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The Intercessor Will Wait - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) August 2, 2024

Have you ever noticed that your prayers for others tend to be answered much quicker than your petitions for yourself? If so, this should really be no surprise. After all, intercessors put their prayers on the back burner while placing the needs of others first.


This is why intercessors need to be patient. Their choice to earnestly pray for others requires they wait on God to sometimes do for their prayer subjects before moving on their personal prayer requests.


This doesn't seem fair, does it? Well, God's response to that is in Ezekiel 18:25 - Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear, you Israelites: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust? Yes, God is just in everything He does and it is unwise to judge Him by human metrics after all He is not a man (1 Samuel 15:29; Numbers 23:19).


Think about Anna the prophetess mentioned in Luke 2. She was an 84-year-old widow who never left the Temple. Instead, she worshiped, fasted, and prayed nonstop. God answered her pleas by making sure she met Jesus as an infant. "he gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem" (Luke 2:38). God had likely called her to stand in the gap for her people's salvation and He ensured she saw the prayer fulfilled.


None of us know exactly how long she waited for God's promised salvation but we know patience was required. As intercessors, we too must be ready to wait on God for the answer to our personal prayer requests. Of course, God could move immediately for us but He has chosen to teach intercessors to patiently wait for the fulfillment of their petitions while praying with zeal for others.

Abraham, for instance, interceded for Sodom and Gomorrah even while he and Sarai desperately waited on the Lord for the child they'd been promised. His intercession produced results because Lot and his family were rescued from the disaster that came upon the city. Plus, Abraham and Sarai had their son, Isaac, the following year.


This is why we are taught in Hebrews 6:10 - For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do (NLT). Your heartfelt intercessory prayers are a reflection of the work you have done for Him, showing love and care to His children.


And because He cannot ignore intercessors it is best to see the period before prayer fulfillment as the time where He perfects things. This is a time to learn whatever lessons you need to know before you step into His promise so that none of it will be squandered as the Prodigal Son lost his inheritance.


So, if you are upset that your prayers for others tend to happen quickly while waiting for answers to your needs, please don't be. God has a great reward coming for you. I've watched the Lord answer my prayers for people while making me wait for many things. Yet, even in my season of waiting, He has done great things for me and given me many reasons to rejoice and testify. And I only started seriously interceding for others in 2019.


God does not play favorites with His children (Acts 10:34). Therefore, what He's done for me is available to all. I encourage you to keep interceding, keep praising, and keep serving Him. It may take a while, but He will reassure you by answering your prayers for others. And though you wait for your prayers for yourself to be answered, they shall surely come to pass at His perfect timing. He will fulfill your petitions and do exceedingly and abundantly more than you can ask or imagine.



Here are some related posts on intercession:



 
 
 

The Word Purifies - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) July 30, 2024

Have you ever struggled to read God's word? Maybe you promised yourself you would crack open your Bible but when you did, the words blended together and you had little understanding? Or did you see a bunch of names you couldn't pronounce that intimidated you?


So many Christians avoid reading the Bible for these and other reasons. The only person who benefits from this is satan. Therefore, every Christian must remember to consume the word of God in whatever way that is conducive and effective for them.


Another reason to spend time studying God's word is that the Word cleanses and purifies believers from sin. We are taught the following in John 15:2-3 - He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you (NLT).


What this means is that the more a Christian spends time with the Word - the teachings of God - the more they are washed clean from the sinful nature that drags mankind down and deprives their Maker of His glory.​

Christ uttered this verse to His disciples. These were the individuals who didn't just claim to believe Him but walked with Him daily. They listened to Him teach about God and His kingdom. They drank the living water each day and it is that water that cleansed them. This is how they were able to live according to 1 John 1:7 - But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin (NLT).


The Lord wants this for each of us - to live lives that are consistently washed clean of all sin so we can always come into His presence spotless and undefiled. One way to achieve this on our end is to open the Bible and read it every day or at least interact with His word in some way each day. Not just glance over the words, though, but take a moment to think about what lesson is being conveyed and prayerfully seek God's understanding so we can apply His instructions in everything we do. In practical terms, this also looks like listening to sermons from Spirit-led Bible teachers, while being careful to avoid individuals who are simply giving inspirational messages instead of challenging us to increase in righteous living.


This also means we have to seek out and consume testimonies of what God is doing for those who steep themselves like a teabag in God's word. We have to spend more time with believers, being sharpened as we sharpen others with scripture as expressed through experiences with Him.


The more we do these things and whatever else the Lord tells us, the more we grow in our knowledge of His word and power. The more we change in how we act, speak and think. Our very environment looks different and even others notice a shift in us.


May we each pick up God's word and prioritize studying it so it seeps into us purifying and transforming us for the glory of the Lord our King, IJMN Amen.

 
 
 

Predestined To Win - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) July 26, 2024

Are you familiar with the concept of predestination? It is the idea that there is an ultimate and decided outcome. This concept is mentioned in the Bible in Romans 8:30 - And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified (NIV). In the Good News Translation, this same verse states, And so those whom God set apart, he called; and those he called, he put right with himself, and he shared his glory with them. As such, certain people have been selected to be saved and experience the glory of the Lord in their lives. These are the individuals whom the Lord knows will choose Him.


This issue of predestination also arises in 1 Peter 2:8, which speaks about how some react to Christ. It says, [a]nd, “He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them." Written when Christianity was in its infancy, this message taught believers not to be like those who refused to obey God's word. These types would meet an unfortunate end that every believer - including you and me - must avoid.


The scripture continues in 1 Peter 2:9-10 -But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Just as these words were given to believers then, these verses speak to those who have submitted their lives to Christ and His Father in this dispensation. We, believers who obey God's word, have become the people of God who are to praise Him and enjoy His grace and mercy.

So many of us Christians struggle to understand the privilege of being set apart for the Lord. We don't always appreciate what this means. To be set apart means that we are carriers of God's glory and His power. This is why we are told we are His royal priesthood called to serve Him. We are the ones He wants to use to put His will into effect. This means that when we embrace how precious we are to the Lord and how crucial we are for His purposes, many of the mental, spiritual, and physical obstacles we face will melt away. Recognizing God’s boundless might and His ability to exceed our expectations will transform us and the very atmosphere around us.


Thus, it should be no surprise to us that satan works tirelessly to keep God's children caged in darkness so they never lift their eyes to see the light of God's grace upon them or the crown of glory that He already placed on their heads. If they were to see themselves the way God sees them, then nothing could stop them from destroying every single one of the devil's plans.


Praise God the scriptures teach that we are not unaware of the devil's schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11). Therefore, believers in Christ can declare that they have overcome the evil one (1 John 2:13-14). We were predestined to have victory over the enemy. God knew that we would be the ones He could use to terrify hell and send satan running. We have won. We are winning. We will win. It was predestined so don't give up on God. Don't let life's difficulties compel you to turn from the Lord. Don't let satan's lies convince you into thinking you are less than a conqueror. Romans 8:37 - No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

 
 
 
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