Scripture: "I exhort therefore, that, first
of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions,
and giving of thanks be made for all men.
For kings, and for all that are in authority;
that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in
all godliness and honesty; For this is
good and acceptable in the sight of God our
Savior." I Timothy 2:1-3
Over the
past couple of weeks we have been speaking on
prayer. There is so much to be said about
prayer, so many things to learn about prayer.
We have been trying to share with you that
prayer should be a way of life. We should
pray without ceasing. We have talked about
how God answers prayer, the power of prayer and
how great our God is.
There are
different types of prayers. Today I would like
to spend a few minutes on intercessory prayer.
The word intercession means having the function
of interceding. Intercession means Entreaty in
favor of another, especially a prayer or
petition to God in behalf of another. According
to the scripture I read found in I Timothy 2:1-3
God wants us to be
intercessors. What an awesome responsibility God
has give us. He wants us to intercede for
others. He wants us to intercede for our
loved ones, for our leaders, for our churches,
and for our enemies.
We just
elected a new president and saw him inaugurated,
President Barach Obama. Now I am here to
tell you that he will make mistakes, because he
is human. BUT, please do not criticize and
condemn the man. Instead ask yourself,
have you prayed for him. We, as Christians
have the responsibility to pray for our leaders
and for our country. I'm talking about
really praying for them. Take our new
president to the Lord in prayer. You be an
intercessor for him. Pray that God will
help him make the right decisions. Pray
for the protection of his wife and children.
Pray for each leader of this great country of
ours. If you do not hold them up in prayer then
do not make them your favorite object of gossip.
It is easy
to pray for our families, for our children and
grandchildren. It is easy to pray for
those we love. BUT God wants us to pray for our
enemies. Now that is not so easy we would
rather get even with them. God says in
Matthew 5:44, "But I say unto you, Love your
enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to
them that hate you, and pray for them which
despitefully use you, and persecute you:"
Excuse me Lord, you want me to pray for that
person that stole from me, for that person
who lied about me. God says yes.
You know
what my friend. What a wonderful God we
serve, while we are interceding for others His
Spirit is making intercession for us. Romans
8:26 ". . . But the Spirit itself maketh
intercession for us with groanings which cannot
be uttered" We also have Jesus who says he will
go to the Father for us . When we pray God
listens because we have both His Holy Spirit and
His Son interceding for us.
Today
intercede for others, lift others up to the
Father and see the mighty hand of God. God
bless you my friend let's pray.
Father
again we thank you for the gift of prayer.
May we do our part to lift others up to you.
May we do our part to pray for right decisions
to be made for our country. May we do our
part to come boldly before you. Lord today I
pray for our new President and I ask that your
anointing will fall upon him and that he will
seek your guidance as he makes decisions.
Lord so much is laid upon his shoulders be with
him and help him. Bless his family Lord
and may he always find time to spend with them
and to let them know how much he loves them.
Lord bless each member of In The Garden and open
up the windows of heaven and pour your blessings
out upon them. In Jesus precious name I
pray. Amen
