Rest In God During Intercession
ICS Daily Devotions
Whenever we intercede or stand in the gap between the person and God, we should quote Scriptures and pray from a position of authority to rebuke the devil, because the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit and we need to lift up the shield of faith to cover the person whom we are interceding or standing in the gap for.
Isaiah 54:17 (NKJV) No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgement You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord.
Intercessory prayer involves praying in the understanding and in the Spirit. We may interchange between praying in tongues and a known language, so that we are listening to the Holy Spirit in our “inner man” while praying at the same time. We are engaging our mind to pray based on what we know when we are praying in the understanding, while simultaneously listening to the Holy Spirit in our hearts.
Praying in tongues also has the added benefits of building up the “inner man” and executing the intercession in accordance with the will of God. There is grace to sustain us when we pray for someone, and we need to remember that we are partnering with God who cares for and loves the person going through the crisis more than we do. The Holy Spirit is also interceding through us, and we are assured that Jesus is interceding on the right hand of the Heavenly Father.
Intercessory prayer, or standing in the gap, is working with God and resting in Him, instead of using our own strength which would wear us out. Therefore, a good way is for us to enter into praise and worship coupled with intercessory prayer, because praise and worship will help us to focus on the awesomeness and greatness of God. Faith will arise through worship, and we will flow with the Holy Spirit as He leads and guides us regarding what to pray.
Finally, the key to intercessory prayer is to learn to rest in God by having faith that He is working in the spiritual realm when we have prayed and continued to press in through praying in tongues. It is through faith and patience that we inherit the promises of God. We need to be patient because it is always a process until we see our prayers being answered, but not seeing it in the physical realm yet doesn’t mean that breakthrough is not coming. That is why we need to engage faith the moment we start praying because faith believes even when we do not see it.
Sermon Series: Partnering in Prayer with God through Intercession
