From “My Utmost,” Nov. 7 –
“Your part in intercessory prayer is not to enter into the agony of intercession, but to utilize the common-sense circumstances God puts you in, and the common-sense people He puts you amongst by His providence, to bring them before God's throne and give the Spirit in you a chance to intercede for them. In this way God is going to sweep the whole world with His saints.
Am I making the Holy Spirit's work difficult by being indefinite, or by trying to do His work for Him? I must do the human side of intercession, and the human side is the circumstances I am in and the people I am in contact with. I have to keep my conscious life as a shrine of the Holy Ghost, then as I bring the different ones before God, the Holy Spirit makes intercession for them.”
Rom 8:26 -
"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."
Of course we do in fact engage in sincere, conscious prayer of intercession. We are called to do our part, to our “utmost.” That does not change by this realization and is not threatened by it. It is instead a comfort in the truth, and relief in the fact that the power is not of us, but of God Himself (2 Cor 4:7). We don’t stop praying consciously…in fact, we might be spurred onward to pray with all the more fervor, upon realizing this truth. It is freeing. Suddenly, prayer of intercession feels like less of an energy drain and more of tapping into the energy of the Holy Spirit.
Now, I am very encouraged by this, for I walk and work among many whom I see that do not know our Lord. It’s heartbreaking and you just don’t know how to reach them. But since we know the Holy Spirit resides within us, as we approach them, the Spirit is there with us, interceding "with groans that words cannot express,” praying perfectly for their salvation. We “go and make disciples of all nations" (Matt 28:19) because the movement of the Holy Spirit makes them willing to be discipled. As many have pointed out, we do not “go and save,” we "go and make disciples." Saving is Jesus’ work. We merely go…the Holy Spirit intercedes...Jesus saves...then we make disciples.
Disciples seek teaching and training and we are to be there to teach and train, whether by word or deed. This is only possible if God makes the way for us and prepares their hearts by the relentless pursuit from the Holy Spirit, a pursuit brought right to them by our presence in their lives. We go out into the world, but not of the world (John 17:14-16), because in doing so, we drive the vehicle that God has chosen to place the Holy Spirit within, and we outpour as vessels within whom God has chosen to pour his Spirit.
Rom 10:13-15a -
"for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?"
Again, I believe that we do physically teach and preach, but I also believe with this perspective, that Rom 10:13-15 could be applied to the moving of the Holy Spirit in those whom we see lost all around us. How can they hear the Spirit of the Lord if no one brings Him to them? How can we bring the Holy Spirit to them unless we are sent? Well, if you’re reading this, you have been sent. If you’ve been sent, you can have the confidence that the Holy Spirit goes with you and ahead of you. And if the Holy Spirit is with you and ahead of you, then He will intercede for all those whom you encounter. And if the Holy Spirit intercedes for them, they have the opportunity to receive Christ and have eternal life. When once they have accepted Christ, we are there to disciple them. Let us keep our eyes open for the opportunity, and until we see the “fields ripe for harvest” (John 4:35), let us plant, water, and cultivate daily as we walk amidst our lost loved ones—all whom we encounter—by living as Christ and carrying the Holy Spirit within us. Amen.
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