-January 9, 2023-
Good morning, happy Monday,
“And the Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends.”
(Job 42:10).
Job experienced great adversity, pain, and hardship. His three friends who came to comfort him were burdened for him and sat with him seven days before saying a word to him. Then each began speaking to him with words of blame instead of comfort. They, like Job, his wife, and everyone else weren’t privy to what was going on behind the scenes and how the devil was behind all Job’s calamities. God allowed all his trials to teach him valuable lessons on suffering. Job defended his integrity to the end, and in the end God had the last word. He dealt appropriately with Job and his three friends
God made it crystal clear that these friends were in the wrong and and Job was to pray for them. The moment that he did, God restored all of Job’s losses when he prayed for them. Intercession is an aspect of prayer that is beneficial to those who are being interceded for and for those who do the interceding. The word intercession means, “the act of intervening on behalf of another.” The Lord Jesus interceded on our behalf on the cross and He lives to make intercession for us to the Father. The Holy Spirit also intercedes for us as we pray for we do not know what to ask for. He turns our prayers into beautiful petitions that are like fragrant perfume, which in Scripture are called the prayers of the saints.
Intercession is a great privilege and awesome responsibility. Job prayed for his friends and God forgave them and richly blessed him. His end was better than his beginning. The Lord gave him back twice as much as he had before. He lived another 140 years and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. When he died he was old and full of days. There are two other great examples of intercessory prayer warriors in the Bible: Abraham and Moses. They stand out among the many in God’s Word.
• Abraham – The Lord showed him that He was going to come down to see the great wickedness in Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities in that region. Abraham loved his nephew Lot who was living there, and interceded for the city and Lot and his family. Abraham began by asking God not to destroy the city of Sodom if there were 50 righteous people in it, then if there were 45, then 40, then 30, then 20, and finally if there were 10. There were not even 10 there, but God sent two angels to get Lot and his family out before He sent fire and brimstone on the city, destroying it and all its people. This is found in Genesis 18:23-33.
• Moses – God was greatly displeased with the murmuring, complaining, rebellion, and disobedience of the Israelites in the wilderness. He told Moses that He would destroy them all and start a new people through him. Moses interceded on their behalf and God relented and spared them. His wonderful intercession is found in Numbers 14:11-21. God did wait until all those who left Egypt died before taking their children into Promised Land. The only two exceptions were Caleb and Joshua.
God hears and answers our intercessory prayers for our family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, governing authorities, church family members, spiritual leaders, and others. Let us recommit ourselves to interceding on behalf of others with the same fervor and sense of urgency that we pray for ourselves. When a Sunday School teacher asked the question to his class, “What is intercession?” One of the children aptly replied, “Speaking a word to God for us, sir”
Have a blessed day in intercession. Stay safe and healthy.
Speaking to God on behalf of others,
Dean
Dean Allen's Daily Devotional 