Open Heavens Daily Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL 

DATE: MONDAY 7TH, AUGUST 2023.

THEME: INTERCEDE I

MEMORISE:

I exhort therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men.

1 Timothy 2:1

READ: EXODUS 32:9-14 

9  And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:

10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.

11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?

12 Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.

13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.

14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

MESSAGE

Intercession is an assignment for every true child of God. Intercessors are people who carry the burdens of God. They pray the prayers God wants them to, not just their own prayers. When God needs something done on earth, He looks for intercessors to partner with. He looks for a man to stand in the gap for others.

And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Ezekiel 22:30

Remember when God was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 18 - it was clear that God was looking for someone to stand in the gap for the people of Sodom. You will see that God agreed to every plea Abraham made for the people. God always looks for someone to stand in the gap for others; when He looks your way, will He find you to be an intercessor?

You may ask, "Why can't God just reveal to the fellow who is about to get into trouble so he can pray for himself?" The truth is, sometimes, God needs someone else to pray for other people so they are not destroyed. At such times, He puts it in the heart of an intercessor to stand in the gap in prayers. This is clearly illustrated in the case of job and his friends (Job 42:8).

Many people are perishing today because there is a shortage of intercessors willing to carry the burdens to God in the place of prayer. Enough of praying for yourself alone. Don't be a selfish Christian. When you pray, let God put into your heart what or who you should pray for. If He lays in your heart to pray for another country that is not yours, don't say, "What is my business with those people?" Pray as He has laid in your heart so that at least one person there can be saved. Sometimes He will ask you to pray for one fellow; do so, because your prayer may be what would make the difference between the fellow living or dying. God is seeking intercessors, will He find you?

ACTION POINT:

Commit to becoming an intercessor today.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 

Jeremiah 12-14

AUTHOR: PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE 

SING HYMN 22: SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER

1. Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! 

That calls me from a world of care, 

And bids me at my Father's throne 

Make all my wants and wishes known. 

In seasons of distress and grief, 

My soul has often found relief, 

And oft escaped the tempter's snare 

By thy return, sweet hour of prayer! 

2. Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! 

The joys I feel, the bliss I share 

Of those whose anxious spirits burn 

With strong desires for thy return! 

With such I hasten to the place 

Where God my Saviour shows His face, 

And gladly take my station there, 

And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer! 

3. Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! 

Thy wings shall my petition bear 

To Him whose truth and faithfulness 

Engage the waiting soul to bless. 

And since He bids me seek His Face, 

Believe His Word, and trust His Grace, 

I'll cast on Him my every care, 

And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!