100 Days of HopeSample

Power Of Intercession

Every Christ-follower has one common job:  to bring heaven here on earth.   From Ephesians 6:13-18 we know that that job isn’t always easy. In fact, it’s a battle! We’re talking war, fighting an enemy, resisting evil. Thankfully, at the same time we receive the battle orders, we receive our armor. We put on the belt and the breastplate. We lace up our shoes and fit our helmet on tightly. In one hand we firmly hold the shield, and in the other we grasp our sword. WE. ARE. READY.

Then it hits. It’s that feeling that we’ve had before. “Okay,” we think, “I have all I need, so why am I just standing here? Why can’t I spring forward? Why do I feel stuck?” We are in need of that extra push.

In Ephesians 6, it’s not a coincidence that right after the commands to “put on” all the armor, we have one more command: “Pray.” If you’ll notice, when we put on the armor, it all was for the front. Could it be that this last command is our armor for the back? As we pray for all believers everywhere, those prayers push from behind, strengthening us to live out His calling for us. We keep praying, and the prayers keep propelling us.  No longer are we heading into battle alone, but now we have other believers pushing us to persevere with their never-ending prayers.

It’s our time to provide that extra push that our neighbors are waiting for. Let’s start praying, at all times and on every occasion. May our prayers push each other into our shared destiny in Christ.

Prayer: Father, thank you that you have given us prayer to strengthen us to live out your calling. We pray that your Kingdom come and your will be done on earth today.