Thursday, August 29, 2019
I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 1 Timothy 2:1
The word intercede is one of those nouns that really screams to
be a verb! To intercede in Bible times
meant to plead with the king on behalf of a friend. In our application, the real sense is to
be; it is to be involved, in between, standing in the gap.
The cosmetic world’s Estee
Lauder said that most women don’t wear enough perfume. They always think they should just dab a
little on the wrists, and the pulse points. NOT SO, says the lady. She says the best way to apply fragrance is to
spray the air in front of you and walk into it. Wearing perfume is a little like loving – you
can’t be stingy. You must use it
abundantly. It just may be that Estee
Lauder has given the best illustration of interceding in prayer. We must fill our entire existence with the
presence of God, and the problems which plague the one for whom we pray, and
walk in it, abundantly!
Giving thanks
for the ones you pray for is an act of gratitude. Prayer is active; it’s part of a lifestyle,
rather than a ritual. Part of every
believer’s daily (hourly) living ought to be an active, vibrant attitude of
gratitude for God and fellow men and women.
Let’s face it, if we are of
the belief that everything happens under the control of God, and He is engineering
it for our good (Romans 8.28), then we must be thankful for all of
it; we must be thankful even when we cannot understand what God is doing in our
lives.
There are things I didn’t
understand when I was younger.
·
I
couldn’t understand how some childhood bullies I knew were not incinerated by
lightning for their ways. How could I be
thankful for them?
·
I
didn’t understand why my Dad had to work the graveyard shift. He was working at night when I wanted him
home. But my lack of understanding at
that point doesn’t change the fact that it was his love for his family that
made him work just to keep food on the table.
I admire him now, understanding his sacrifice. I admire his being there at ball games to
cheer for me when he was probably exhausted from working those late hours.
·
I
confess -- it is difficult for me to be thankful for mosquitoes and chiggers,
but I will praise Him now (and ask Him why when I get home).
Believers in, and followers of
Jesus Christ live a lifestyle of intercession, praying and giving thanks for
one another!
For You Today
·
If
you are a person who has a relationship with God the Father, because, in faith
you asked His Son, Jesus to forgive your sins, and the Holy Spirit has placed
you in the body….
·
and
you recognize that it is time to get in the battle, and the front of the battle
is where you are called, and you’re ready to follow your Captain Jesus wherever
He leads…we say,
·
Come…come
and die with us; die with us in the prayer room.
·
Come
stand in the gap for your brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.
·
Come
stand in the gap as we pray for marriages and children.
·
Come
stand in the gap as we storm the gates of Hell against drugs, alcohol and all
the habits that enslave and impoverish and kill in our communities.
·
Come
stand in the gap for your neighbors, our President and all leaders, and for
missionaries around the world.
·
Come
stand in the gap against sin, powers of the air, wickedness in high places.
·
Come…intercessor…come
stand in the Gap!
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Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture used from The
New Living Translation©
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