DEVOTION
Jesus is Our Intercessor Before the Throne
By Scott Presson
Guest Writer
CBN.com
- We pray and WANT instantaneous answers but very few of us pray and EXPECT instantaneous answers. Here’s a reality check- GOD ALWAYS ANSWERS PRAYER. Yep, always. And here’s the caveat you don’t want to hear- IT’S NOT ALWAYS A “YES” ANSWER. Sometimes- in fact a lot of times- it’s a “NO” answer.
Why? God wants our whole lives not just our desperate attempts to reach out to Him once in awhile. He wants a "Relationship” with us.
God knows He can make any situation right in a heartbeat. Even that “cold, dead, no way is this ever going to happen” prayer request we have in the bottom of our hearts. We tend to see things in our limited understanding. A loved one is sick- what can we do? We can’t pay our bills and they’re cutting off the heat- what are we going to do? God knows. The kids are acting up and acting out – God knows. Work is intolerable- God knows. Our spouse is caught up in sin- God knows. We’re on our last nerve- God knows!
God can make it all right instantly and yet it seems like He always makes us walk it out. Why? Well, how could we have an understanding of what unbelievers suffer through unless we have gone through them ourselves? How can we be a truthful witness for Him unless we have had to live through the tough times also?
Remember, God gave us that “free choice.” He knew down through time people would jump into sin. The Word even talks about the “pleasures of sin for a season.” He knew the result of all that disobedience would be sin on top of sin. He knew it would all play out through generation after generation. He knew we would make poor choices and that would cause curses and more sin. He knew He was going to need a people that would have an understanding of what life brings – good and bad. THE ONLY WAY THAT WOULD EVER HAPPEN WAS TO ALLOW ALL THE GOOD AND BAD OF LIFE TO AFFECT US TOO.
That old bumper sticker that said “prayer changes things” is the truth. The thing is we’re always looking for it to change what we’re praying for and we never realize that prayer changes us! The very exercise of prayer draws us closer to God and helps establish an enduring relationship with Him. We love to ask, ask, and ask. I used to say- Lord, just once-let it go my way! Actually I still do sometimes, but I also have learned to pray – please do your will in this situation. I’ve learned to pray in the Spirit when I have no idea how to pray in a situation. I’ve learned to pray with expectation that I am going got get an answer, and I’m learning to trust that even though the answer may not always be what I want to hear- God still has everything under control.
Paul was on to something when he said be content in all situations. That’s easy to say- hard to do. Paul’s the perfect example of what I’m talking about. God allowed him to go through all the rough times, so the Holy Spirit inspired words he wrote would be a guidebook for our lives now.
It’s never too late to establish that relationship with
God. It’s not too late to rise up and fulfill the call on
your life. It’s not too late to be what God ordained for
all of us to be. It takes faith, trust in Him, and a relationship.
As Christians we have a foundation already. All it takes is building
upon that. God says draw near to Him and He will draw near to
us. That’s a beginning. We have to read the Word. We must
begin to pray. We need to develop and desire a relationship with
our Creator. The Word says what we sow, we will reap. If we sow
fervent prayer, we will reap a harvest of prayer for ourselves
because JESUS IS OUR INTERCESSOR BEFORE THE THRONE. We’ll
also reap the harvest of a relationship with God that He wants
with us His children and that we need for Him to do His perfect
will in our lives.
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