I am reading Live a Praying Life by Jennifer Kennedy Dean. What an awesome book so far. Here are a few excerpts:
When God wants to intervene and change the natural course of events, He looks for an intercessor. Consider then in Exodus 32.7-10 God desired an intercessor and found Moses; contrasting Ezekiel 22 where God looked for an intercessor for Judah and found NONE.
They both broke covenant with God (Ex. 32.-14; Ez. 22.23-29)
They both deserved judgment (Ex. 32.8; Ez. 22.30)
God desired mercy (Ex. 49.10; Ez. 22.30)
God sought out an intercessor (Ex. 32.7-10; Ez. 22.30)
God found Moses to intercede for Israel; God found NO intercessor to intercede for Judah (Ex. 32.11; Ez. 22.30)
Israel received mercy; Judah received judgment (Ex. 32.14; Ez. 22.31)
We need to see the urgency for us to intercede. God calls us forth with the great love He Himself puts in our hearts. God and Moses lived in such long intimacy that the heart of God had become the heart of Moses. The desires of God had become the desire of Moses. Moses did not see a good opportunity to exalt himself, but instead saw the destruction of God’s eternal plan. God called on Moses’ selfless love for the people and his loyalty to the eternal purposes of God.
What God wants to do on the earth, He will do through intercessors. The purpose of prayer is to release the power of God to accomplish the purposes of God. The purpose of prayer is to discover God’s will, not obligate Him to do mine; to reflect God’s mind, not change it. Could I learn, like Moses to make my heart available for God’s purposes? Could I learn to trust His purposes more than my own perceptions? My first step would require an inner transformation: changing my prayer focus from my own satisfaction and happiness to God’s glory and eternal purposes.
2 Corinthians 3.18 –
As we behold His glory we are changed so our heart is a reflection of His. His concerns are our concerns. His desires are our desires. His will is reflected in our prayers. In His presence, our prayer life becomes consistently powerful and effective. This is not because we now have more influence on Him, but because He now has more influence on you. The secret of prayer is not how to change God, but how to be CHANGED by God!
Challenge: Psalm 25.4-5 “Show me YOUR ways, o Lord, teach me YOUR paths; guide me in YOUR truth and teach me, for YOU are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”
