Dr. Wesley L. Duewel- What is Jesus' greatest personal prayer assignment in this age? Perhaps it is to pray for the church. However, only one command regarding Christ's intercession for the church is recorded in the Bible.
It is found in Psalm 2:7-8: "I will proclaim the decree of the Lord; He said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth Your possession.' " Is that why Jesus intercedes today? (Google image, Pray like Jesus prayed, 15 ways to pray)
Jesus is commanded by the Father to ask for the nations. His great commission to the church, His last request to the church, is to go to the Nations (Matt. 28:19-20). His second return will be delayed until adequate witness is given to the nations (Matt. 24:14).
If He is a God of infinite love, His heart is yearning for the nations. Certainly one of the priorities He places on every Christian is to intercede for the evangelization of the world.
Since Jesus ever lives to intercede, any time you pray—day or night—Jesus is already interceding. Every time you go to prayer, you can be Jesus' prayer partner. Paul makes this very clear: "By grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus . . . For we are . . . created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Eph. 2:5 -6, 10).
You are already seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. Where is Christ seated? On the throne of the universe beside God the Father. You are to be sharing Christ's throne already and doing what Christ is doing—interceding.
Jesus—Your Divine Prayer Partner
Note the important ways your prayer partnership with Christ affects your praying:
What reverent caution it places on you as you pray! If you are Jesus' partner in intercession, you must be sure to pray in harmony with Jesus' prayers, and not in contradiction to them.
What kind of prayer partner would you be if you kept disagreeing with Him? How urgent it is, not only to seek to know God's will, but to pray constantly the words Jesus taught us to pray: "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10). Just as Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, so you must pray, "Yet not as I will, but as you will" (Matt. 26:39).
What strong confidence it gives to your prayer! If you are praying for His will to be done, if you are joining your prayer to the intercession of Jesus, with what full assurance of faith (Heb. 10:22) you can draw near to God. "In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence" (Eph. 3:12).
If Jesus and you are praying together about a matter, what doubt is there that God is listening? Once, when paying, Jesus mentioned that He knew God the Father always heard Him (John 11:42). God's Word stacks assurance on assurance to encourage your intercession.
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: That if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him" (1 John 5:14-15). The very next verse shows that the Holy Spirit especially had in mind your praying for others—in other words, your intercession.
What strong incentive it gives you to persevere in prayer! Jesus Himself urges you to hold on in prayer and not give up until the answer comes (Luke 18:1-8; 11:5-10). If you are praying in the will of God and your prayer has not yet been answered, you can be sure Jesus is still interceding for the need, so you too should persevere.
The God of Amen
When Scripture declares that Jesus is the Amen, it means that He is the divine "Yes" to all of God's will and to the prayers of God's people whenever they are in accord with God's will. "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ. And so through him the 'Amen' is spoken by us to the glory of God" (2 Cor. 2:20).
Now let the full glory of the scene in heaven dawn on you! In human pictorial terms, Jesus is seated on the throne, on the right side of the Father. You, sharing the throne of Jesus in Spirit, are seated beside Him.
When you intercede according to the will of God, aided by the Holy Spirit indwelling you (who intercedes for you and through you), you turn to Jesus and make your plea for His glory and for His sake. By your authority "in Christ," you hand the request to Jesus.
He joins his almighty intercession with yours and turns to the Father to present your united intercession (Jesus' and yours!) and then seals it by saying His royal "Amen," being in His very essence your enthroned "Amen." Because of who Jesus is, because of what He accomplished at Calvary, because He agrees with you in prayer (Matt. 18:19), He is the sovereign "Amen" of your prayer.
"What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" (Ps. 8:4).
"O Lord, what is man that you care for him, the son of man that you think of him" (Ps. 144:3).
"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out . . . For from him and through Him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen" (Rom. 11:33, 36).
(Chapter 5, pp.41-44, italics added for emphasis)
Used by permission
of the Duewel Literature Trust, Inc,
Greenwood, Indiana
Available by phone
317-881-6755, ext, 361
Let's pray-
"Lord, Thank You for looking on me with a love that sees, knows, restores, and cherishes. Help me to remember that my moments are Your moments. Guide me as I plan each day, and teach me to hold those plans loosely so that Your Spirit might lead every step.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen." Gwen Smith
Today's popular post: Our Daily Prayer for Our Nation
©Frances Gregory Pasch
"Our Father flinched as they hammered each nail
But He had to endure His Son’s cry.
He planned that Christ’s blood would redeem us
The reason Christ came was to die.
With each blow, our sins were heaped on Him;
Their weight caused unbearable pain.
Yet He never complained for one moment…
The Perfect Lamb had to be slain.
For unless we had a Redeemer,
Heaven’s gate would forever be closed.
But thanks to God’s love and forgiveness
It opened the morning Christ rose."
By James Watkins
• Becoming holy through hardships
• Calming coronavirus concerns (Text and video)
• From bad to worse . . . to astonishing
• A Coronavirus Great Awakening? (From The Wall Street Journal)
• I’m giving up fear for Lent
• “In this world you will have trouble” (More hope from Jesus)
• Top ten ways God may be working coronavirus for good (Text and video)
• Overcoming Fear and Worry (Read a free excerpt from my latest book)
• What would Jesus say about coronavirus? (Text and video)
Today's quote-
~ D. L. Moody- "Confession implies humility, and this, in God's sight, is of great price. If this confession of sin is deep among believers, it will be so among the ungodly also. I never knew it to fail. I am now anxious that God revive His work in the hearts of His children so that we may see the exceeding sinfulness of sin!
Unconfessed sin is unforgiven sin, and unforgiven sin is the darkest, foulest thing on this sin-cursed earth."
[Taken from Herald of His Coming newspaper, Vol. 79 , No 2 (938), p. 1. Used by permission.]Words of wisdom-
~ Are you willing to pray over a difficult situation, and be willing to keep praying, though it seems hopeless? Jesus wants to build your faith, so you'll learn He cares, and that the day will come to shout your praises!
Today's guest post-
His Only Son
Norma Mezoe
"With slow steps and emotional pain in his heart, Chaplain Scott, along with the commanding officer, approached the front door of the house.
The chaplain prayed a silent prayer for the right words of comfort as he entered the home. The men introduced themselves to the parents and compassionately informed them their son had been killed in battle. The father fell to his knees in anguish, grabbed Chaplain Scott’s hand, and wailed, 'He was my only son!' "
"Streams in the Desert" will provide a short scripture reading and a brief message from one of the pastors every day for the coming season.
The home pages of the CFC website: https://www. cfconline.org/
[Including daily devotionals. Sign up for them to come to you.
Check out any you missed, they're all there!]
Check out any you missed, they're all there!]
The livestream link: https://www.cfconline. org/live
[For CFC Sunday services. Check out your church's service]
[For CFC Sunday services. Check out your church's service]
Sermon listing: https://www. cfconline.org/sermon-library
Jean's blog (Click to see snippets of the 7 recent posts)
Helpful ways the Lord helped me in my marriage
Upcoming posts-
#16 Your Indwelling Prayer Partner
16th- Thursday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
Last 25 of 50 Titles and Names of Jesus
18th- Saturday's post by Debbie McDonald
#17 The Holy Spirit Places Prayer Burdens Upon You
21st- Tuesday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
#18 The Holy Spirit will add Special Depth, Power
23rd- Thursday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
No comments:
Post a Comment