Becoming an Intercessor - Hilary Walker

There are many kinds of PRAYER. One kind is INTERCESSION or TRAVAILING in prayer: “My little children, for whom I LABOUR in birth again until Christ is formed in you” (Galatians 4:19). We need to YIELD to the HOLY SPIRIT, for Him to pray through us as He wants. We want to yield our hearts & bodies to Him, to pray God's will into people’s lives: “It is not by (human) might, and not by (human) power, but by My SPIRIT, says the Lord” (Zechariah 4:6). We need to let God fill us with His love, so that we pray from a heart of love. Everywhere Jesus went, He was MOVED with COMPASSION to meet the needs of people, and God’s POWER was manifested through Him (Matthew 9:36, 14:14, 15:32, 20:34, Mark 1:41, 6:34, 8:2, 9:22, Luke 7:13). Romans 5:5: “The LOVE of God has been SHED ABROAD in OUR HEARTS by the HOLY SPIRIT, who was GIVEN to us.” Thus, the same compassion (love) that moved Jesus is in us. But we have to learn to yield to it. When we are moved with COMPASSION, we not only recognise their need and feel for the one who is suffering, but God also EMPOWERS us to MEET their NEED. One way to do this is to PRAY in the SPIRIT for them (Romans 8:26-27). We also need to pray in faith. Faith does not depend on fickle feelings. It is a matter of believing God and His Word, and then we need to exercise our faith by obeying His Word, acting as if it is true. We become STRONG in FAITH by (1) MEDITATING in God’s WORD, and (2) EXERCISING our FAITH, by corresponding actions. We build up our FAITH MUSCLES, when we EXERCISE our FAITH (put it into action). All prayer, when prayed in faith to God the Father in the Name of Jesus, is powerful. One area where you can BUILD up your FAITH by EXERCISE is in the area of PRAYER, especially PRAYING in TONGUES. If you never exercise your faith by praying in tongues, trusting the Holy Spirit to give you the utterance (Acts 2:4), then your faith in that area will never grow! When you receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, you automatically receive the ability to pray in tongues. But you must exercise this gift to activate it, so it is fruitful in your life. It's the same way with God’s LOVE. He has already given us His LOVE (Romans 5:5). We must believe this truth and put His love into action in our lives, by walking in love. God wants us to agree with His Word, that He has already given us His love – and start exercising it! He says to you: “I have shed My love abroad in your heart by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5). You are a love child of a love God. We still have the flesh, but God’s love in our heart is more powerful than our flesh. God has given us free-will, so we can choose to love or not to love. If you are born again, you are His child, and so you have His nature in your spirit, you have His LOVE in you, but by not exercising His love, you are allowing your flesh to take control of your life. But if you do EXERCISE the LOVE of God in you by faith (not feelings), for example by PRAYING for someone when you do not feel like it, then His love will fill you, and flow through you, and you will grow in love and become a lover of mankind, full of mercy and compassion. You become a person MOVED with COMPASSION to DO something, for example, YIELDING to the SPIRIT, asking Him to take control of your lips, to PRAY through you God’s perfect will for that person. Matthew 9:36-38: “When He saw the multitudes, He was MOVED with COMPASSION for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep with no shepherd. Then He SAID to His disciples: “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore, PRAY the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest.” Jesus was moved with COMPASSION, and His next thought is to PRAY. Therefore, there is a linking together of LOVE and PRAYER. When you have COMPASSION for someone, you want to reach God on their behalf. Today, God is calling His people to lay down our lives and PRAY. In the days to come, IF we will lay down our lives and PRAY, we will be entering into God's call for our life, and we will begin to become unselfish. The nature of GOD is to GIVE (John 3:16). The greatest joy in the world is for us to love others, for example, to help someone in trouble. Jesus wants us to be known for our LOVE (John 13:34-35). Standing in the gap for someone else is an act of love. INTERCESSORY PRAYER is an ACT of LOVE. As you sow to the Spirit by doing good, such as interceding for others, you will REAP everlasting LIFE (Galatians 6:7-9). YIELD your tongue to the HOLY SPIRIT, and pray in unknown tongues, trusting in the Spirit to give you the words (Acts 2:4): “for he who speaks in an unknown tongue does not SPEAK to men but TO GOD, for no one understands him; however, IN the SPIRIT he speaks MYSTERIES” (1Corinthians 14:2).