Abraham, the friend of God
“Then the Lord said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?’” Genesis 18:17
These words express well the kind of relationship between Abraham and God. When He resolved to bring judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah by destroying those cities because of their sin, God felt “compelled” to share this decision with his friend Abraham.
What a beautiful thing! The Almighty considering the friendship of a mortal man (James 2:23)!
From then on, a series of events was unleashed, showing the action of this patriarch as a true intercessor and a model to be followed.
- Intercession is an expression of familiarity
Reading Genesis 18:17-33, we see the narrative of all the history mentioned above and we soon realise that Abraham’s intercessory attitude was the result of his intimate relationship with God. This is evident both in the fact that God talked to Abraham to reveal what he was about to do, and in Abraham’s freedom to “discuss the matter” with God.
This is the level of ministry that we should seek for our lives.
- Intercession and responsibility to the ones who “belong” to us
Another truth we learn from the “father of faith” is the direct responsibility we have toward some people. Abraham had personal interests in Sodom, where his nephew Lot lived with his family. Lot had followed his uncle for a long time and he was like a son to Abraham. Hence, Abraham felt spiritually responsible for his life and interfered before God.
This aspect is very important. Although it is God’s will that we intercede for all men (1 Timothy 2:1), He will charge us objectively on those who “belong” to us.
As He did with Cain in relation to his brother Abel, the Lord will ask us about certain people whom He has linked to us.
The biblical text recounts: “Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’. ‘I don’t know,’ he replied. ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’” Genesis 4:9
Cain’s answer was completely inadequate, and the young man ended his days very poorly. His selfish stance made him despicable before God.
We need to take on this responsibility of prayer for our family, as Job did (Job 1:5) for our disciples, as Jesus did (John 17:9) , for our spiritual leaders, (Hebrews 13:7) and for specific people whom the Lord calls us to intercede systematically.
- Intercession is an exercise of persistence and boldness
When God revealed to Abraham his intention to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, the patriarch began a bold exercise of persistence.
In the first place, he dared to question,
“Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Genesis 18:23-25
What a marvellous intimacy and what a wise argument! Abraham knew the character of God. The old patriarch knew that He loves the righteous in a special way.
So, Abraham began to make the arm of God stand for the deliverance of Lot, his family, and other people who could be considered righteous.
He began with his “annoying” persistence:
“If there are fifty righteous, will you destroy the city? What if there are forty?… Thirty? Twenty? Ten?”.
With every answer from God, the old patriarch became bolder and bolder, though never arrogant.
Notice that he uses expressions such as, “Do not be angry, Lord, for this is the last time I will speak…”.
The time came when Abraham felt that his limit had come.
Intercession is decisive, but not absolute.
There are things we cannot stop, and those cities had to be destroyed. But Abraham was sure that for ten righteous there, God would not have done it. He was sure that with his persistence he had awakened the heart of the Lord to have mercy on his nephew Lot and his house.
4 – Intercession requires perseverance
There is an interesting expression before Abraham begins all this “quarrel” with God for his nephew’s house.
The Word says that he “remained standing before the Lord” (Genesis 18:22).
Here is something that sums up one of the most important requirements of this ministry: perseverance in prayer. Many people think that praying for something a few times before God is enough. They confuse superficiality with faith. They do not know that God is impressed when he sees more than words in our mouths.
He wants to see us deeply involved in the cause of our intercession.
Daniel, discerning the time of God to act
The third intercessor we are going to study is Daniel. In the Babylonian captivity, this prophet turned his heart to seek God for his people. His life was marked by prayer, even if it caused him the risk of death. But there was a special moment in which the intercessor Daniel revealed himself in an impressive way. Read carefully chapter 9 of his book and you will see how this man behaved in the presence of God, attracting His revelation and mercy.
- Agreeing with God’s will
Here is what Daniel witnessed:
“In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. So, I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.” (Daniel 9:2-3).
The prophet was studying the Word of God and realised that the time for deliverance from the captivity had come. Immediately he began to pray and to fast for this cause, that the will of the Lord might be fulfilled upon his people.
Here we come across another fundamental aspect of the ministry of intercession: agreement with God’s will to establish it on the earth.
It means that the true intercessor is not only the one who appeases divine wrath, but also that which encourages God to do what He has promised.
The importance of this action is greater than most of us understand. God resolved to act on earth through man.
The Bible says that “The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to mankind.” (Psalms 115:16).
Since Eden, the Lord has enveloped mankind with authority and made it His legal representative on earth.
This mission was transmitted specifically to the Church after the victory of Christ on the cross.
In this way, God waits for a human initiative to fulfil His will in the world. Jesus said: “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 18:18).
It means that “human action on Earth precedes divine action in heaven”.
That is why God waits for intercessors to understand His plans and to agree with them in the world of men.
- Putting yourself in the place of the needy
In understanding the specific will of God for his time, Daniel began to pray, in an attitude of complete brokenness.
He fasted, put on sackcloth, mourned, and, above all, confessed sins before the Lord.
If you read Daniel 9: 4-19, you will see that this man, though having a holy life, Daniel stood in the place of the people and confessed the sins of the nation as his own sins.
Therefore, God heard and sent the answer of his supplication.
- An intercessor is also a warrior
Spiritual warfare is another field of action of the intercessor. As Daniel prayed and fasted, there was resistance from the evil principalities in the “heavenly places” (read Daniel 10: 2, 3, 10-14).
Were it not for the perseverance of that man in supplication before the Lord, the answer sent from heaven would have been stopped by the mighty demons of that region. But as Daniel persevered in praying and fasting, the angels were sent, and God’s response came after much spiritual battle.
There are many occasions when evil spirits dominate lives, families, cities and nations. God has the power to make them fall, but He will wait for the action of the intercessors.
Often, this action will entail perseverance in fasting and prayer until the Satanic blockade is overcome and God’s blessing reaches men.
Interceding with the Holy Spirit
We have previously seen that Jesus is a priest who is continually interceding before the Father for us, but the Holy Spirit also does it. He is our Guide sent to lead us in the will of God:
“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” (Romans 8:26).
- Transmitting the weight of God’s heart
The action of the Holy Spirit will often consist of sharing with us “the concerns of God”.
He, who knows the depths of the Lord (1 Corinthians 2:10), brings to our interior, through revelations and feelings, what we should pray for.
- Prayer by other languages
When we speak in languages, we are letting the Holy Spirit use our lips according to His sovereignty, and although we often do not understand the meaning of that language (1 Corinthians 14:14), we may be interceding perfectly for some situation that weighs heavily on God’s heart.
Therefore, we should pray all the time in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18), so that we will be effectively performing the ministry of intercession, although we will not always know the results of our action.
- Revealing the intentions of our enemies
We know that satan develops plans against the people of God. His traps are constant. The way God uses to deliver us is through intercession, when the Spirit reveals to someone the enemy’s plans and raises this person to pray, crying out for the Lord to undo and prevent satan’s plan.
The rewards of an intercessor
Intercession is the reason why God’s great love is covering the earth. We have also seen that every believer is called to exercise it always. However, it is good to say that there is more than responsibility and weight in this service. There are wonderful rewards!
- The joy of seeing answered prayers
One of the great rewards of an intercessor is to be a partaker of God’s actions on earth. It is as if s/he were a “partner in the Lord’s miracles”.
It builds faith, brings motivation to life, and inspires others to follow the same path.
The deep intercessor is always a loved person in the church, because everyone knows that his/her life is a source of blessings.
- The blessing of the Lord on the life of the intercessor
There is a law in the spiritual world that does not fail:
“A man reaps what he sows” (Galatians 6:7).
Based on this, we can say that the intercessor sows blessing in the lives of others and will certainly reap blessing in his/her own life.
The Bible says that
“After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.” (Job 42:10).
This man went through terrible sufferings, came to a state of misery and disease, but still he was an intercessor. So, God changed his captivity and blessed him abundantly, giving him double everything he had lost. Our Lord takes pleasure in investing in the lives of those who invest in the lives of others!
- The blessing of being a friend of God
As we delve deeper into the ministry of intercession, we tend to develop greater intimacy with the Lord.
This is how Abraham became a “friend of God”. He trusts us and takes pleasure in revealing His secrets to us when He realises that we are not self-seeking and that we are disposed to weep with Him for the causes of men.
Thus, the intercessor can pass from the condition of mere servant to that of friend of God.