Intercession: Part 8 of the Teacher/Trainer Outline
by Editor(s)

Where does the Christ-I life ultimately lead? Since Christ’s life is a laid-down life for His creation, we can expect that He will be nothing less through us.

If this is true, how does it apply to you and me in our everyday lives? We have homes to run, children to rear, job responsibilities, and social, religious and community involvements.

Intercession begins with seeing a need in daily life and seeing myself as the one to do it. Meeting a need can be as small as picking up the dishes from the table to preaching the gospel on as large a scale as Billy Graham.

We know that we are sufficient to meet the need because we no longer see ourselves as just weak, failing, inadequate humans. Now we boldly know that we are Christ operated and are more than adequate for any situation.

How will I know when God is asking me to do something? First of all, I will have the sense of being God’s special person in a particular situation (of course we are all special if we have eyes to see it). I will have a sense of God saying, "Who will do the task that I am not there in the flesh to do?"

It could be anything from the most common task of emptying the trash to being available to another in a time of personal difficulty, to leading a Bible study group, to running a mission in a foreign land. I answer by saying, "I will do it. I will step in to fill the gap."

Now this is something I must do; I am Spirit driven to do my part in fulfilling some need or completing some task. If I do not stand in the gap, that need will remain unmet and that task undone.

From this we can see that intercession is no passing prayer, but an inner spirit drive to action involving a death in the soul and body of the human intercessor, in order that others might live.

There may be a sacrifice of all that goes with our body living: our time, our finances, our possessions and our reputation. Misunderstanding and even opposition may arise in our family circle, among our friends, our social circle, our church fellowship and right out to the public. As we go through or have gone through our intercession, we shall well know where we have died.

Finally, intercession means a completion gained on the level of faith as we become settled inside that God has done the thing on our heart. By faith we see that the need is met and task completed. Life is produced in another person or situation at the cost of a death taking place in us (Colossians 1:24). This may mean, for example, the salvation of another person, the reconciliation of a marriage or the building of a Christian conference center. This is the life-out-of-death principle spoken of in the Bible, which is experienced through the intercession.