By Jacqui – One of God’s Intercessors
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13
For a brief time, in the midst of intense intercession, an intercessor does indeed lay down her life for another. You see, it would be impossible for me to be thinking of myself and of my own life when I am in the midst of true intercession for another.
In those times of prayer, I bow before the Lord my God. I kneel at the foot of his cross, and at times prostrate myself before the throne of the Lord as I intercede on behalf of someone else. Now, before you begin thinking, this intercessor is crazy, let me ask you this…
If the life of your loved one was hanging in the balance, if your child just suffered an overdose, if your spouse serving overseas was missing, if you found yourself in a COVID unit alone in a hospital, how else would you want me to pray and intercede for you?
During those times of deep intercession, we pour out our hearts before him; God is a refuge for us. Psalm 62:8 He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. Psalm 62:6
To pray; to intercede that deeply on behalf of another, that is when we give our gift. In that moment, lost in pouring out to the Lord; praising him, beseeching him, honoring him, and crying out to him, we let go of our own life for a moment. We lay down our life in that moment for a friend. All thoughts, everything within us intercedes on their behalf. That’s when we not only give the gift. We receive.
We receive, and we are blessed; blessed to draw that close to God. Then comes the time of trusting; trusting that God’s answer to our prayer will be immeasurably more than we can even conceive of. Sometimes, we don’t understand the answers to the prayers. But it is enough to know that God does.
You see neither you nor I are responsible for the answers to the prayers. Eternity is far too big for us to see or even begin to comprehend. We are responsible for the prayers we pray. We are called to be obedient to pray. Sometimes, we are even called to briefly lay down our life for another in intercession. We are called to give our gift. God is the one who answers. God is the one who is to be honored.