"Christ's power to save, and save completely,
depends on His unceasing intercession. The apostles'
withdrawal of themselves from other work to
give themselves continually to prayer was followed
by the number of the disciples multiplying exceedingly.
As we, in our day, give ourselves to intercession,
we will have more and mightier conversions.
Let us plead for this. Christ is exalted to
give repentance. The church exists with the
divine purpose and promise of having conversions.
Let us not be ashamed to confess our sin and
feebleness and cry to God for more conversions
in Christian and heathen lands, of those whom
you know and love. Plead for the salvation of
sinners."
How
can we as intercessors prepare for the harvest?
The reality is that the intercession of the saints
will lead to a great harvest of souls at the end
of the age. I encourage you to anticipate it,
cry out for it, and seek God for this great ingathering
of souls into God's Kingdom. Individuals are beginning
to turn to Christ as never before all over the
world. All the turmoil that is presently happening
with terrorism, natural disasters (earthquakes,
tsunamis, hurricanes, etc.), is only showing people
that there must be more than this life; there
must be something else than the uncertainties
all around us. One of our great responsibilities
and joys as intercessors is to pray in this worldwide
harvest.
We
are not only called to pray, but we also must
love and reach out to the lost. Although intercession
is the chief element in preparing the harvest,
we must not avoid reaching out to the lost ourselves.
Most of us have failed to be the light that God
desires us to be. I admit that I miss opportunities
to be God's light. But God wants to change that
for each one of us. I am including a prayer of
repentance written by my husband, Norm. Perhaps
this is the first step in being a strong intercessor
for the lost and the harvest. We need to admit
where we have been as the body of Christ. We need
to pray and take action. When we intercede
and also reach out to the lost with God's light,
our prayers will become even more intense and
passionate.
A Prayer of Repentance
Lord,
you were a shining light to the generation of
people who lived two thousand years ago. They
flocked to you because you loved them enough
to be with them and to show them the true way
to the Father. You have commissioned us to shine
with that same love and message, yet we have
not.
Even in light of the fact that you have given
so much to us and have enriched our lives in
every way, we have neglected to give proper
attention to the function that was highest on
your list, "to seek and to save the lost". We
confess, Lord, that we have been too busy with
life. We have loved our lives in this world
to the exclusion of the task for which you keep
us in the world. Our concern has not been great
enough. Our love has not been hot enough. Our
vision of eternity has not been clear enough.
We have not believed, we have been cowards,
we have turned away busying ourselves with temporal
pursuits while our neighbors pass, one by one,
into a living and dying hell. We haven't cared
enough to intentionally love and pray for them.
Lord,
we confess what we are, jars of clay. But you
are the potter. We ask that you remold our hearts
after your own heart. Give us a love that will
lead the way, a passion hot as fire, and a faith
that no disappointment will tire. Give us love
for the lost and a life of power that will convince
them of eternity and the claims of Jesus Christ.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
How to Pray as you Reach out to the Lost
You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen
you - I have appointed you, I have planted you
- that you might go and bear fruit and keep
on bearing; that your fruit may be lasting (that
it may remain, abide); so that whatever you
ask the Father in My name (as presenting all
that I AM) he may give it to you. This is what
I command you, that you love one another." John
15:16-17 (Amplified)
- Pray
that God would minister to their physical, emotional,
mental and spiritual needs. Pray that he
would use you to touch their real needs and
demonstrate His love and care.
"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on
me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach
good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind
up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom
for the captives and release from darkness
for the prisoners… to bestow on them a crown
of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness
instead of mourning, and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair." (Isaiah 61:1,
3)
- Pray
for God to open the spiritual eyes of the lost
and set them free from spiritual captivity.
Pray that they might have ears to hear the truth
and understand it.
"And
even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled
to those who are perishing. The god of this
age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
so that they cannot see the light of the gospel
of the glory of Christ, who is the image of
god." (II Corinthians 4:3-4)
- Pray
for opportunities to get to know the lost in
the area where you live and work.
Ask God to help you build relationships and
identify with them. Pray that you might be a
fragrance of Christ.
"To
the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I
have become all things to all men so that
by all possible means I might save some. I
do all this for the sake of the gospel, that
I may share in its blessings." (I Corinthians
9:22-23)
- Pray
for opportunities to witness with boldness at
the right time. Pray that God will send others
into their life to witness as well.
"Devote
yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
And pray for us, too, that God may open a
door for our message, so that we may proclaim
the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.
Pray that I may proclaim it clearly as I should.
Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders;
making the most of every opportunity." (Colossians
4:2-5)
A
Prayer for God's Presence
"Father, we confess that we want to see change
in our lives. Give us such a heart and passion
after you that we may begin to see your glory
flow out of us to convict and save the lost.
Release your presence through us as you did
through Charles Finney when he walked through
factories and saw workers drop to their knees
under your glory and cried out for forgiveness
although not one word had been spoken or preached.
May the faintest shadow of your presence in
our lives heal the sick and restore the lame
we meet in the streets. Let your presence so
saturate us that unsaved guests can't step into
our homes or be around us with unrepentant hearts.
May your glory bring conviction in their lives
that lead to salvation, not because of the words
we say but because of your presence and power
in our hearts. May we be filled with the glory
of God where your presence resides in every
neighborhood and where every person passing
through is touched by the power of God."
Let
us pray that we become more passionate in praying
for the harvest. Let us also pray that each
one of us will reach out with a new commitment
to love and be a light to those who are lost.
I know that I want to make a decision to pray
more intensely for souls. I also want to make
a commitment to reach out with the Good News of
Jesus to those who are living without hope. Moses
experienced God's presence wherever he went. When
we pray and reach out to the lost, we shall experience
God's presence wherever we go as well. As a partner
with Jesus Christ, I want to experience this in
an ever-increasing measure. I want to see the
miraculous, and I am sure that you do too. "The
Lord replied, 'My Presence will go with you...'"
(Exodus 33:14)
"The Lord Jesus has united us in partnership
with Himself in carrying out the great work
of intercession. He in heaven and we on earth
must be of one mind. We must have only one aim
in life. That aim is that we should love the
Father and the lost by consecrating our lives
to intercession for God's blessing. The burning
desire of Father and Son for the salvation of
souls must be the burning desire of our hearts,
too." Quotes by Andrew Murray
For
additional training on evangelistic prayer; how
to let your light shine and how compassion is
the pathway to divine power, read the book called
Intercessors Arise - Book 2 by Debbie Przybylski.
Training
Links
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