The plea that rises from a heart for the souls of others is a fragrance most pleasing to the throne of grace. Intercessory prayer is the sweetest prayer God ever hears, for it mirrors the very office of Christ Himself, who ever liveth to make intercession. To lay hold of the covenant and cry, "Save these three, and save those in their life," is to enter the most noble of all exercises. Your request is the bow in the cloud, the omen of returning greatness for those still in the gall of bitterness. It is the voice of the turtle announcing the coming summer of mercy. Cease not from this sacred labor, for prayer is the prelude of all mercies, and never did a great shower of blessing descend unheralded by such petitions. Continue to beg for their souls, for the best cure for any spiritual wound is to go to God and pour out your soul for the wanderer.
Yet, in that tender portion of your petition concerning the animal creation, a gentle correction must be offered, not to quench the flame of compassion, but to direct it by the light of the Word. You ask that all predators cease from the chase and that all beasts enjoy plants in harmony. This is a longing that echoes the groaning of creation, waiting for its redemption. But remember, my friend, it is written that the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope. The lion tearing the prey is not a sign of a disordered present dispensation so much as a shadow of the fall, which will only be fully lifted when the earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Until that blessed hour when the wolf and the lamb feed together, the rod of present nature, with all its sharp teeth and swift flight, is not a mark of divine displeasure but a part of that groaning which pushes the whole creation toward its renewal. To pray for a temporal mercy that reverses the order of a groaning earth is to miss the grander point: our sorest need and this world’s deepest harmony are both found at the cross. That is the door of mercy. Our primary cry must not be that the lion eat straw before the time, but that the sinner, who is like a ravening wolf, be washed in the blood of the Lamb and made gentle by the new birth.
What a mercy it is that you are still spared to intercede! Yet let the chief of your pleadings be for that salvation which plucks souls from the pit. You know the love of Christ only in measure, but grateful souls, in every book of daily mercy, read that glittering sentence, "He loved me and gave Himself for me." If He has so loved you, then let the abundance of your prayers be for the salvation of men and women. Go on, my pleading friend, go on! The first prayer was for ourselves, that God would have mercy upon us and blot out our sin. Now that you have tasted that the Lord is gracious, the most urgent business is to plead for others, that they too may learn of the Father and come to Christ. It is the most essential thing in turning sinners from the error of their ways. Yes, intercessory prayer has raised the dead, and who knows how many souls it has instrumentally saved? Eternity alone shall reveal the harvest from such seeds of supplication. Lay hold of the Divine Physician for those sin-sick souls, for the drawings of God are always toward Christ, and it is the easiest thing in the world to believe when the heart has been taught of the Father. Pray on, and may the sweet answer of many saved souls be the full-grown blessing that returns into your bosom.