MONDAY April 22, 2019
Intercessory Prayer
Now the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, “I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments.” And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the Lord all night.
1 Samuel 15:10-11
Saul was no longer following the Lord, he was going his own way! He had the commandments––the Torah––but he was not obeying them. His behavior showed that he was not in God’s Word. God could have immediately judged Saul for His disobedience. However God is merciful, He is the God of second chances. I believe, as the Word of the Lord came to Samuel, there was still time for Saul to repent––he had the opportunity.
Samuel received the Word of the Lord; God was not pleased with Saul’s disobedience. Why did Samuel cry out to God? Notice the heart of Samuel, he was grieved. He stayed up all night to intercede for King Saul. The next day, as tired as he was, he went about God’s business.
When a person is willfully disobedient, I believe there are still times when God regrets placing such a person in a position of influence. Think about your own life for a moment. Are you a disobedient person who has turned your heart away from following God? It could be God has given you many opportunities to repent? Do not run out of chances! God sets people up but there will come a time when He will take people down(Psalm 75:7).
There are people in the body of Christ who will cry out to God for those who walk in disobedience, pride, and sin. They weep in anguish over a person who has turned back from following the Lord. Motivated by love, they will sacrifice their sleep to stay up all night to intercede for them. When was the last time you stayed up all night to pray for someone else, it could be one of your children or a close friends?
Can Jesus Christ see the agony of His soul in us? He can’t unless we are so closely identified with Him that we have His view concerning the people for whom we pray. May we learn to intercede so whole heartedly that Jesus Christ will be completely and overwhelmingly satisfied with us as intercessors.
~Oswald Chambers~
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