Partners in Intercession

And so the Man Christ Jesus still stands in the place of intercession, ever before the Father, ever living to intercede. Assisted by the Holy Spirit, the constant posture of Jesus now is to agree with the Father concerning the position of the Bride before God. He is our Advocate, pleading our case before the Father, our just Judge. By the power of the Spirit, we are constantly being transformed into His image, becoming one with Him as a man and woman become partners in the context of intimacy in a marriage relationship.

Now and throughout eternity, we have the privilege as His bridal partners to intercede in the same way Jesus does, standing in the gap on behalf of the rest of mankind and agreeing with God’s desires. We come boldly and confidently before His presence, the throne of grace, because the way has been opened for us by the true Man, Jesus Christ, our Bridegroom. We receive His mercies afresh every day and we are empowered by His presence to walk out the new life He has given us by the blood of Christ. In that place of safety and intimacy, we take our place as His Bride and bring before Him the needs of the people around us, declaring over them the will of God by agreeing with His agenda as revealed in the Word of God.

In this process, we come to an ever-increasing awareness of His goodness and the truth of His ways. We begin to understand that the heart of God is for us and not against us, and that His purposes for the human race are more wonderful than we ever imagined. We come into glad-hearted agreement with the Son of God concerning Who He is, Who the Father is and who we are.

We are the objects of His delight, the focus of His affections, and because He speaks this to our hearts in such a personal and convincing way, we begin to comprehend that He can feel the same way about every person without leaving any individual unattended. We start to share His perspective of our cities and nations and of the situations in which our families and friends find themselves. When we experience His love poured out upon us, we become convinced of His power to set right every situation for every person. When His powerful affections touch our hearts, we realize that the true reward of prayer is not changed circumstances, but the reality of intimate experiential friendship with Jesus Christ, the Lover of our souls. In that place of intimacy, we are free to affect the world around us with the knowledge of His love.

As we come to know His heart, there is a point at which He invites us to walk the streets of the cities with Him, personally touching those who need Him—the “dimly burning candles” and “bruised reeds” of this world—until their lights burn brightly and their countenances are lifted up. The power is His. The new identity is ours. The methodology is intercession.

And so, we pray.