let's talk a little bit about intercessory prayer because
you know you talked about how often when you get into that place
of communing with the Lord a lot of our needs kinda fall away
but yet we have mandates in scripture like pray for the peace of
Jerusalem, remember those that are in chains
you know people ask us to pray, I probably get more
than most but people are constantly saying will you pray for this, will you pray for that and I say
I will, and I i feel like I'm a liar if I don't
so I'm you know what we do have things outside of our own
needs that require our prayers
where does that enter into your prayer life? Well I see it in Abraham's
life when God says that wonderful phrase that everybody loves
shall I hide from Abraham the things that I'm going to do? Oh that phrase is
huge to me because it's not just a
information there was an invitation
Abraham had communed with the Lord, had rested with him, had eaten with him
and then as he's walking in the presence he had been with God, God says shall I
hide from Abraham the things I'm about to do, I mean
the sweet communion that Abraham had with God, made God ask himself
if he should keep something from him and then
their Abraham received from God, God's plans
not just as information but a literal invitation
to affect the outcome and he did he prayed specifically
intercession for Lot. I believe intercession
is that way shown to us in Genesis 17 I think it is
as we're with him and we commune with Him, the Lord will begin to say
shall I hide from Daniel what I'm going to do, and there you can participate or
enter into the things that are specifically
shared with you from the Lord
as an invitation to affect their outcome by prayer
I have a hard time forcing burden for me
burden comes from Him, I believe
I don't think we can make a burden and I think we can work up a burden
I think a burden comes when God speaks into a man
scripture actually puts together the oracle of God and the burden of the Lord
many of the prophets
say the oracle of God came to me, the burden of the Lord, so as God speaks
into a man the man receives God's feelings
concerning this thing so that he bears
in himself the burden, the actual weight
intercessory weight of the thing that God has spoken to him
but the the Voice is
accessed by laying your head on his chest so as we lay our head upon his chest we
gain access to the divine treasure chest, So, I've got this pattern
you've set out, which is pretty clear
you're not just going before the Lord and coming with a list
of things to pray, obviously waiting to kind of sense and hear what's on his heart, you pray that back to
him
is that the only way that you do it or are there
things that you pray for everyday like your kids or your wife every day
you know, or is it only when you sense a burden to do
the majority probably ninety percent is just feeling a burden
but for instance if I hear somebody sick your or something like that
a young kid is sick or someone in the family is sick or there's
issues going on, things that I know about I will literally
after worship or through worship offer them to the Lord, I give you praise
Thanksgiving, I worship you, I glorify you
I ask you that this situation with Dan will be
solved if its a situation that I know of I'll bring it
before Him, because I know we all have these times we just know something is
important
you know what I mean? Somebody sends something to you or whatever. I try not to let too much
into that because I don't want to eclipse him, you know, I want everything to be
in him and with him, you know so many times we can put so much
on ourselves that we're carrying so much stuff for him that we don't even see him
anymore
I want everything to come from him through him
to go back to him. Do you think that there are people
who are intercessors, in other words they have a
special calling and a gift to pray for others, and to pray for situations that are kind of
different from you know any other Christian
yeah I do believe that as we lay on him and as we rest in him
he forms us into what we're going to be by giving
us specific delight or desire
or specific burdens. For instance, an evangelist who lays his head
on his chest, he hears souls, it's all he hears
and the Lord says okay, this way. An intercessor, or someone who's called to intercession
lays his head on his chest and says
I've got to weep for these people, you know, I've got to
they're directed in their line of what they actually are...a prophet
has one concern, what is God saying, so when he lays
on the chest, all he hears is God's voice, what's on God's heart
you know and you know prayer is intermixed in all of it...Lord
help me win souls or whatever, a teacher, a pastor, you know
whatever we are in God, will be
heightened and directed in the sweet place of worship and surrender
even as the earth was formless in void in the beginning and then
the Holy Spirit hovered on the waters and spoke and brought
formation and light to what was dark and formation to what was
what was unformed, our lives are that way as we are
in his presence and he speaks and forms us in that place
not everybody's a mountain, not everybody's a tree, you know the forming comes
from the speaking in his presence