Intercession

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Intercession For Our Leaders

1st & 2nd October

Weekend Edition

“Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by Godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Saviour, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.”

1 Timothy 2:2-4

What a great privilege we have to be able to influence the future of our younger generations by interceding for our leaders. Imagine if our current world leaders had a revelation of who Jesus is, because the Christian’s worldwide were interceding for them. Imagine what change would come into our world. Imagine what the future would be like. Furthermore, praying for our leaders, ushers in a spiritual dome of peace over the world we live in. Imagine a world that is peaceful; where there is no war, no starvation, no suffering, and no fighting. Yes this probably is a picture of Heaven, but didn’t Jesus Himself say that we should pray ‘for His Kingdom to come and will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven’?

Paul specifically encourages Timothy by saying that God ‘wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.’ We can participate in this too by interceding for those who have authority and influence over us. We can pray that Jesus would reveal Himself to our leaders. That He would save them. That He would give them Godliness to rule with dignity and peace. Is it too much to pray that North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un would come to know Jesus? Is it too much that Putin, Obama, Merkel, Abe and other political leaders would find salvation? No it is not. God wants all men to be saved. Let’s start today, interceding and praying on their behalf. If we don’t pray for them, who will?

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Intercession

30th September

“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.”

1 Timothy 2:1

Intercession is at the core of God’s heart. Jesus did it for us when He was physically alive on the earth and continues to interceded for us at the right hand of the Father as our Great Intercessor, making petition’s on our behalf, because of His sacrifice. Paul did it for the churches he planted. And we as believers are also challenged here in today’s verse to do the same. So what is intercession?

The historical and political meaning of intercession, according to the Cambridge dictionary, is to make a plead, on someone else’s behalf, to someone of higher authority, so that the person you are interceding for, may be forgiven or saved from punishment. Sound familiar? That is exactly what intercession is. It is pleading to God on behalf of someone, for their healing, spiritually or physically. It is coming to God with whatever burden you feel that the Holy Spirit is revealing to you, to pray for that person. It is standing in the gap for someone when you know they have no strength to pray. It standing alongside someone for their dreams and aspirations, standing in agreement with them. It is asking God for people’s salvation, so that His Kingdom may come on this earth. It is inviting God’s grace and mercy into people’s hearts and situations. It is thanking God for people’s lives.

Prayer is a powerful tool in the armoury of a believer. Intercession is part of that and is strategic in implementing God’s will and His Kingdom here on this earth.