OPEN HEAVEN DAILY DEVOTIONAL FRIDAY 4TH MARCH 2022 BENEFITS OF INTERCESSION 1

MEMORISE: And he called the name of the place Taberah: because the fire of the LORD burnt among them. Numbers 11:3

READ: Numbers 11:1 -3
And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.

2 And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the LORD, the fire was quenched.

3 And he called the name of the place Taberah: because the fire of the LORD burnt among them.

MESSAGE
Intercession can be simply described as the act of saying a prayer or making a statement on behalf of another person or group of persons. The ministry of intercession is as old as human history itself and it can come in different forms. For example in Genesis 4:15 we see God ‘interceding’ for Cain – a murderer:
◦ *And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.*

In today’s Bible reading, we see God’s representative (Moses), interceding for Israel when the judgment of God came upon them. The anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel because they misbehaved. They cried to God’s representative in their midst who then cried to the Lord, and the result was highly rewarding.

There are many lessons from this story, pointing to the benefits of intercession. One, it is a blessing to have a man that God listens to on your side. This tells us the type of Church leader we should choose for ourselves. Two, it is one thing to have a leader that God listens to and yet another to be able to approach such a person with your problems. The children of Israel cried to Moses and he in turn cried to God. The third lesson we should learn here is that the children of Israel chose to cry to God through Moses because they know their sin would prevent God from hearing them. Isaiah 59:1-2 says that iniquity would make God hide His face and not hear sinners. The fourth lesson is that we should live the life that will make us have direct access to our Father in heaven. The Bible says, “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19).

With Jesus in our lives, we can effectively intercede and gain God’s attention and favour.

PRAYER POINT
Father, please draw me closer to you so that I can have free access to your throne of grace in Jesus name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: DEUTERONOMY 27-28

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A ADEBOYE

HYMN 14: NEARE MY GOD TO THEE
1 Nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee!
E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me,
still all my song shall be,
nearer, my God, to thee;
nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee!

2 Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down,
darkness be over me, my rest a stone;
yet in my dreams I’d be
nearer, my God, to thee;
nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee!

3 There let the way appear, steps unto heaven;
all that thou sendest me, in mercy given;
angels to beckon me
nearer, my God, to thee;
nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee!

4 Then, with my waking thoughts bright with thy praise,
out of my stony griefs Bethel I’ll raise;
so by my woes to be
nearer, my God, to thee;
nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee!

5 Or if, on joyful wing cleaving the sky,
sun, moon, and stars forgot, upward I fly,
still all my song shall be,
nearer, my God, to thee;
nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee!

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