offering from his flock: The Lamb slain.  He gave this answer for Noah when He poured out His wrath on the world of the ungodly: The Lamb slain.  He gave this answer for Abraham and Isaac on mount Moriah: The Lamb slain.  He gave this answer to Moses and to Israel in Egypt in the tenth plague that killed the firstborn: The Lamb slain.  He gave this answer to Moses and to Aaron in all of the ceremonies of the law: The Lamb slain.  And what more shall I say?!  God has only one answer for His people: The Lamb who was slain!  Is Christ, the Lamb of God who was slain, your only answer?!  Will you stand in Judgment in the Lord Jesus Christ, the righteousness of God?  Or will you, like the sinners in Psalm 1, be unable to stand in the judgment of that day?

Job asked, “How shall man be just with God?”  We know by revelation of scripture that only the blood and righteousness of the Son of God answers every claim God has on my soul.

Be persuaded!
How do I know that the Lord Jesus answered for me and will yet answer for me? Very simply.  Do you agree with God? Is Christ your only answer? If Christ is your only answer, then He was your answer in eternity; He was your answer at the cross, when He cried, 'It if finished!'  He is your only answer now in your conscience. And He who cannot change will answer for you in Judgment, because if He is your only answer, you have the faith of God's elect (Hebrews 12:2; Isaiah 45:21-22).

Lord, answer for me!  Answer for me now before God in my conscience with the answer you gave at the cross!  Answer for me in that great day with the answer of your blood and righteousness.  Oh, that I might be found in you, with no answer but you yourself, slain, risen, reigning and coming again as Judge!  By your Spirit, make yourself the only answer in the low-bottom of my heart that I might know that you are my answer in judgment!  "Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice (Psalm 51)."  Give me the boldness of your people in judgment!  Lord, remember me!