Intercession for Others

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Good morning, early rising. Welcome back to ICare Let's Pray Ministries. I know I told you all noon, but today I truly want to intercede for one another in prayer. Amen. So I got up this morning to pray for each and every heart today. Amen. I'm so glad you all tune in to listen to this. I'm really glad that you all are sticking with me through this podcast because we're stepping into something that is simple in concept, but deeply powerful in practice. And that's intercession. Amen. That's a word we don't always use in everyday conversation, but it simply means praying for other people, standing in the gap for the ones who cannot pray for themselves, carrying someone else before God when they might not have the strength to do it themselves. Just like the story in the Bible where the man needed to be healed, but they couldn't get into the house because there were so many people going through the windows, going through the doors, trying to get to Jesus for healing. And his friends took him up on the roof, dug a hole, and took lowered him down before the Lord. Amen. So this is what intercession is all about finding someone to help you pray on your behalf when you can't do it for yourself. That's a word we don't always hear, but we're gonna hear about it today. And scripture gives us a clear picture of this calling, amen. It says, I urge then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for all people. Amen. God didn't say you by yourself, He said for all people, not just the people we agree with, not just the people we understand, not just the people closer to us, but all people. I remember when someone asked me to pray for them, and they hurt me. They hurt me deep, Shrek. And my cousin said, You a good one because I can't pray for them. Ain't no way I pray for them. Then I broke my heart. I said, but that's the problem. My flesh tells me don't do it. But God said we got to pray for all people, no matter what we think about them or have they done us wrong. We truly have to pray for people's healing, praying for people's restoration, praying for people to change their ways, praying for people to up to walk upright before the Lord. We need to be able to stretch forth our hands for this person, whoever it may be, right? And that lets them know that they are not alone when they know they have an army of people praying for them. I know I got a thousand people praying for me, and I thank God for that. I know that I have been covered by my mother's prayers, my auntie's prayers, my cousins' prayers, you know, my pastor's prayers. God always gonna give us a boat level of people to pray for us. My sister prays for me like no other. You know what I'm saying? So I'm saying God always gives us people because intercession pushes prayer beyond our personal needs and into a wider circle of compassion. It teaches us to look up and then look outward, right? And then we hear this in the Bible it says, carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will feel, fulfill the law of Jesus Christ. Amen. When we truly walk with our brothers and our sisters, they do not walk alone, amen. When they go through, that means we go through. When they're hurting, that means we're hurting. This is why we have to walk like Jesus Christ. There's something really practical in that verse we just read. It doesn't say watch each other's burdens from a distance, it doesn't say acknowledge them and move on. It says carry them. That means we don't have to fix everything, but we are invited to share the weight through prayer, presence, and compassion. And sometimes that's exactly what someone needs the most. They don't need advice, they don't need corrections, they don't need you cussing them out. But someone willing to pray when they feel too tired to pray for themselves, when they just don't have the strength to pray for themselves. Someone says, I got you. I'm praying. So let me ask you something gently today. I had to calm down, I was getting excited. Who are you carrying in prayer right now? Maybe it's a family member who's struggling, maybe it's a friend walking through a hard season, maybe it's someone you don't fully understand, but you know they need God's grace. Intercession is where love becomes action in the unseen places, amen. Because when we pray for others, something powerful happens. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. We step outside of ourselves, we break the cycle of self-focus, we practice in God's, we participate in God's care for the world around us, amen. And here's the beauty in intercession. It changes us too, it helps us to be selfless, it helps us to soften our hearts, it deepens our compassion, our sympathy, and our empathy for our brothers and our sisters. It reminds us that we are part of something bigger than our own story. And we don't have to have perfect words, right? We don't need long, polished prayers. Sometimes in this lifetime, intercession is as simple as God help them. You don't have to be long to be strong. My old pastor used to tell me that all the time. Sometimes we can just say, God, be near to them. God, give them strength today, God, heal them, God, renew them, God, help them to pick up their mat and to walk. Oh God. Those kind of prayers matter more than we realize. It's not the one who's praying for 35 minutes. Sometimes it can just be the simple. God, please help them. So I want you to know in this moment together, I want to invite you into something simple but meaningful. I want you to take a moment right now and think about someone that needs prayer. They might even say they need prayer, but they hit you in your spirit. I want you to take this moment before we go into prayer and just think about, God, who can I pray for today? Don't postpone it, don't overthink it. Just bring them before God. And just whoever God puts in your spirit, pray with me as you pray over them. If God haven't told you who that person is, then you can pray later on when God says, pray for sister so-and-so, or pray for brother so-and-so, or pray over their marriage, whatever God lays on your heart. But try praying for several people today. Because carrying each other's burdens is not is not just a good idea. It's part of what it means to live out the love of Jesus Christ. Love your neighbors as you love yourself. And I love to pray, I love to fast, and I love to be at the feet of Jesus Christ, amen. So as you go before the Lord and ask him, Who should I pray for today? I want you to remember this. You are not only someone who needs prayer, but you are also someone who can pray for others, amen. And in that we find purpose, we find connection, and we find love in action. Amen. Let us take a moment to breathe, to exhale, to go to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in prayer. Heavenly Father, we come before you with thanksgiving on our hearts for the constant reminder that we are not alone and that we are called to lift one another up in prayer. I asked in this very moment that you teach us, oh God, how to be faithful intercessors for anyone who needs prayer, oh God. Open our eyes to the needs of those around us, oh God, our families, our friends, our communities, strangers, oh God, even those we may find difficult to love, oh God. Give us a heart that is willing to carry burdens in prayer to you for them, Honey Father. Help us to walk in your love each and every day, Holy Father. Strengthen those who are weary today, oh God. Encourage those who feel forgotten. Bring peace to those in turmoil and hope to those who feel discouraged, oh God. I pray. We ask right now in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit that you move in ways we cannot see. Bring healing to the person that hears this prayer. Bring provision to the person who hears this prayer. Bring restoration, oh God, according to your will, to the person who is hearing this prayer. God, whoever's listening right now, oh God, I pray for their strength. I pray for their breakthrough. I pray for their healing, oh God. God, I'm praying that you do something new for them this week, oh God. I'm praying that you let your light shine upon them like never before, oh God, so they can feel your warmth, so they can feel your embrace, so they can feel that you are with them, Heavenly Father. Let them know that you are walking with them, Henry Father. You said, Yay, though I walk through the valley of shadow of death, I would fear no evil. That's what David said, Heavenly Father, because he walked with you. You talk with him, you help him get through his lowest moments. So I know you would do it for the person on this call, oh God. Give them peace of mind. Let them know that their battle has already been won, that they already got the victory, Henry Father. God, I'm praying right now in your name, oh God, that if they're feeling weak right now, oh God, give them your strength to climb, honey Father. When they feel like they can't pick up their cross, oh God, help them to pick up their cross so they can continue to follow you, oh God. God, I'm praying the simplest prayers right now, oh God, that you will give them power to overcome, oh God. They need your power, they need your guidance, they need your direction, they need your clarity, they need your wisdom, Heavenly Father. They need you right now, no God. So, God, I'm asking you right now to bind us together in love, bind us together with a humility, heart, humble heart. Give us compassion, oh God, so that we may fully trust in your laws, Honny Father. Help us to curvy the burdens of our brothers and sisters to you, oh God. Thank you, oh God, for hearing our hearts cry this morning. God, thank you so much for all that you're doing. God, I thank you so much for healing hearts right now, oh God. I thank you so much, oh God, for bringing families back together again. God, I thank you so much for healing those marriages that was on the brink of divorce. God, I thank you so much right now for the person who's graduating from high school and from college, oh God, that you will give them direction to go in the right direction, Honey Father. God, I'm praying for this world, oh God, that you will fill it with more peace. God, we praying for peace across the land. We're praying for racism to end, Henny Father. God, we praying for you to be lifted up high above the nations, oh God. So, God, we ask you this very moment to help us to trust in you, help us to wait on you, and help us to walk by faith and not by sight. Amen. Thank you all for tuning in to ICAR Let's Pray Ministries. Thank you so much for tuning in. I had to drink a little bit of water. I got so excited in the middle of this, but I just want you to know that God is real. God is real, God is real in my soul, and I know that he's real in yours. Continue to trust and believe in God. Continue to pray for your brothers and your sisters, continue to pray for the lost souls, continue to pray for the sick and shut-ins, continue to pray for the ones who are incarcerated, continue to pray for your church members, your friends and your family, and even your foes. Pray for everybody because everybody needs to be saved. Amen. Thank you all again for tuning in. I hope you all have a great, great, great day today. Smell and know that you are loved. Smell and know that someone is rooting for you. Smell and know that somebody is praying for you. And know that God is your number one coach, your number one teacher, your number one fan. God does not want to see us fail. God wants to see us win. God wants us to have eternal life. Amen. Until tomorrow, y'all have a blessed day. By God's stripes, you have been set free and healed. Thank you for tuning in to ICAR. Let's pray ministries.