Prayer- Intercession

Wednesday May 12, 2010
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I Tim. 2:1. Because of Paul’s charge to Timothy, he told him that the first thing he should do is pray. Prayer doesn’t change things. God changes things. God doesn’t hear many prayers because they are prayed to false gods or prayed without faith. Prayer releases the Holy Spirit to work. Jesus represents your prayer before the Father, and there’s your confidence. He is your intercessor. To intercede means to go before a higher authority on behalf of someone else, like an attorney represents a person and goes to the judge and court for him. Ps. 103:20 tells us that the angels listen to the voice of His Word. When we speak God’s Word, the angels hear us. We need to respond to God’s promptings for prayer, because someone’s life might be at risk. Pastor Bill shares an experience of that when he was in Calli, Colombia. Nehemiah made intercession for Israel and Jerusalem, and God prompted an ungodly king to provide for restoration to the wall. Pray for your government leaders. Even if they are ungodly, God can use them. The key to intercession is identification with the people or city you are to pray for. Identification will cause compassion, and compassion will drive you to action, the action of praying. The love of God in you carries power for you to minister- in missions and personally. Does God have any room to move in your life? Identification with people brings compassion, and identification with God brings faith. Heb. 2:17 and 18 and Heb. 4:15 tell us that God is our Father and Jesus is our High Priest, who was tested and tempted, yet without sin. He understands us. He has compassion and is faithful. Identify with your church and pray for it.