The Art Of Intercession
The Art Of Intercession
Ezekiel 22:30-31 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.
The art of interceding is a fading necessity in our generation. We have resorted to praying for the enemies of the gospel to die rather than seek the face of the Lord for their conversion, We have an ongoing massive mobilization of the kingdom of darkness against mankind through subliminal and public acts over our families, church, and the society at large, but we seem to be oblivious of this dark revolution, weakened in prayer, and occupied with our care and provision. “Nay, we do not well”.
I perceive that our lack of intercession is because our relationship with God is estranged and the Lord does not find us caring enough to lay the charge of interceding on our hearts. Also, our desires and longing of heart are self-centered and about gratifying the lust of the flesh, hence giving no place for the Lord to implant His burdens of deliverance for saints and sinners alike. “Nay, we do not well”.
The case of Abraham on the matter of Sodom evidence this stated fact; God said in Genesis 18:17 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do. So, if truly we are near of heart to God, He will oft speak to us about the impending doom of the world around us, which will drive us to intercede and plead for His mercies upon these creatures. Another close reason why we do not intercede is because of the lack of compassion toward our sinful, dying world. We are so dispassionate and unconcerned about the events around us, rather castigating the people as sin plummets and destroys them. Again, “we do not well”.
The text shows us that the Lord is on the lookout for intercessors in every generation, men to mediate and reconcile the broken relationship of God with His creatures and to deliver the world from the destruction of sinfulness. We cannot continue to sit idle and unconcerned about the proliferation of ungodly practices and the prevalence of immorality in our societies. We must repent at once and rise to our responsibility of standing in the gaps for saints and sinners alike, stand against the incursion of evil and hell, and oppose the ill norms of fleshly inventions in our environment. Our foremost duty is to wrestle in prayer- Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. We must settle things in the spiritual before we appear in public, else our motive and actions would become useless and come short of the expectation of God- 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
In conclusion, this objective of intercession is not optional for every believer, it is a duty of everyone as it forms a core component of the great commission commanded by Christ right before the end of His earthly ministry. We would be found disobedient and churlish if we refuse this great task that is prime on God’s mind. “I sought for a man”.
