In light of my post on Dec 13, “Off to the prayer gym…“, today God’s asking me to spend time interceding for the 23 men who are on Day 4 of their prep for the Feb 3-8 Quest on which I will be serving. So this is all the post you’re going to get from me today… unless Papa drops something on me during my prayer time, in which case, I’ll update this blog. After my time of intercession, I will update this posting in order to share how the “workout” went, so to speak….
Tag: Intercessory Prayer
Off to the prayer gym…
Oswald Chamber’s devotional book My Utmost For His Highest may be one of my all time favorite devotional books. For some reason, I really dig the classic and turn of the century authors. Anyway, I happened onto today’s devotional on Intercessory Prayer.
I am not a natural intercessor. I admire those who can boldly enter the throne room of Papa and stay there for hours on behalf of others… I love being around those men and women who can – with authority and fervor – pray, pray, pray. I know those men and women who are spiritually gifted to intercede on behalf of other. I am not by nature.
From Oswald Chamber’s My Utmost For His Highest – Intercessory Prayer devotional today:
True intercession involves bringing the person, or the circumstance that seems to be crashing in on you, before God, until you are changed by His attitude toward that person or circumstance. Intercession means to “fill up…[with] what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ” (Colossians 1:24), and this is precisely why there are so few intercessors. People describe intercession by saying, “It is putting yourself in someone else’s place.” That is not true! Intercession is putting yourself in God’s place; it is having His mind and His perspective.
OK. I know I’m not an intercessor, but I do from time to time attempt to intercede on behalf of my family, my friends or some other specific situation God burdens me for. But I’m honest enough with myself to know that I don’t stay at it long enough until I have God’s perspective on the situation. My prayers are much more in the “flare prayer” category.
The verse this devotional is based on is Luke 18:1 “…men always ought to pray and not lose heart…” I do lose heart in my prayers. I’m not beating myself up about it, but I know its a spiritual discipline I need to shore up.
A few years ago, I could not read the Bible for more than about 1 chapter. Now, I get engrossed in studying the word. I could spend hours in the Word. I wish I had a job that would pay me to spend time in the word and write. WOW! How awesome would that be! But it’s a discipline I have worked on. Scripture Memory is another spiritual discipline. Prayer is too. I just need some time in the prayer gym.
I Cor 9:24-27 (NLT) Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
It looks like I’ve found a new workout for my spiritual program. I’ve found some muscles I haven’t paid attention to. I can endure in many other disciplines, but I NEED to endure in this discipline so that I come away with God’s perspective on those things I intercede for.
Thank you Dad for this revelation. Thank you for this new workout. Help me be diligent in exercising and learning this discipline… this spiritual weapon that I need to wield.