Magnificat and Intercession

Magnificat: Intercession Begins with Praise

The Magnificat is the Magna Carta of Intercessory prayer. Praising the Lord, in humility, brings generational blessings to the world. Let’s learn from Mary how to intercede.

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” ^{Luke 1:46-55}

Mary, the mother of Jesus, was one of the greatest intercessors ever.  Her Magnificat, which means magnifying the Lord, is a model for intercession. 

When we intercede, begin with praise. Mary had very good manors.  Before she asked for anything from the Father, the Son or the Holy Spirit, she magnified the Lord.  She praised the Lord. It is good form to worship God and magnify the Lord before intercession.  She also echoes the Lord’s prayer by hollowing the name of God, “holy is his name”.  

Intercession is about Generational Mercy

Generational Mercy is a priority for Mary.  It is clear that she had Deuteronomy in mind.  Her intercession assures us that we can heal our family trees by fear of the Lord.  Mary sat at the foot of the greatest Rabbi of all time, her son, the Messiah, the Son of God.  She was surely steeped in Scripture and would have known about generational blessings.

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who maintains covenant loyalty with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations. ^{Deuteronomy 7:9}

Remember his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, 1 ^{Chronicles 16:15}

He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.  He is mindful of his covenant forever,
of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,  the covenant that he made with Abraham. ^{Psalm 105:7-9}

He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever. ^{Luke 1:54-55}

Generational Devotion to Mary

Mary prophesies that all generations will call her blessed. While many Christians have recognized her role as intercessor, there are too many who miss this, along with the accompanying blessings that flow though this door of mercy.  She is overwhelmed with thanksgiving as she exclaims, “the Almighty has done great things for her and holy is his name”.  

Humility and Intercession

Mary humbles herself before the Lord, acknowledging she is a lowly servant while thanking God for his mercy on those who humble themselves before the Lord.  Humility is the best way to approach the throne.  Fear of the Lord is not just the first stage of wisdom, but is a pre-condition for being blessed.   Fear of the Lord is a great way to begin intercession.  We humble ourselves before the Lord. 

Mary understood the end of intercession is to bring down the high and mighty.  She understands that pride in all of its forms must be removed and those that abuse power and authority will be brought down by the power of intercession.  The rich will be sent away empty.   If we want to pray for riches, we must pray to be rich in mercy, generous and charitable to a fault.

On the other hand, she knows that intercession is about raising up the lowly, filling the hungry, satisfying our physical hunger but more importantly our hunger and thirst for holiness.   The Magnificat is not just providing for our physical needs, so our intercessions need to go deeper also. 

 Seek first the kingdom of God all things will be provided.  ^{Matthew 6:33}

Takeaways

1. We need to take a page out of Mary’s playbook and begin intercession with praise.  There is no substitute for praise as this is a gateway to intercession.
2. It is clear that intercession needs to be focused not only on those that are in the here and now but also the generations that precede us and will follow us.  
3. Devotion to Mary, “calling her blessed”, is not only good form but opens the door to generational blessings for our families, churches, nations and the world.
4. Intercession levels the playing field, always bringing down the high and mighty and raising up the lowly.