Stand By Me
ICS Daily Devotions
Genesis 18:27-28 (NKJV) Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?” So He said, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.”
This passage shows us that Abraham chose to stand in the gap to reason with God before God judged the city of Sodom. Abraham asked for God’s mercy to be shown, even though only a handful of righteous people were left. He asked God to be merciful to the people and to the city. God was also looking for people to stand in the gap so that He could extend His mercy and grace to the people and the situation.
We have a gracious and merciful Father, abounding in love, but because He is a holy God, He cannot accept sin. That is why when sin dominates a place or person, God is constantly looking for people to stand in the gap and intercede. Because God does not want to allow sin and destruction to happen to man, He seeks people willing to stand in the gap whether in the Old or the New Testament.
The excellent news of living in the New Testament is that we are now at peace with God because the wrath of God towards sin has already been dealt with on the cross of Calvary. The blood of Jesus Christ has paid for all our sins, thus appeasing God. Today, we live in an everlasting covenant with God to partner with Him to intercede in certain situations. The consistent thing that God needs from us is to pray and intercede so that He can act, but we need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, who might put a burden on our hearts to pray for people we know or those we may not know.
Romans 8:26-27 (NKJV) Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
We are extremely blessed today! These Scriptures reveal to us that the Holy Spirit is interceding through us, and Jesus is also interceding on our behalf at the right hand of the Father. Do not be discouraged when you are hard-pressed on every side. God is on your side, and Jesus is interceding with you!
Sermon Series： Intercession
