THE "HIDDEN BENEFITS" OF INTERCESSION

Last year in July, something really extraordinary happened in our home : the shekinah glory of God hung over our home like an invisible cloak for about two weeks...

Now, before I tell you the rest of the story, I need to tell you that I have never considered myself to be called as an intercessor - I am way too forgetful ! 😆 (I have a good number of daily reminders on my phone...😬... if you're not clever you must be wise😜)

My mom, however, is probably the most diligent of all of the intercessors I have ever encountered. We sometimes joke and say she has a red telephone connected to Headquarters, because when she prays for something, it happens.!

As I grew up, I would see her kneel down beside her bed at night (even now at almost 80, she still does!), and I would notice her consulting her little black book where she jotted down prayer requests. I witnessed her absolute commitment to her beloved God in every single aspect of her life on a daily basis. If I never felt like a "born" intercessor myself, I had the perfect example of what an intercessor should be.

Her prayers weren’t effective because she knelt at her bedside, but because she humbled her heart before God. Also they weren't heard because she prayed every day, but because she was faithful and diligent - her heart attitude was right.

Now back to the "glory story"!

Earlier in July 2018, I felt lead by the Spirit to join a tiny prayer group on Facebook. I started to attend online prayer meetings, praying for people I knew nothing about. As soon as a meeting started I would feel a very tangible Presence settle in my little prayer room.... After a few days, this Presence started to manifest at random moments of my day all through my home : while listening to a particular worship song, or as I was reading an article about orphaned babies, or simply when I thought about the Lord. I felt as if I could discern His heart-beat...

This continued to intensify until, at some point, the Presence... stayed. Continuously....

It was then that my husband also started to become tearful for no apparent reason, moved by Something that neither of us could see, but that was undeniably real and present. I suddenly realized that it had become bigger than my personal prayer life. It was brimming over from my life into the lives of those closest to me and that in the most tangible way!

It was such an amazing thing to experience, that I was beside myself with desperation when I started to perceive it lifting and dissipating a fortnight or so later!

I often wondered, afterward, what had invoked His Presence...? And, especially, what caused it to leave?!

The thing is that, once you have tasted of the Lord’s goodness and His Presence, it haunts you and you simply can’t live without it! I couldn’t stop thinking about it, I couldn't stop wondering why He had "left"...? It actually took me a few months to put 2 and 2 together 🙄...

While we did nothing to provoke the Lord (no blatant sin),the busyness of life had taken over: I had stopped attending prayer meetings (because I had so many deadlines to meet), and those that I did attend for my conscience sake, I rushed off. My heart was not in the right place anymore and He wasn’t my priority anymore. So while He didn’t leave me per se, He withdrew His glory...😢

Intercession, you see, is not as much about those who need the prayer, because God knows what we need even before we ask! Let me show you what intercession is about from God’s perspective :

- On the one hand it is a time of one-on-one with the One we love. It’s about having relationship with Him, which is incidentaly what He had created us for in the first place!! Intercession is discussing prayer topics and requests with Him, and listening to perceive his answers / guidance / wisdom. And as we interact, we grow closer and closer together.

- On the other hand, through intercession for others, we take the focus off of ourselves and our own problems. These « others » are often members of the Body of Christ, or potential members if we are praying for someone’s salvation. As we come in compassion and love for His Body, we are strengthening the bonds of love between us as individuals of the Body, and in so doing we are preparing the Bride of Christ !

You must understand, Christ is crazy about His Bride, (He gave His life for her okay, so he must be! 😉) and if we invest time in preparing ourselves to meet Him, He takes delight in that... and then He goes spoiling us with special gifts, such as His Presence.😌

From this perspective, intercession can be seen as both the most selfless AND "selfish" (in a good sense!) act, because we cater as much for ourselves as we are catering for Jesus and our neighbor. Let's put it this way: it's the perfect balance between looking out for our own needs and those of our Beloved adn His Bride.

If you want to get somewhere with God, I would advise you to then start praying for others. You can do it on your own, or join a prayer group.

If you are interested in becoming involved in a group that is serious about praying for one another, send me a message and I’ll tell you where and how.

Now go, run after the Shekinah!!