Intercession

It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
Romans 8:34b NKJV

Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 7:25 NKJV

To make intercession is the action of bringing two parties together. In our case, Jesus is the act of making it possible for sinful mankind to be in the presence of our sinless, most holy God and not die. John 14:6 tells us, Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Why? Because God hates sin. However, God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him [Jesus] should not perish but have everlasting life. That's what Jesus did for us. That's why He died (to satisfy the wage of our sins) and that's why He lives - to intercede for us with God. 

Prayer:

Father,

          Thank You that through Christ we are able to come to You. Thank You for the Holy Spirit who according to Your Word in Romans 8:26-27 helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And You who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is because the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us according to Your will. Thank You for loving us so much and for not leaving us alone to fend for ourselves. Help us to be ever mindful and always grateful. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Lazy Love

[Jesus speaking] So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.
John 13:34-35 NLT

In his book, Secrets of the Secret Place, Bob Sorge writes, "One of the most profound ways you can love someone is by praying for them. Intercession does something very powerful in the intercessor: It joins the heart of the intercessor to the heart of the one being prayed for. In intercession, you are investing yourself in another person’s life." 

I never thought of intercession as an act of love. I saw it as a duty, a Christian obligation to pray for others. How did I never see it as an act of love? 

In my renewed quest to love as Christ loves, I don't even come close. I realize I have a lazy love - it's selective and leans more toward being selfish. I'm not always moved by the feelings of others - I am more so than before but not always. What if those we call on to pray for us prayed the same way we pray for others? Would our prayers availeth much? (James 5:16) Father, forgive me for those times when it is more cursory than fervent.

Which for me shed a whole new light to the depth of Christ's love when, while ON THE CROSS, He prayed, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. They had ridiculed and lied about Him, beaten Him. Betrayed Him. Abandoned Him. He left the splendor of Heaven and all that was good and perfect to come to save us. He invested His life - EVERYTHING - and prayed for the forgiveness of the ones in the middle of crucifying Him. And it's not over. Romans 8:34b tells us, It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 

STILL making intercession. STILL loving us. Strenuous love. Fervent love. Nothing lazy about it.

Prayer:

Father,
         How do we thank You enough for Your unfailing love? Forgive me for lazy love, conditional love. We pray Your Word from Ephesians 3, that as we continue to trust in You, our roots will grow down into Your love and keep us strong. We pray for the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep Your love is. We pray that we may experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully, so that we will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from You. In Jesus' Name. Amen