We have previously covered Moving the heart of God, the beginnings of communication and by faith alone we receive. This post I would like to share on what it means to intercede.
There is much confusion on this subject, and even less people willing to walk the course required.
To Intercede means to 'stand in the gap', essentially working on someone else's behalf, taking their place, standing between them and danger.
In a war it would mean to jump in front of your mate when the enemy is upon him. In the office, to stand up for a colleague who is being harassed. In Christianity? Well, it means to present yourself on behalf of whoever or whatever to God to take up the burden upon yourself for that person.
The best example that we can ever see of this is in the life of Christ. Christ is the great intercessor. He stands before the Father, and intercedes on our behalf with his life, to present us to the Father as pure, blameless, righteous and justified. He stands between us and the enemy to shield us and protect us from getting consumed. His blood covers us and works on our behalf.
So intercession means a few things. Praying on behalf of others. Selfless prayer. That can be a shift even in itself. How often can our minds turn to looking at our own problems and desires, our requests of God, and simply forget to pray for others? Too often, by my own experience.
That is intercession at it's basic form. What makes it so powerful, and wonderful at the same time, is when we stop, prepare our hearts and simply wait on the Lord to know exactly what he wants us to pray into and about.
Have you ever waited in the presence of the Lord to ask Him what is on His heart, and if you can be a part of it? It is a radical thought, yet it is His desire. As we have covered before, prayer is an invitation from God to be a part of His plan for saving humanity.
God alone knows what is going on in people's lives, we see the fruit of someone's actions and can say well they need prayer in so-and-so area. When in actuality, there is a deeper root at the cause. God can reveal that to us and so our prayers take on a supernatural aspect of power and effectiveness. We are praying for the actual problem, and not putting band-aids on internal wounds.
Now this next part is how we do this in YWAM. The principles were developed by a lady called Joy Dawson, check her out if you can, she has books and teachings galore about this. This is not the be all and end all, but it makes sense, is effective and backed up by scripture. I will go through it briefly, but if you want more information I can point you to the right place/provide the information for you.
Sin
Self
Satan
Spirit
Thanks
These are the 5 principles to prepare ourselves to hear from God, receive his heart and so be effective in our prayer.
We first ask the Lord to reveal to us any sin, and have a time of repentance for anything this he might reveal to us. “If I had cherished known sin in my life, the Lord would not have listened.”-Psalm 66:18
When we have sin in our life, it restricts our ability to hear God and flow in his plans. This step should take as long as is needed. I have spent an hour at this step before, repenting of whatever the lord brings to mind. It may sound trivial, but we are called to “be holy as He is holy”. Even the little things bring a level of separation between us and God.
Self. This is a time of laying ourselves down at the altar of the Lord, and declaring that His will is above ours. We do not want our minds to influence how we think we ought to pray, or our judgements or biases affecting our time.
Satan, a time of standing in Authority over the enemy and making sure that he has no influence or say in what is about to happen. Spiritual warfare 101.
Spirit. A time of simply inviting the Holy Spirit into our lives, our minds and the situation, resting in his glory and making sure that we are being led by him. We are aligning our hearts to His through worship and praising His name.
Thanks. We thank the Lord for the time, and for what he is about to do.
These are some simply guidelines, easy to remember and follow, and help us to consecrate ourselves to the Lord so that we are in His will and hearing His voice. We then wait on him for what He says to us, and then pray as He leads.
As a final thought, we can pray until we have no breath left in our body, but unless we have love, God's love, God's heart, we are operating at a level far below that we are called to. The Spirit intercedes on our behalf with groaning. With words that cannot be expressed. If you have never experienced this deep prayer, I exhort you to seek after it. New levels of relationship are found, and you will see God move in your life and the lives of those you pray for.
To care for others, truly care, we must start to see them as God sees them. How much hurt has been caused in this world by Christians without God's heart, standing in condemnation and judgement. When we have God's heart and word, we are free. Free from the world's standards and expectations, confident in encouraging, rebuking and praying. As we align our hearts and ears to His, greater levels, deeper levels of relationship develop, that leave you wanting even more!
Prayer is not a sterile, lifeless task. If you find yourself bored of prayer, and no excitement to do it, I tell you you are missing out! Begin to work with God, pray for what he wants to pray for and it will be a roller-coaster ride of power, faith and the presence of the Lord.
As we pour ourselves out for others, God returns to us what we left, and will bless us abundantly.
Please feel free to ask questions, share testimonies or comments or anything else.
Thanks, and may your prayers be powerful and effective!
Daniel