Monday, December 14
THE CALL FOR INTERCESSORS
Scriptural reference Gen 18:22
22) Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. 23) And Abraham came near and said, ‘Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24) Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it?
The entire people of Sodom and Gomorrah had been taken away by King Chedorlaomer as captives after defeating them in a war. It took Abraham to rescue and restore them to their lands. Nevertheless, they did not change their wicked and abominable ways of living. As a result, the cry of innocent blood went up before God against the people.
In verse 22, we read that ‘two men turned away from there and went toward Sodom.’ We later see in Gen 19:1 that these two men were angels who were on a mission to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. As I read, this portion of scripture really stood out to me and that is; ‘But Abraham still stood before the Lord.’
He did that in order to intercede for the people of that land. He was certainly aware of the sinful lifestyle the people were living. Instead of condemning, he rather stood in the gap on their behalf.
Mostly, instead of having compassion toward those who are living helplessly in sin, we tend to ‘nail them to the cross.’ Such a character is not what our Father, Who is the true Judge, desires from us. In first Timothy 2:1 onwards, He rather urges us to supplicate, pray, intercede and give thanks on behalf of ALL people – whether good or evil. The reason being; He desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.
It must be noted that this call is not for a select few. All believers have been given that responsibility. So I encourage you to begin interceding for your family, friends, country and the whole world. You are anointed to effect dramatic changes in situations that seem impossible only if you will persevere in your intercession. Who knows what would have happen had Abraham reduced the number of the righteous people to three. With that, Lot and the two daughters would have been enough to save the entire land from destruction.
Grace unto you,
Osei Barnie.
Dailyrhema 