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Will you intercede?
Will you intercede for a world that’s dying?
In which there is sin, hate, and lying.
If you wish to do God’s will,
Then in your life intercession you fill.
Pray for the poor, pray for the rich,
That they don’t end up in Hell’s ditch.
Pray for the healthy, pray for the sick,
That they don’t fall for any evil trick.
Intercede unto Christ Our Lord and Saviour,
And be holy, sinless with good behaviour.
Don’t faint nor your sorrow lengthen,
But by the Holy Spirit yourself strengthen.
Pray for miracles more and plenty,
That they’d be hundredfold not twenty.
Pray for those who yearn for salvation,
That they believe the Gospel with joyful acclamation.
Hear God’s Word and to Him be grateful,
And cast out in Christ’s name all things hateful.
So make you petitions in full faith,
And in hope for deliverance wait.
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I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. (1 Timothy 2:1)
Jesus Intercedes
Jesus our Intercessor and the Prince of peace,
Sees the fruit of his labour his kingdom increase.
This kingdom against the gates of hell prevails,
No matter how well the enemy assails.
Jesus strengthens the church each time,
Because he intercedes for it in heaven sublime.
He bears up each child, woman and man,
For its God’s will that He can.
Jesus makes our prayers a fragrant offering,
By virtue of his cross, death, resurrection and suffering.
Through the grace of Christ each sinner repents,
And so escapes all hellish descents.
Jesus gives true hope to our Land,
For his is seated at God’s right hand.
With him the Holy Spirit too intercedes,
In utterances surpassing our needs.
The specific will of God for you (Part 1)
You must try to know the specific will of God for yourself. In certain Christian circles this is also called as knowing your vocation in Christ or your specific role in the Church. This might be being a preacher of the Word of God, a prophet, an intercessor, teacher, evangelist etc so that you build your brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus.
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-12)
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church: first are apostles, second are prophets, third are teachers, then those who do miracles, those who have the gift of healing, those who can help others, those who have the gift of leadership, those who speak in unknown languages. (1 Corinthians 12:27-28)
You need to keep yourself open to the will of God and attentive to the Holy Spirit. This means that you are determined to be in union with Christ and hold on to the Gospel in your daily life. Let me make is real to you, suppose you feel that God is calling you to overseas missionary work then in your local church do you care for the salvation of the people over there? Do you pray that they are always sinless and in the love of God? Do you like to hear the preaching of the word of God and do you yourself like to read it? Do you feel compassion for the lost? Are you willing to die rather than give up on Christ? Are you willing to get no thanks and no appreciation from majority of the people you are preaching to, but are still will to move on and preach to the next group of people?
If you said a yes to all these questions, then its a sign that your actions are in sync with your calling of being a preacher. But if there’s even a single no, then you need to check your motivation for being a preacher either by yourself or with a sincere and mature Christian. Better to correct your desires now, than realizing it the hard way when you are on an overseas missionary assignment and you realize that you feel too lazy to preach or can’t handle rejection by the people. It could be a serious matter of shame to the ministry that sent you abroad if they realize that you are NOT preaching the gospel but are held up in worthless pursuits.
The same standards apply for being a Bible teacher, prophet, apostle etc for the Lord Jesus. You need to get your actions in sync with your holy calling in the Lord Jesus. Before anything else, you need to pray about the specific will of God in your life. You must never walk into any position of work for God without praying to God about it. It’s a sign of discernment and a sign of respect.
You need to be very specific in your prayer to God for knowing what he specifically calls you to be. Sometimes you can say ‘God make me the person you want me to be’ and wait for your answer. It doesn’t have to be that you will hear a voice audibly. You may just get a strong feeling in your heart that desires to serve God in so and so way, then check if is consistent with the Bible’s teachings. Patience is important here. You will need to be patient as the answer may not come immediately. This where it’s important that you speak to people who waited on the Lord Jesus and then by him are following their specific calling in God.
Even when I didn’t know what was the specific will of God, I wouldn’t waste my time with the skeptics and impious to get me the answers. I couldn’t immediately get to speak to people who came to know the specific will of God. But here’s what I did, I read about their experiences. It read how Christians in the past few years understood the will of God. I didn’t bypass the Bible. The story of how the prophet Samuel received his calling from God as a prophet inspired me. I was thrilled to know how Elisha was chosen Elijah due to the Lord God’s instructions to Elijah. Then in the due course of time, I actually go to speak to people in the flesh who by prayer, tears and hard experiences came to know of what God specifically wanted of them. Some of these individuals didn’t have to undergo hardships to know God’s will. It was surprisingly simple for them. But all in all, everyone who received the specific will of God had a thing in common; the unrelenting desire to know God’s will.
So for anyone who desires to know the specific will of God, have a strong desire towards it. I’m not talking about mere emotions but actions that are in sync with it. This desire should manifest in holiness. You can’t be yelling, shouting to the world that you are searching God’s will. Keep it between yourself and God and only few trusted spiritually mature Christians. You need not be proud. Be humble in spirit and in action. This should get you closer to know the specific will of God.
Disciples of hope 