FEB 18, 2020
Bible Reading: Ezekiel 22: 23-31
Memory Verse:I searched for a man among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land so that I might not destroy it, but I found no one. Ezekiel 22:30 (CSB)
Samuel Chadwick opined, “Satan laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.” To intercede means to stand in the gap of prayer for others. The ministry of intercession is fast dying out in our individual lives, and local Churches. Stop praying selfish prayers centred only around you and your family. A Christian couple were sleeping in the night. Suddenly, the wife woke up and had this heavy prayer burden in her heart. She knew something was wrong and decided to join hands with her husband. After a while, they decided to go back to sleep. But the Holy Spirit wouldn’t let her rest. The prayer burden continued. Alone, she decided to leave the room until she emptied her heart as a drink offering unto the Lord on the altar of prayer.
In the morning, she received a call from a relative who narrowly escaped death in a ghastly motor accident the same time she had the prayer burden. Had she stopped praying, perhaps the relative could have died. And, you know what? God will hold her accountable on the judgement day. Such is the power of intercession. One way to effectively intercede is praying in the Holy Ghost. “Our prayers lay the track down by which God’s power can come. Like a mighty locomotive, his power is irresistible, but it cannot reach us without rails.” – Watchman Nee. While many were on a prayer line, as a servant of God man ministered, the Holy Spirit would not allow him leave this particular woman in a hurry. The more he prayed for this woman, the more he sensed in his spirit he should pray more.
A 2 minutes prayer took more than 15 minutes. Little did he know that the enemy had concluded that the woman’s son will be deported back into the country in few days’ time. Not only was her son granted pardon, the prayer of intercession canceled the deportation of another 90 others. Indeed, because of one man, God can save a whole nation. There is power in intercession because it works against the selfish nature of man. An average person talks about “me, myself and I”. Brethren, let us live above that. Would you want to see the raw power of God at work in other people’s life, amongst your relative, and nation? Get on your knees to intercede. Receive the baptism of the fire of intercessory prayers, in Jesus name.
Quote: To make intercession for men is the most powerful and practical way in which we can express our love for them – John Bunyan
Prophetic Decree: Receive the undying fire of intercession, in Jesus name.
Prayer Focus
1. My prayer altar, receive resurrection fire, in the name of Jesus.
2. The siege laid against my prayer altar, be dismantled, in the name of Jesus.
3. Holy Ghost, make me a power generator of your power and fire, in Jesus name.
4. My Father kill my flesh and give life to my spirit, in Jesus name.
5. Holy Spirit, deliver me from this selfish nature, in Jesus name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Leviticus 16-18