Intercessory Prayer

December 13th, 2013 by JDVaughn Leave a reply »

. . . men always ought to pray and not lose heart —Luke 18:1


You cannot truly intercede through prayer if you do not believe in the reality of redemption. Instead, you will simply be turning intercession into useless sympathy for others, which will serve only to increase the contentment they have for remaining out of touch with God. True intercession involves bringing the person, or the circumstance that seems to be crashing in on you, before God, until you are changed by His attitude toward that person or circumstance. Intercession means to “fill up . . . [with] what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ” (Colossians 1:24), and this is precisely why there are so few intercessors. People describe intercession by saying, “It is putting yourself in someone else’s place.” That is not true! Intercession is putting yourself in God’s place; it is having His mind and His perspective.

As an intercessor, be careful not to seek too much information from God regarding the situation you are praying about, because you may be overwhelmed. If you know too much, more than God has ordained for you to know, you can’t pray; the circumstances of the people become so overpowering that you are no longer able to get to the underlying truth.

Our work is to be in such close contact with God that we may have His mind about everything, but we shirk that responsibility by substituting doing for interceding. And yet intercession is the only thing that has no drawbacks, because it keeps our relationship completely open with God.

What we must avoid in intercession is praying for someone to be simply “patched up.” We must pray that person completely through into contact with the very life of God. Think of the number of people God has brought across our path, only to see us drop them! When we pray on the basis of redemption, God creates something He can create in no other way than through intercessory prayer.

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December 13, 20130-JDV

God I am afraid I don’t know much about intercessory prayer versus simple prayer for others. When I pray for others, is there a formula?  Does this mean I cannot simply pray for others as I become aware of their needs, hurts and difficult circumstances?  Please help me understand and become a man that effectively prays for others early and often.

And God says…”There are no formulas. Jesus gave you but two commandments, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.”

“When you love Me with all your heart, mind and soul, and are connected to Me, you are transformed and cannot help but pray effectively. Concentrate on your connection with Me, and then your love and connection with others will evolve from your transformation.  Seek first the Kingdom of God, which is Jesus, and everything else you need, including an effective intercessory prayer life, will be provided you by the Holy Spirit. “

 

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