A Look at a Book
by R.M.

BOOK REVIEW:
Intercession in Action by Norman Grubb

My first reaction to writing about this booklet was that I was not spiritually up to reviewing a booklet about the subject of intercession. I had to bottom line that thought by asking myself who asked me to write the article and who was it in me that would be doing the writing. The answer to both questions is Christ.

The first point that Norman makes is that intercession is not some form of intense prayer. I heard a nationally known Christian say that he was interrupted during an intercessory prayer, and when he went back to the intercession, he could not remember for whom he was interceding. He was upset about not being able to remember, but that was about it. He asked for forgiveness and help for the next time. This certainly was not the experience of Norman or Rees Howells, from whom Norman learned intercession.

Norman points out that intercession has three components: commission, cost and completion. In one of his earlier books, Rees Howells, Intercessor, he uses the words: identification, agony and authority, which to me are much more powerful and emotional. The point is that commission, cost and completion or identification, agony and authority do not describe typical prayer or even intense prayer. Rather, they describe something that God places on you, not something that you go out and look for.

In this booklet Norman describes the five intercessions for which he had been commissioned throughout his life. His fast intercession was to witness to his WWI army battalion. He was so focused on witnessing that his platoon was rated the most inefficient in the battalion. His commanding officer told him that he would send Norman back to England in disgrace if their efficiency did not improve. And even though he responded to the wake-up call (he was awarded the Military Cross for leading his platoon in capturing a farm), he was passed over for promotion because of his zeal for Christ.

The second intercession was the formation of the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship. Norman returned to England because of a wounded leg. He attended Cambridge University, but received God’s call to go to the Congo to join C.T. Studd. The call came a few months before he was to receive his degree. In the end he decided to forgo the degree (another death) and go to Africa. With only a short time left he intensified his witnessing to the men he knew at Cambridge, resulting in about sixteen responses. This created a stir among his Inter-Collegiate Christian Union friends, which lead to a meeting to tell them more about what had happened, which then led to the thought that all colleges throughout the world should have the same Christian fellowship. This ultimately led to the formation of IVCI–commonly referred to as "Inter-Varsity."

Norman’s third intercession occurred while in the Congo. He translated the New Testament into Bangala, the common trading language of the area (which later became the official language of the country). The fourth intercession was for the upbuilding of the Worldwide Evangelization Crusade (WEC), which, while he headed it up as General Secretary, grew from 35 missionaries to 1500 in 57 countries!

His final intercession involves us. Norman spent his years after "retirement" from WEC sharing his revelation of that mystery once hidden "but now manifest to his saints" (Col. 1:26)–"Christ in you, the hope of glory." He shared one-on-one, in large and small groups and through endless correspondence. He usually held meetings in the homes of those who were searching for the answer to how to live the Christian life. These remote pockets of people he touched started to get together and have larger meetings, conferences and summer camps. Out of that was born the Zerubbabel fellowship which publishes this magazine and has started to republish Norman’s out-of-print books.

What is our part in this, if any? Norman spoke a word of faith that there would be a multitude of people who would be knowers of the truth of Gal. 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." It is our responsibility to continue to "get the message out" in its pure form. My challenge to those who believe this truth is to read this booklet in order to become familiar with what our founder went through and to come to the knowledge of who they are in Christ–Christ in their human forms. Who do you believe you are?