Text: Exodus 32
On one hand, Exodus 32 is quite an uncomfortable chapter to read. Moses has gone to the Mount to commune with God on behalf of the people of Israel. As they wait for his return, they get increasingly restless. Then they begin to forget. They forget God and His works, they forget Whose they are. And so they make a new god, a calf of gold, and they worship it right there in the land God has given them.
I can almost hear the refrain, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. / Prone to leave the God I love.”*
Oftentimes the needs of others can overwhelm our hearts, much like the darkness in this scripture overwhelmed mine. But, Sisters, we must not despair. For God has cast an eternal light in the darkness and He invites us to make that light brighter through prayer.
Just when it seems the Israelites are once again beyond hope, when it seems they’ve gone so far and so quickly away from God they must deserve whatever comes to them, look at Moses. Watch as he pleads their case before the Lord they abandoned. Watch as he cries for mercy before the presence of God Himself, reminding Him of His promise and boldly asking Him to protect His own glory. And watch as God relents, granting Moses’ request.
Hold the phone. God changes His mind because of prayer? Yes and no. Fully sovereign though He is, the God of heaven invites us to participate in His Kingdom through prayer. He is a personal God, an interactive God, and when His children call He responds. D.A. Carson put it this way: “God has ordained the means as well as the ends, and the means include intercessory prayer – with tears, with persistent perseverance.”
God calls us to pray for one another. He calls us to “stand in the gap” for our Brothers and Sisters (Ezekiel 22:30-31, NIV). I wish I could explain exactly how the whole thing works, how prayer affects change. But as one who has been carried along on more than one occasion by the prayers of the Church, I can tell you that it does. It works. Because He has ordained it so.
Intercessory prayer is less about changing God’s mind and more about participating in His mercy.
I don’t know about you, but when I think about prayer this way, as becoming a vessel to pour out God’s goodness on those I love? That is not an opportunity I am willing to miss.
*Lyrics from Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, Robert Robinson, 1757.
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44 thoughts on "prayers of intercession in scripture"
Really clean web site , thanks for this post.
http://www.edsheeran.co.uk
I am a day late with this, traveling, but I am one who has always loved the Old Testament, the over and over again acts of God to redeem a people dead set on their own stubborn rebellious ways and those were the "good guys". I guess I identify with them. Admittedly, some of the OT is difficult to understand, the blood and guts,etc., but as I have come to view the whole of scripture as an unfolding of the mystery of Who God Is and how He works, I cannot separate the two testaments. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are so present with the Father from the beginning. In fact my simplistic theology sort of goes like this: "In the beginning, God…( Genesis)..In the beginning was the Word…and the Word became flesh (John)…while we were still sinners (Romans) … Without faith no one can please God, for we must first believe He Is and He keeps His promises(Hebrews).. And, Come, Lord, Jesus, Come. (Revelation)"
Claire, bless you and thank you for your comments.
You’re right. . There are some good and great bits in the old testament. I love the psalms. . I lived on those til i ventured into the old testament.
Thank you for the reminder of the fact that it is not all doom and gloom!
Thank you.
Vanessa
Your family is and will be in my prayers. I was a caregiver and I know the pressure that it can cause and the damage. Please make sure your mom takes care of herself! I didn’t and now i have issues of my own to deal with. Again will be praying!!
I believe strongly in the power of intercessory prayer & I am in need of some right now. My grandmother has Parkinson’s disease, and is at a particularly difficult point in its progression right now. She suffers from “spells”, during which she becomes very weak, ill, and anxious. She is currently in hospital, as she seems to do better under close supervision. Throughout all of this, my mother has become her primary caregiver and it it beginning to take its toll. I would greatly appreciate prayers for both of them, as well as for unity and understanding for my entire family.
Thank you all & God bless!
Can someone tell me how to get to the blog?
Thanks
Your commenting on the blog! The website it http://www.shereadstruth.com
Hi ladies its been a while since I’ve posted. I’ve had back surgery and praise God have healed wonderfully. I have been reading the devotions and scriptures and have been blessed. I come today asking for intersessory prayer for me and my children. I’m praying God will bring them together without taking me home. I’m also asking him to deliver me from everything that’s not like him. I like to listen to jazz so I will sometimes go out and listen to friends play in clubs. I know I’m not going to be perfect I just want to please him.
Thanks ladies
I was struck in this reading how Moses prayed an intercessory prayer for the Israelites even though, at that point of the story, he didn’t like them! In verse 32, “But now, please forgive their sin – but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.” If I’m interpreting this verse correctly, Moses is basically saying God, if you don’t forgive them, then don’t make me associate with them either. Moses was furious when he came down from the mountain and witnessed for himself the state the Israelites were in. Yet he prayed for them anyway. Another lesson in loving and forgiving your neighbor…I guess intercessory prayer isn’t just for those people we love and care for…
I totally agree Sara- we are called to pray for all including the lost and lonely.including those we find it really hard to get along with or like. In fact I find I have to pray even harder for them in order for me to reveal Gods love to them no matter how challenging that may be
CandaceJo, thank you for your comments. . . Got of thinking. Bless you. X
Celestial you pm very much for your comments!
Joanna, i think i want to believe the easier to swallow stuff, because can understand, now,about God, in terms of his goodness, love , forgiveness etc. . . To be honest i can.t see my God(now)%as the God of then. . .
I am told, and believe God is a good God, a forgiving God,a God of love. . . .i could get on a soap box. . . But thank you for getting me thinking.
Forgiven,i truly believe our God is a good God, but i just can.t reconcile him to the God who would punish back them. . . .
I understand that God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. . . Thing is when i think of yesterday, i think in terms of my yesterday. . . My parents days or grand parents or even the generation before them. .
Rocknita55 thank you for your message. . I have this overwhelming desire to say to you. . Help me then to see my faithful, loving, kind.., protective etc in the God of the old testament. .
I know this is not about who God was, is. . So i am sorry to be wasting your time sisters, i just struggle with the old testament. . .
God bless you all. X x
Update for Margie and the others who prayed for my friend Bruce. For those of you w ho don't know, he contracted flesh eating disease and has been on life support. He has 3 young children was in ministry serving the Lord at a local church here in Canada.
This is from his wife on Wednesday, Day 19:
"SEDATION VACATION!! OH YA! They turned off his sedation to see what would happen. And he was looking around, mouthing things we didn't understand (anyone out there read lips?), squeezing my hand a bit. He even blew me a kiss! Dr is happy with his progress and all the nurses are commenting on how surprised they are at how well he is doing! I asked him if he wanted to see the kids and he nodded and smiled, and then when I brought them in he was so tired he could barely open his eyes to see them, but it was good for them to get a sense of where dad is and what is going on with him. Overall, today really warmed my heart! Loved seeing my man in there!
Keep praying him off that ventilator! And for those kidneys to function! Things are starting to look promising for my Brucey!"
And from today, Day 21:
"Another great day! Stats wise he's pretty much the same but he was even more alert than yesterday! Woohooo! He was lifting his arms and his legs and trying to sit up (he only got up about an inch off the pillow). They actually had to sedate him because he wouldn't stop trying to move his limbs and everything, it made him breathe heavy because it was hard work and that made the alarm go off on the respirator! Haha! Welcome to Bruce the man who can't sit still!
Still praying him off that ventilator! And the kidney specialist says there has been no real improvement to the Kidneys so let's keep praying about that. Thanks everyone!"
This devotional today is hitting me right where I am. I have mentioned before about praying for my daughter’s health. I am interceding for her to be healed but I would like to ask you to join my to that end. This can effect her academic and future career path. He is the Great Healer and by His stripes we are healed. I am asking, seeking, and knocking like the persistent widow. I know I am not making much sense right now. Sorry about that. Please pray! Her name is Moranda. Thank you. Bless all of you for you have been a blessing for me.
Good morning sisters and happy Friday!
God calls us to pray for one another. He calls us to “stand in the gap” for our Brothers and Sisters….
Intercessory prayer has been a huge part of my life; I perfected it while raising two boys. Lol. Seriously though, it has been through the blessings and heartache of raising our children that brought me to my knees on their behalf many, many, times! Those prayers brought brought peace to my soul and I have witnessed the power of those prayers.
I've also been blessed with some sisters (2 whom I was born and raised with) and 4 dear sisters in Christ, whom I can call at a moments notice; they are serious prayer warriors and will pray for whomever is in need. We know the power of when two or more are gathered in His name.
I enjoy praying for others, and the Lord has really helped me get out of my comfort zone in doing so. What I mean by that, is years ago in Bible Studies when there would be a call for prayer, I would get very nervous about praying out loud. I, like many others, have a phobia about public speaking…no matter what the situation. The Lord would lay on my heart His words, but I was afraid it would come out wrong, or I'd sound silly or whatever! By nature, i'm a very outgoing person and so friends are surprised when i share this phobia.
Anyhow, through the Lord's help and visual tools (my prayer warrior friend suggested, in order to calm myself for prayer, to visualize The Lord approaching me, taking my hand, and feeling His security and presence to proceed boldly in confidence) this has helped tremendously and I have been so blessed in return praying for the needs of others.
God bless you sisters as you bodily approach The Lord on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Christ! Also,
Junebug, how is Bruce doing? I am continuing to hold him and his precious family in my prayers. XXXOO
Hi Margie. Just getting online now. Thank you for asking about Bruce! He is making progress and has been taken off of sedatation. He's awake! I'm going to see if there are any new updates today and if so, I'll post it for you and anyone else who has been praying for my old friend. Blessings!
Here is the link if you are interested in following the public updates on facebook (a local Christian radio station in Alberta, Canada) https://www.facebook.com/pages/981-CKVN/176698282…
Margie, I like this calming technique. I, too, get nervous in public prayer, and it is something I want to conquer, with God’s help. Thank you for sharing this.
Junebug, thanks for the update & link. I'll continue to keep him in prayer.
Sue, you're welcome! I'm so glad my friend shared this with me! I hope it is calming for youi as well.=)
Candacejo – thank you for that comment about the bottom line in the Old Testament being to protect the lineage – I never thought of it that way, and that makes sense to me.
I will be honest – this is somewhat of a reminder for me that there is SO much that I don't understand. But I guess that's okay because its that lack of understanding that somewhat causes me to humble myself further and have to trust in God all the more. I really enjoy reading the other comments, especially after a passage like this one, because it helps me understand and see things in a different light.
Have a wonderful weekend, sisters!
Totally agree. I always try to "figure out" the readings on my own but there are some days I just have to come here and get the knowledge of these wonderful women to work it all out. Thank you all so much!
Hello, sisters!
I agree with the truth spoken here about the powers and goodness of intercessory prayer, and can definitely see God's hand working in my own life through it. It's amazing how God is always always steadfast and true and looking for the good of His people.
However, and forgive me if I'm being nitpicky, in verses 28-29, it talks about Levites being 'blessed' after killing thousands of people. I do understand that yes, they had sinned against God, yes some parts of the Bible are dark and hard to swallow, and yes, it was God's judgment, but that particular verse seems to have rubbed me the wrong way. Could someone explain it a little better, perhaps?
Jean, you have to remember that the Law was a set of rules, rituals and traditions. You lived if you obeyed, you died if you did not. Harsh, yes. But that's the way it was then.
"The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves." Hebrews 10:1 NLT
The rest of the Israelites had an opportunity to respond to Moses when he asked, "Who is on the Lord's side?" But only the Levites stepped across the line. Sin was punished and dealt with immediately, there was no grace.
Also God would always protect Israel as a nation because He knew out of them would come the Savior of the world. So any time division or conflict would arise in the Body it would quickly be taken care of so it would not spread. So if He was protecting the rest of Israel from "sin in the camp" it would make perfect sense to get rid of the ones who had caused the trouble in the first place.
When Christ came and died for us the Law was done away with, GRACE came! Thankfully sin is not dealt with in that manner today. The veil was torn in two and no longer do we have to go to a High Priest for our sins, we go directly to the throne.
Some things are hard to understand, God is still the giver and taker of life. Why do thousands die in tsunamis and earthquakes? Why are murderers allowed to go free? These are questions we cannot answer. But remember God is just and faithful and the bottom line in the Old Testament was to protect the lineage of David, the people of Israel, for out of them would come our Savior, Jesus Christ!
Thank you so much for this explantion. I too was confused. This truly helped and put it into perspective.
Well there is a whole lot more to it than that but that was a start :) it doesn't mean God is not a loving God. To me it means He is! The Israelites always had a chance to do right. Punishment was just given out immediately. Not pleasant for us today, we always want a happy ending.
This lesson on intercession is so helpful! Even when I have felt the burden to intercede for someone and do not have all the details….I don't have to know! All I have to do is go to prayer and do my part, the Lord knows the heart, mine and theirs, He does the rest. And this scripture in Romans says He will HELP us pray! THAT is intercession!
"And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words." (Romans 8:26 NLT)
"Oftentimes the needs of others can overwhelm our hearts, much like the darkness in this scripture overwhelmed mine. But, Sisters, we must not despair. For God has cast an eternal light in the darkness and He invites us to make that light brighter through prayer." this really spoke ot me today. doing tech support, I am faced every day, all day long, with demanding customers wanting me to fix things for them. it can get overwhelming. I have been so trying to pray more, pray for each customer, pray for help from god. but it can get so overwhelming. So this spoke to me deeply today. have a blessed day, sisters.
Good morning ladies! I agree with those who’ve shared about the Old Testament being kinda dark and scary (in places). I still have a hard time reconciling some of the stories that involve God’s judgement in the form of killing every man, woman, and child, with his wonderful love and mercy. Especially when confronted by non-believers who use those stories to justify their non-belief. Just makes me that much more grateful for our amazing, wonderful, loving, merciful Saivour–our beautiful Lord Jesus!
Do love how God shows his mercy and the importance and power of intercessory prayer in this Exodus 32 story.
Have a blessed day, sisters.
Intercessory prayer is less about changing God’s mind and more about participating in His mercy.
I really like this thought. Mercy, what an awesome gift. Its probably the only gift that we don’t have to worry about regifting, lol. Mercy, Lord may I extend it to others in the same spirit that I am freely given.
Lord,bless all who enter this community today. You know what we r n need of. Thank you for doing exceedingly, abundantly, more than we can imagine.
Ladies may your Friday be full of FAVOR!
Good morning sisters in Christ. I agree with Tina. The old testament to me was scary lol. But I was looking from a wrong perspective. God was still merciful then and He is tbe same now. I think about Moses and how hbe interceded for the children of Israel. The Lord had compassion and was merciful through Moses interceding for them. They got inpatient waiting for moses so they turned to there idols forgetting what the Lord has done for them. We as believers do that at times. I myself am guilty. When I don’t see God move or grow inpatient I get discouraged and forget all the things he has done for me. How he has healed and provided for me. But I thank God for being the great intercessor because if it not been for Jesus I probably would of gave up along time ago.I think of peter in luke 22:31-32 when Jesus interceded for Peter because satan wanted him. Jesus still does that today and I. Thank Him for being our Chief Cornerstone. I thank you all on SRT for interceding for me and I as continue to intercede for you.:-) God Bless you all!!!
Praying for all my sisters in SRT. So thankful for y’all this morning! I joined in January and my quiet times have come alive and I have learned so much! Thank you
I am so blessed by the readings each day! They line up with Gods plan for me! Thank you sisters!
What a dark passage! How do we so easily forget these parts of the bible and so easily remember the things that are easier to swallow? I am not sure that it can be explained away, but maybe we just have to sit with it and say yes it is horrible. I am reminded that Jesus died for those people as well, in the time that came before. There is mercy there.
It's been refreshing going through this study. To be reminded that I am called to pray, lament, be joyful, and come to god with the things that are on my heart. I am not a one woman show trying to do it all, though that what I pretend. Today I cry out to god for the people weighing on my heart.
Thank you for this devotion on prayer. I am truly thankful for this portion on Intercessory Prayer. Over the years I have not been as faithful as I should but this study has reminded me how important it truly is in our walk.
I am so glad God knows our heart. I am so grateful that He allows us to be a part of His Plan and gives us an opportunity to focus on something besides ourselves. I pray that everyone enjoys their day in The Lord!
*
Sin had left a crimson stain He washed it white ss snow. ….Jesus died our souls to save…. Jesus gave it all…
Thank you Jesus for being the greatest intercessor there ever Will be. AMEN.
Be blessed ladies in whatever you do today. X x
Hello there Beautiful women of God.
How amazing is this, i just dawned on me there must be someone intercepting every hour, maybe minutes, as we are women from all over the globe!!!! How awesome is that.
I digress….
The old testament, i have to body honest, has never been my favorite….i.ve never been comfortable with it..
First it used to instill FEAR oF God in me….that didn.t get better for a long time….still not sure…. It is good to know about life before Jesus…
One thing i know is how awesomely Glad i am that I am WASHED,SAVED AND REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS! AMEN.AMEN. AMEN.
Jesus gave it all, all to him i owe
Hi Tina,
Its so funny how we all have a different perpective. I love the old testement. It is the fore shadow of Christ. God was! I am able to see his heart toward his children. Yes there was judgement but not without extending the olive branch over and over again. And just when you would have thought that we were so deep in the muck and mire, drowing. Jesus was sent as the life raft to a dying world.
The lengths a parent will go too for their children. God bless you my sister.
Don’t give up on the old testament,find some good commentary books that explain it. For me the old testament makes what Jesus did so much more powerful. It is incredible to see Gods plan for his people from start,through exodus, through to arriving in the promised land, generations of failed kings and then the ultimate saviour. The psalms are an incredible heart felt book of songs and prayers that I turn to nearly every day. Daniel is an awesome story showing us how powerful our faith could be, Jonah shows us how futile it is to run away from God. I will stop now but just wanted to encourage you to persevere through the old testament- read it with a context and be so greatful we live AD under Christs salvation!
When we stand in the gap and intercede, we work with God according to His purpose. If it wasn't for intercession by a diligent and faith filled mother, I would not have returned to the Father's feet after 12 years at the other end of the spectrum from Him. I've seen how prayer moves mountains in my own life and in others, how miracles happen when we stand in the gap. God is merciful and He chooses mercy over judgement when we cry out to Him from the depths of our hearts for others.
Thank you for this reminder. I'm that mother praying for a child on" the other end of the spectrum". Your testimony lightens my burden this morning. And is a reminder of how my Father is still a God of miracles!
Brandi, May the Lord bless you for your continued faith-filled prayers on behalf of your child! I will pray for your child as well…:)
"God is merciful and He chooses mercy over judgement when we cry out to Him from the depths of our hearts for others."
Agreed, adelineoh. That's such an encouraging truth to remember. What a great testimony for those of us interceding with God on behalf of the prodigals in our lives. May we all stand in the gap for those God has placed on our hearts.
Thanks for sharing.
Thank u for that word. As a sister who has and is praying for a brother that could not be measured on a spectrum God, but God! When everyone gave up, called me crazy I remained in the gap. Not always standing, sometimes bending, sometimes crying, sometimes crawling but never giving up. Continue to cry out God is listening!
Today that brother has turned his life around, infact he is my strong tower.
God does choose mercy over judgement. Blessings.