Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

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 through wordless groans.  And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

• Romans 8:26-27

Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercedefor them.

• Hebrews 7:25

“An abiding way of maintaining our relation to Reality is intercession. Intercession means that I strive earnestly to have my human soul moved by the attitude of my Lord to the particular person I am praying for. That is where our work lies, and we shirk it by becoming active workers; we do the things that can be tabulated and scheduled, and we won’t do the one thing that has no snares. Intercession keeps the relationship to God completely open. You cannot intercede if you do not believe in the Reality of Redemption, you will turn intercession into futile sympathy with human beings which only increases their submissive content to being out of touch with God. Intercession means getting the mind of Christ about the one for whom we pray, that is what is meant by ‘filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ’; and that is why there are so few intercessors. Be careful not to enmesh yourself in more difficulties than God has engineered for you to know; if you know too much, more than God has engineered, you cannot pray, the condition of the people is so crushing that you can’t get through to Reality. The true intercessor is the one who realizes Paul’s meaning when he says, ‘for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered’.”

• Oswald Chambers, Daily Thoughts for Disciples (September 16, from Conformed to His Image)

Do not misunderstand what Rev. Chambers says here.  He wants us to help those in need, but we lose sight of being conformed to God’s image when we become obsessed with the measurables of our mission, and we lose that connection to God.

In intercession, we are taking the plight of another upon ourselves so that it is a burden to us.  We start to see through this process just a tiny glimpse of the love and care God has for us.

In the doing to help the other person, we should strive to meet their need, but we should not lose that connection that we have with God that let’s us know how important it is to see our own weakness and our strength comes from God, but also how God loves that other person as God loves us.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.