When You Are On Your Knees For Others

I didn’t want to write this Bible Study when I got it and I still don’t feel like publishing it as at the time of transferring it from my journal to my phone… and as you read along, you’ll understand why this is so.

 
I mentioned that my Church had a 5day conference on faith in this post last week.
On the 3rd day of the conference, I got a call from my dad with my mom raging at the background – the house was on fire with quarrels.
Now, I have been praying for God to build my parents marriage for a while and confessing that He has done so already. After my dad’s call, I tried to still confess same in faith but I just couldn’t. I was just plain tired and instead of praying, I tried to dull the pain by surfing the net.
I woke up with “Hillsong’s-Oceans will fall” in my heart the next day and when I downloaded it and started listening to it, I just started crying to God.
Lord, this is too hard, it’s too difficult to intercede for others.
My brother is there, my sister, my family members… you have said that they will be saved through me but I see nothing and I am just plain tired.
I could perceive/hear God leading me to Ezekiel 22:30 so let’s go there shall we?

 
““I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.”

 
And He said to me, Persevere. Stay on your knees. Let me find you in the gap. Pray. Pray. Pray.

 
Now, some of us might be in the same position that I am in too, we are stressed out over interceding for others and sometimes, it just brings out tears instead of prayers in us but God said to me, look at Jesus.
You want to know how to intercede for others?
Look at Jesus.
The first scripture that came to my mind was that of Jesus in Romans 8:34
” Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.”

 

But specifically in Luke 22:31-32 Jesus told Peter…
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.”

 
What does it mean to sift?
satan wanted to shake out Peter till nothing remained.
And I am thinking what if Jesus had not prayed?
And notice that it didn’t seem like His prayer for Peter was answered because Peter still denied Him. It was only later that Peter’s faith became strong indeed.
What if Jesus had looked at Peter’s weak faith and just stopped praying?
What if He dwelled on the present instead of seeing through the eyes of faith?
Jesus stood in the gap for His disciples.

 
He said in John 17:12
“During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold.”

 

How did he ensure that satan couldn’t snatch them from His hands? He interceded and stood in the gap in prayers for them.
He was on His knees, ALWAYS.
He had His own issues, praying for strenght to do God’s will but still, He preserved His disciples souls in prayers and even the souls of everyone who would ever come to believe in Him(see Jesus prayer in John 17)

 

 

I know that some of us are tired of staying in our knees for others (I am too). Things just don’t look like they are changing and for the life of us, we can’t open our mouths to pray no more.
But God is saying that if there is a man to pray then there is a God to answer.
Let me find you in the gap.
Some of us are supposed to be interceding for our friends and family but we’ve already abandoned our post in the gap.
But this is a call for us to sit tight once more, we have too many lives connected to us for us to slack up now.
We can’t afford to just drift away from God, too many lives depend on the connection we have with God on their behalf.

 
As I thought about writing this, I felt like I should have a fast and pray for those I am praying for and also include prayers from my blog family.
It’s the reason why I didn’t want to put this Bible Study up. I didn’t feel like I am up to shouldering another’s prayer on my head but if I feel this strongly, then I can’t dump it.

 
So here’s what we are going to do today my blog family.
We will be praying for each other.

 
Paul told Timothy in 1Timothy 2:1-3
“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior”

 

 

Here’s what I want you to do, leave your comment below with a prayer point you want us all to pray about.
If it’s too personal to share publicly, then send me a mail at okorofrances@gmail.com
I will be fasting and praying along with each comment here. You can join in fasting if you feel led to but otherwise, just please pray and stay in the gap for everyone who drops a prayer below.

 

So here are my prayer points…
(1) God has built my parents marriage, they live in peace, love and joy in the presence of God. God has restored and revived their marital life.

 
(2) The shackles of the evil one over my elder brother – Ray is broken. The healing power of God is working in him. He is perfect and complete in health, body, soul and spirit and God’s glory will shine through the present trial in his life.
(these first two prayers are also to be done in thanksgiving and confession)

 
(3) Pray that God will set my family members on the path for Him. No one of us shall be derailed, rather we will continue to grow in Christ and in the knowledge of what He wants us to do/be for Him.

 

(4) Any other prayer you want to add for me.

 

And if you are already at the stage of thanking God for your answer in faith, drop it below too, we will join you in thanking God for prayers answered.
Please don’t read this post without the attendant call to prayer and standing in the gap for others.
It pleases God when we pray for each other.
Trust me, I still don’t feel up to it as I type this but what do we do when we don’t “feel” up to something?
We are not run by feelings, but by the Spirit of God in us, so we do what’s right, not what the flimsy feelings posit.

 

God bless us all as we stand in the gap for others as we should.
And may God give us strength to carry us through even when we are weary.
When He looks, may He find us standing in the gap…. in Jesus name, amen.

 

Further reading…

1john 5:14-15
“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”

 

Mark 11:22-24

“Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.”

 

 

John 16:23-24

“At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name. You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.”

 

You can please share this post so it can get to others who need it. Let’s give as many people that can pray/have a prayer point to share with others the opportunity to be able to read this. Thank you.

 
Till our next #OnlineBibleStudy,
Much love,
Frances.

 
P:S – I’m sorry that this post is up late.

I intended to have this up since morning but had no power on my devices. I’m sorry, I hope you all can still drop your prayers and let’s make this “standing in the gap” work for us.

You can also  download Jaci Velasquez – On My Knees.
It kept ringing in my head yesterday.