Have you ever been asked by someone to intercede in prayer for them? Well if you haven’t , its an awesome responsibility. A dear sister in the Lord has asked me to intercede in prayer for a situation that she is facing, although I have no idea what this situation may be,and it really doesn't matter God does know and he will honor the prayers that are offered up for her situation.
So just what is “intercessory prayer” and what does it fully entail? Well that was my exact response to that question when I was asked to pray for someone's situation many years ago when I first became a Christian. I was wondering how I could possibly pray for someone and have no clue what the situation was ,what were they going through,their needs or anything at all,I just had know clue were to start,or how to even begin to pray.
It says in Ezekiel 22:30, "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none
Intercessory prayer is not the same as prayers for yourself, or for 'enlightenment', or for spiritual gifts, or for guidance, or any personal matter, or any glittering generality. Intercession is not just praying for someone else's needs. Intercession is praying with the real hope and real intent that God would step in and act for the positive advancement of some specific other person or other . It is trusting God to act, even if it's not in the manner or timing we seek. God wants us to ask, even urgently. It is casting our weakness before God's strength, and having a bit of God's passion burn in us.
How about you? Where is God calling you to stand in the gap? Where is the breach on the wall that needs to be filled right now so that no harm could come to others?
The breach in the gap could mean a lot of things and as varied as the challenges we face: marital discord, teenagers rebelling, teen pregnancy, needs of the orphans, sick, poor in our midst, broken-hearted, those who are grieving, those who are in sin, discouraged, despondent… and the list goes on and on.
Where is the Lord asking you to stand in the gap before Him? Maybe God is telling you to be the answer to an orphan’s prayer for food and comfort? Maybe you are the encouragement that a pastor is praying for everyday on his knees. Maybe you are the one being sent to comfort a young mother who lost a child. Maybe you are the one being asked to help a family financially. Maybe it is your wisdom that could help a youth find his way back to his family. Maybe it is your hands that an elderly couple need so they can have access to their medicines. Maybe you are the one God is asking to take care of an orphaned infant… maybe you are……..
What is amazing is that it is God who is at work. It says God is looking. He is continuously looking for a man, for someone who would be willing. This is not about God being limited by what He cannot do. But this is about a God who desires that we participate in what He is in the business of doing, healing, repairing the breach, mending the wounds of the brokenhearted….
Today we live in a society where everyone does his own thing. "Live and let live" is our motto. Whatever anyone else does is their own business, not ours. That is the prevailing mindset of the world we live in.
But our ways are not God’s ways, and our thoughts are not God’s thoughts. Isiah 55:9, We need to look to the truths of God’s Word to determine our actions, not the prevailing mindset of the world. And God’s Word is quite clear: we are to be watchmen over all the lost souls around us. We can’t just let them "live and let live"; we are called to stand in the gap on their behalf.
So what about you? Are you standing in the gap for your loved ones, for your friends and neighbors who do not know the Lord? Are you speaking to them, telling them what the Word of God says?
So today we need to,"stand in the gap" before God on behalf of the needs of His people. how much greater is the need for Christian believers to intercede on behalf of the helpless, the needy, the troubled, the sick, those who are not walking with God, family members, church leaders, and those who sometimes hurt so badly that they do not know how to pray for themselves. What a privilege we have to lift up in prayer the needs of others as we are led by the Holy Spirit. Each one of us has a unique way of praying but it is the love behind the prayers rather than the particular form of prayer that makes the difference! Sometimes the situation looks so hopeless that we feel helpless. At such times I've found it helpful to ask for the prayers of others to join with me in my intercessions. This is what Jesus clearly teaches in the book of Matthew 18 verse 19-20,,"I also tell you this: If two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. 20For where two or three gather together because they are mine, I am there among them."
I consider it a privilege to be asked to intercede in prayer for someone or for a situation,I pray that God's will be done ,and that lives and hearts are forever changed because of the willingness of those that choose to hear his voice and follow Him.
Blessings.
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