“Therefore I exhort first of all
that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who
are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness
and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who
desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For
there is one God and one
Mediator between God and men, the
Man Christ Jesus,”—1 Timothy 2:1-5
Our
scripture reading for today tells us the priority that God places intercession. Hear His heart’s cry, “I exhort first of all that
supplications, prayers, intercessions,
and giving of thanks, be made for all men…who will have all men to be saved, and
come to the knowledge of truth”(v. 1-4).
The Greek word for first if “proton” and is defined in Strong’s
Concordance as being first or foremost in time, place, order, or
importance. Since God desires for all
men to be saved, is it any wonder that intercession
must be a priority in the life of a
believer?
A powerful motivation
for us to make intercession for the lost is because we follow Jesus’ example. The prophecy in Isaiah 53 says that Christ “made
intercession for the transgressors.”
This prophecy was literally fulfilled when on the cross He prayed, “Father
forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). And then in Hebrews 7:25, we see that “Christ ever lives to make intercession.”
God has made
intercession for the lost our responsibility.
Being members of God’s “holy priesthood” (1 Peter 2:5) makes us
responsible for others because priests represent earth to heaven. Our primary task is to stand between mankind
and God pleading their case to Him. This
is exactly what Aaron did when he took a censor and stood between the living
and the dead to halt the plague of death caused by Israel’s sin (Numbers
16).
Legally, all
souls belong to Christ because He paid for their sins on Calvary, “And He Himself is the propitiation for our
sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:2). But Satan, illegally and forcefully,
continues to hold them captive, resolutely refusing to let them go. And he will continue to hold them bound in
spiritual darkness, until we take our rightful place and exercise our
throne-rights by demanding their immediate release on the basis of Christ’s
shed blood and our delegated authority from Him. I exhort you to take up your place in
intercession and pray for the lost today.
General Jonathan
Wainwright, along with other allied prisoners of war, was incarcerated on the Island
of Formosa for nearly four years.
Although the war was over and the Japanese commandant knew it, he neither
told his prisoners nor released them.
But shortly an allied plane landed on the island with news of
victory. Then General Wainwright announced
to the Japanese commandant, “My commander-in-chief has defeated your
commander-in-chief. I demand the
immediate release of this illegally-held captive.” Beloved, this is what we do in
intercession. We demand of Satan to
release the captives and then insist upon it based upon the finished work of
Christ and the authority that we have been given. Don’t give up—resist the devil. Your armor is secure and intact (Ephesians
6:10-18). Be assured that the enemy has
lost his grip and he cannot continue to hold out against bold, fervent warfare
praying!
Prayer—Heavenly Father thank You for reminding me that
Your number one priority is intercession for souls. Today with Your help I will make intercession
for those who do not know You. Thank You
for giving to me the assurance that if I ask anything in Your name it will be
given to me, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
