Last call for Intercession

Today is the last day for our intercession topic and then we are on to purpose & vision, so lets get started.

I have stumbled on a passage in John 17 that unfolds the heart of the Master (Jesus). It's when Jesus is praying to the Father for himself, disciples and for all believers. As the prayer unfolds I found some key points that Jesus mentioned.

-Jesus prayed for the disciples protection. vs. 11,12 and 15 "Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name--so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me...My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one." Jesus prayed to Father with the power of his name and so should we. When we invoke the name that is above all names there is authority and power that attaches to our intercessions.

-Jesus prayed for unity amongst his followers. "I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me." vs 20 & 21. The result of this kind of praying is so that those around us in our daily lives will believe. When unity happens, the church grows. Think of the Acts 2 church, it says, "Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common...And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." Acts 2:43-47

-Jesus' desire is for us to be with him where he is. v24 We are wired to have relationships and friends spend time together. Just think the perfect Son of God has invited us to hang out. Pretty cool!

-Lastly, Jesus prayed that Father God would be made known through the church. "I have made you known to the, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." This can be hard to wrap our heads around, but through this Jesus' is wanting us to be full of God's love for him and others. This love is the proof! "This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us." 1 John 3:19-20

So if intercession seems like a big unknown hopefully these passages will help bring to light Christ's heart for intercession. Thanks for reading and God Bless, Aaron