Living in Intercession

Like I said in the last blog, compassion will lead us to be emotional.  Compassion ought to move us to tears.  Do you want people to know that you are constantly being filled with Love?  Then act accordingly and yield yourself to God's emotions.  And God's emotions may just require some tears!  Let's be like our Savior and not be afraid of crying.

If we come to feel what God feels, then we can walk in a place of almost constant intercession.  To use a KJB term, we can be "longsuffering" (see this link for more info) on behalf of others as God shows us His heart for them.  We can bear the burdens of others as the Spirit leads.  Glory to God!  If we have softened hearts, then God can and will take us to His watchtower (Habakkuk 2:1) and subject us to His emotions.

"Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies."  Romans 8:23

If we are walking in the Spirit we will be subjected and transformed by His character.  We will feel a deep groaning as we are called to carry out our salvation, and the groaning of His Spirit will only get stronger as we do the Lord's work on behalf of others.  Feeling God's heart towards His creation is the peak of intercession.  There's something wrong if you can't cry about that.

"For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time."  Romans 8:22

We see this kind of intercession in all of the Old Testament prophets.  They cried out on behalf of Israel, God's chosen.  They cried out for forgiveness for the sins of their nation--sins they themselves had already been separated from.  They bore the burdens of others.  They loved because He loved them first.  They were grieved about the sins of their nation because He was grieved first.  These prophets were taught by God to live in intercession.

"The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD on me."  Ezekiel 3:14

Sometimes the Spirit leads you to a hard place.  Sometimes exposure to God's feelings is hard to bear.  Let's commit to Him regardless.  Let's submit to His will.  Ezekiel saw God's heart towards the idolatry that was happening in Israel in that time.  And it didn't bring joy!  It didn't bring upliftment!  It took the STRENGTH of God's hand to steer Ezekiel into such a thankless call to intercede.

But Love endures all things.  God will not give us more than we can handle, and He will not expose us to more sorrow than we can bear.  God's love makes life worth living, and it makes things worth doing.  If we are taken captive by the Holy Ghost then we can be restful even in the hardest of situations.  We can be living to intercede for anyone who God's Spirit lays on our hearts.


"Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them."  Hebrews 7:25

This is what Jesus does for us.  Is it too much that we should pray in the same way for others?  Jesus LIVES to intercede.  Can we be prompted by the same Holy Spirit to do the same thing?  Let's obey the Word and pray for others  (see Ephesians 6:18).  But it starts with Love.  It starts with taking up another's burden and being moved with compassion.

"The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'"  Matthew 25:40

When we see someone in the grocery store, we should see Jesus in them.  And we should love the thought of Jesus being in them.  We should look at them and say, "look at that precious person".  We should be consumed with, and then moved by, His passion stirring up within us.  Then we should have faith that God will specifically instruct us on how to best pray for them, talk to them, or minister to them.  After all, the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through Love (Galatians 5:6).

If we are not living this way and having this Love for others, we are not being fully captivated by the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit will give us more and more love for the rest of God's creation.  We will see what groaning talked about in Romans 8 really means.  Yielding to His Love is critical!  I think that's why Jesus uses our treatment of others as a means of judgement in Matthew 25.  All those who God calls are given the Holy Spirit.  But if we do not yield to this beautiful gift living inside us, what final reward can we expect from our Lord?

The reality is that few are chosen (Matthew 22:14).  Few are willing to say, "Yes!" to any leading of the Holy Spirit, but these are the ones who will pass the test.  These are the ones who are judged worthy of the gift that many more have received.  This may all sound pretty stern, and I think it is, too.  But the good news is that it's not too late!  It's not too late to change!  Let's surrender!  We have already received EVERY spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3)!  We already have access to the Kingdom.

"Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you."  Luke 17:21

This is the truth.  Will we stand firm?  Love, strength, joy, peace and resurrection power are already within us.  Let's allow them to shine through.  Let's not stifle the Spirit.  Instead, let's commit to being a light on a hill.  It all begins with humility and an overflow of God's Love.  This Love is divine, it is perfect, and it goes completely against the matrix set up by this world.  Let's become filled up with His Glory.  Let's become anointed to show others the character of Jesus.  Let's live to be used by Him.