OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR AUGUST 9, 2023  (BENEFITS OF INTERCESSION)

TOPIC : ”BENEFITS OF INTERCESSION

MEMORISE: Ezekiel 22:30

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.

READ: 1 Kings 9:1-9

And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he wanted to do, 2 that the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon.

3 And the Lord said to him: “I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.

4 Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments,

5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’

6 But if you or your sons at all [a]turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will [b]cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 8 And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss, and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’

9 Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore the Lord has brought all this calamity on them.’ ”

MESSAGE

The greatest benefit of intercession is that God draws you closer to Himself. He tells you His next move because He needs you to intercede concerning it. When you are an intercessor, you get so close to God that you feel His heartbeat. You share in His very burden for the souls of men. God sees intercessors just like He sees Jesus because He is the number one intercessor.

1 John 2:1 says He is always with the Father, advocating for us. Intercessors carry a strong burden for the souls of men, just like Jesus did when He laid down His life for mankind. Moses – a true intercessor, illustrated how much he carried this burden in Exodus 32:31-32: And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.

Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin–; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. He asked God to forgive the people of Israel or remove his name from the book of life. That is how much the burden of the souls of men is on intercessors. That is why intercessors are in the same department as Jesus Christ.

Jesus is their Head of Department and whatever prayer comes from that department is seen by God as coming from Jesus Christ Himself. Solomon cared about the people of God more than he did about himself. That is why, when he only asked for wisdom to lead the people right, God decided to bless him far beyond his expectations. Intercessors hardly have personal prayer points because before their needs arise, God has already resolved them.

Real intercessors don’t intercede just for their own benefit. Intercession is borne out of love and passion for the souls of men. Like Daniel in Daniel 9:1-19, when an intercessor sees the promise of God not being fulfilled in the life of a person or nation, he or she would begin to pray concerning that situation. He or she would keep reminding God of that promise until it is fulfilled, just to ensure that God’s will is established and that the souls of men are preserved from danger.

Bible in one year: Jeremiah 18-21

Hymn 31 Wonderful Story Of Love

About The Devotional.

The Open Heavens is One of The Most Wildly Read Devotionals in The World. It is written by Pastor E. A Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG). The Open Heavens Devotional is designed to fill you daily with God’s word, and keep you inspired, encouraged, and uplifted. It includes Open Heavens devotionals, Teens Open Heavens devotionals, and many more