One of the goals of a Believer is to be like Jesus. But did you know that you are never more like Jesus than when you are interceding for others. Jesus primary ministry in heaven is interceding for us. Roman 8:34 tells us Jesus is at the right hand of God making intercession for us.
Jesus is always talking to God on our behalf. He talks to God about our sins. He talks to God about our weaknesses. He talks to God about our needs and wants. He even talks to God about our future and destiny. He talks to God about giving us mercy, grace, compassion, and long-suffering. One of the reasons that all things are working together for our good is because of the intercession of Jesus Christ on our behalf.
If we want to be like Jesus, we must be praying for others. It is easy to pray for loved ones and friends. But God wants us to come to HIM about our supervisors on our jobs, members of our churches, people living on the streets, and even our enemies. And HE especially wants us to intercede for those who do not know HIM. Some people may not want to hear what you have to say about Jesus , but they cannot stop you from interceding to the Lord on their behalf.
God gave us a perfect example of interceding on behalf of others when Abraham interceded for Sodom and Gomorrah. God intended to destroy those two cities because the cry of their sins was great. Abraham asked God to save the cities from destructions if there were 50 righteous people living there. Abraham humbly continued to intercede until God agreed to save the cities from destruction if there was ten righteous people living there.
The key to interceding on behalf of others is that you must know the Lord personally and you must be obedient to His will. In other words, you must be in a personally and intimate relationship with HIM. You cannot talk to God about others if you have not been honest in talking to HIM about yourself!
Praying for others should be a major part of your prayer life. We should be praying for others consistently if we really want to be like Jesus!!!
Gilbert Owens is the minister at Kingdom of God Ministries.