ICS Daily Devotions
Partnering with God in Prayer
Romans 8:26-27,34 (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….Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
Because we live in a fallen and broken world, there will be sufferings in this world. Although Christians are not exempt from them, we are extremely blessed because these Scriptures reveal to us the Holy Spirit is interceding through us, and Jesus is interceding for us at the right hand of the Father. Therefore, don’t be discouraged when you are hard pressed on every side, because not only is God on your side, but Jesus is also interceding for you. Think of and meditate on this truth next time you are anxious and lacking in peace.
If Jesus is interceding for us and the Holy Spirit is praying through us, God can’t be the source of our tribulation, but the devil is. Therefore, we should stop blaming God, but instead deal with the attacks of the evil one and the work of our flesh, and at the same time ask ourselves whether we have contributed to the crisis that we are facing through the work of the flesh or wrong choices which we may have made. We have a responsibility to close all the gaps in the hedge of protection that God has built around us. For example, if we are experiencing oppression, we should ask ourselves whether we had brought something unclean home from our travels or business dealings, such as Idols, objects or worship and philosophical scripts, or whether we’ve partnered with someone who is engaged in occult practices, been living in a lifestyle of sin, or engaging in unethical practices?
We also need to realise that when we choose to stand in the gap between God and the onslaught of the devil, we are protecting our loved ones by shielding them from the fiery darts of the evil one, and we can take heart that we are interceding from the position of victory and enforcing the victory of Jesus Christ by using His name. Therefore, we should trust that God will act in the spiritual realm while we wait for the result to be manifested in the physical realm.
Prayer and intercession move God to act, and through intercession, we are partnering with God in prayers because He has a heart of compassion towards all people, whether they are Christians or otherwise.
Sermon Series: Partnering God in Prayer
