"Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right of God, who also intercedes for us." Romans 8:34
Jesus believes intercession is of eternal significance. His followers should place a high priority on it, or at least admit they just don't get it. Believers often try to resolve their differences, by talking through them. God's plan calls for praying through them.
Talking something to death only results in breathing new life into an old argument. Putting rouge on a corpse does not bring it to new life. Talking and praying are as different as a funeral service and a resurrection. One only prolongs the burial. The other makes it unnecessary.
"Discernment is God's call to intercession, never to faultfinding." Oswald Chambers
When we see someone in need of prayer, it usually because they got under our skin or in our face. The proper response is to pray for them. Our usual reaction is to criticize them. Guess which one Jesus would choose? Yeah. I know. Sometimes, it doesn't help.
I am new at this praying for people, I would rather criticize, but I am pretty sure God intends for me to grow old doing it. Today I heard about a young friend, in need of encouragement, and I passed these words, on to her.
"If I could hear Jesus praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies, but the distance makes no difference. He is praying for me." Robert Murray M'Cheyne
I followed up with a gentle reminder, that people have passed on to me over the years. Those who know about the fog of war, have learned from experience the ancient truth, "This too will pass." I put it to her this way.
Dana and I believe in you. More importantly, God believes in you. He has placed His Son in your heart, and He has a great plan for your life, and His Spirit will lead you through the battles that come your way. If you listen closely, you can hear him say, "Comfort!" He is reminding you of who He is, and what He can do for you. Right now, He is all you need.
Comfort is a word of great power. It sometimes loses a bit of its punch in the contemporary use of it. "We must not be content to be cleansed...but be filled with the Spirit. The word 'Comforter' as applied to the Holy Spirit needs to be translated by some more vigorous term. Literally it means 'With strength! Jesus promised His followers, 'The Strengthener' would be with them. No lullaby for the fainthearted, but a blood transfusion for courageous living." E.P.Hovey
When William the Conqueror's men were retreating, before the shield wall and the arrows of King Harold's Anglo Saxon archers, his brother, a Bishop, road his horse up into the middle of the men and began to shout "Con Fortis!" He took his shepherd's staff and began beating them back into formation. His action was rooted in the ancient meaning of the word comfort - it is a shout that empowers us to fight with strength, with courage, with heart,
I am praying for you to hear the Holy Spirit whisper these words to you, and to have the courage to take Your Savior by the hand and take the hill. He did it once for you, and that is all that really matters.
Til the storm passes and the fog lifts...
TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!