God Seeks Out Intercessors, Too - Exodus 19-20 and Matthew 18:21-35
There is no doubt that God loves to hear our prayers. He wants each of us as individuals to come to Him in faithful prayer for His will to be done. However, there are times when God looks for an intercessor to come before Him and to ask Him to meet the needs of another person or group of people. This happens when there is a great need or when the other person or group of people are not as likely to pray for God's will to be done themselves. There are many different reasons for needing an intercessor, but I think you can see what I mean. God blesses our prayers for others, especially when He seeks us out to intercede for them.
This was true of Moses in Exodus 19 and 20. God wanted to make a covenant with all of the people, but He did not deal with them individually. He spoke to Moses. and Moses spoke to the people. God did it this way partly to bring a godly fear into the hearts of the people. (20:20) I believe the other reason was that Moses had a very intimate relationship with God. God spoke to Him face to face. That was a great way for God to reveal His will to the whole nation and for Moses to intercede for them. This is still true today. Those who have a closer walk with the Lord can and should go to the Lord for those who are in need. They can pray in faith and according to God's will even more, because of their abiding relationship with the Lord. Then, they can even relay what God has spoken to them as Moses did to the people. The 10 Commandments were a pretty important communication, weren't they? Sometimes, God gives us a special word for someone else for whom we have been praying, and it is very important for us to deliver that message.
In Matthew 18 we have a parable about forgiveness. This parable shows us how important it is for forgive others. It also shows how much God has a heart of compassion for those in need. This should give us a special inspiration to intercede for others, knowing that God is likely to act in mercy and forgiveness. It shows us how the hearts of others can be so out of tune with God's will, too. It is hard to imagine that this servant could do this to a fellow servant, but he did. It happens all the time, and we need to be in prayer for these people who are so disoriented to God. They need to pray for themselves, and we need to be interceding for them, too.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Exodus 21-22 and Matthew 19.
This was true of Moses in Exodus 19 and 20. God wanted to make a covenant with all of the people, but He did not deal with them individually. He spoke to Moses. and Moses spoke to the people. God did it this way partly to bring a godly fear into the hearts of the people. (20:20) I believe the other reason was that Moses had a very intimate relationship with God. God spoke to Him face to face. That was a great way for God to reveal His will to the whole nation and for Moses to intercede for them. This is still true today. Those who have a closer walk with the Lord can and should go to the Lord for those who are in need. They can pray in faith and according to God's will even more, because of their abiding relationship with the Lord. Then, they can even relay what God has spoken to them as Moses did to the people. The 10 Commandments were a pretty important communication, weren't they? Sometimes, God gives us a special word for someone else for whom we have been praying, and it is very important for us to deliver that message.
In Matthew 18 we have a parable about forgiveness. This parable shows us how important it is for forgive others. It also shows how much God has a heart of compassion for those in need. This should give us a special inspiration to intercede for others, knowing that God is likely to act in mercy and forgiveness. It shows us how the hearts of others can be so out of tune with God's will, too. It is hard to imagine that this servant could do this to a fellow servant, but he did. It happens all the time, and we need to be in prayer for these people who are so disoriented to God. They need to pray for themselves, and we need to be interceding for them, too.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Exodus 21-22 and Matthew 19.