INTERCESSORY PRAYER

"Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Timothy 2:1-4).

Devotion 10 of 17

SAMUEL, THE INTERCESSOR

Samuel was a Judge, but he was more than a judge. He possessed power with God, and was therefore an intercessor for the people. Even Israel sensed the importance of Samuel in this regard. Once, when they were confronting the Philistines, they pled with Samuel to speak to God for them. They knew they would not be saved out of the hand of their enemies unless someone in God's favor pled for them. "And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the LORD. And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh. And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the LORD our God for us, that He will save us out of the hand of the Philistines" (1 Sam 7:5-8). Samuel took his prayers for Israel seriously. He not only knew the Lord, He knew where the Lord had placed him. The man of God considered a cessation of his prayers for the people of God to be a sin. "Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way" (1 Sam 12:23). Would God such attitudes prevailed in this time, where a reconciliation has taken place, and we can draw as close to God as we desire. When king Saul transgressed the commandment of the Lord, he knew he had crossed the forbidden line. He saw Samuel as his only hope, and pled earnestly with him. He even asked Samuel to pardon his sin, so he could worship the Lord. Although the circumstances were not ideal, a review of this text will serve to highlight the value of intercession. "And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD. And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. Then he said, I have sinned: yet honor me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God" (1 Sam 15:23-26,30). The point to be seen is the value of an intercessor. There is no reason why, in your measure, you cannot be known as a person who has power with God.

A CENTURION INTERCEDES

One of the remarkable incidents of the Gospels involves the intercession of a man for his servant. There is no indication that this man was in covenant relation to God. However, his faith was strong, and he perceived Christ's power and nature. He provided one of only two occasions that provoked Jesus to "marvel." "And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto Him a centurion, beseeching Him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, He marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour" (Mat 8:8-13). Observe the reasoning of the Centurion. Although he was not an expert in Scripture, and was not apparently in covenant relation to God, his reasoning was sound. He appealed to Jesus on the basis of true authority, which he perceived Jesus possessed. His intercession was so effective that "his servant was healed in the selfsame hour." If you have trouble believing you can be an intercessor, ponder that Centurion!

-- TOMORROW: WHEN BAALI BECOMES ISHI --