God intercedes, we don't

FROM A GUEST BLOGGER 

​When Christians talk about prayer it’s not unusual to hear the word intercession.  When used in the bible, it predominantly refers to Jesus and the Holy Spirit interceding before God on our behalf.

Intercession implies a certain authority to request someone else to act, and wisdom to know what needs to be done.  I don’t know all things and my understanding is very limited.  I don’t know what I should pray for as I ought (Romans 8:26) either for myself or for others.  What a comfort to know that the Son and the Spirit intercede for me.  They know all things.  They know me perfectly and completely, better than I know myself.  They know every detail of my circumstances, past, present and future and, being God, they always pray in perfect accordance with God’s will.

As a child of God I have been given the inestimable privilege of coming boldly to the throne of grace, into the very presence of God, my Father, with the promise that I will receive mercy and find grace (Hebrews 4:16).  But my position is not as one who approaches God in my own merit and with my own wisdom to intercede in order to bring about what I deem best, or to somehow ‘achieve great things for God’ through prayer.  I can come only in the merit of my Saviour, clothed in His righteousness, through His blood.  I come imploring, earnestly pleading, utterly dependent on mercy, humbly submitting to His will.  

The fact that I pray does not make me a powerful intercessor or a mighty prayer warrior.  I pray in obedience to God’s command, and because I am poor and weak, unable to meet my own needs or the needs of others, unable to defeat sin or produce the fruit of the Spirit in my life, and powerless to bring salvation to those I love.   I pray because I am in need of mercy and help from almighty God.  God’s gracious answers do not magnify the power of my prayers, but demonstrate the power and kindness of my Father.