II Timothy 1:7; Romans 8:34 - "Come Out of Hiding"

Last night the Lord woke me at 12, 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 to pray for a pastor's wife with breast cancer. I have never met her nor have I had an update for a few weeks. I do not know what is happening in her life but He had me pray for her to have "His peace" so I did. Jesus is our Intercessor with God the Father. Romans 8:34 (ESV) tells us Jesus died for us and rose again and sits at the right hand of God interceding for us. God used Moses as an intercessor for the Israelites. Moses 'stood in the gap' for them and cried out for their safety many times. An intercessor does just that. They cry out to Jesus on behalf of others. The word intercession means the action of intervening on behalf of another. I do not understand why He uses me for this but I am blessed through it. I know just as He has me praying for others He also has others praying for me. I also know the more I am obedient to Him, the more He will trust me as His servant. The only way one can be an intercessor is to be seeking to live a Christ-like life. Jesus died on the cross for all our sins and became our intercessor with the Father. We must be cleansed before we can become an intercessor. As I pray for others, my focus is taken off of self. This is a great blessing for me. Sometimes the situations of life become overwhelming. They make it hard to stay focused on what I need to focus on. Sometimes I get to the point where I do not even know how to pray anymore. Thankfully, He knows our prayers before they are even spoken. I do not have to fear anything but instead need to live in His will. II Timothy 1:7 tells me God gives us a spirit of power, love, and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. The only way to have these is to live in relationship with Him. We must not be content with salvation but instead must move into being sanctified wholly. God gave me a heart for people. He gave me a spirit of great love for all but when He called me to be an intercessor that love for others went deeper. Sometimes I am overwhelmed with how He allows me to have a glimpse into people's lives. Sometimes it is with great sadness while other times it is with great joy. The best times are when He has me praying for spiritual needs and there are breakthroughs. I continue to pray for healing in Doc's body from the cancer in his pancreas. No matter what the outcome, He will be praised! I continue to pray for families in distress. I pray protection over children in volatile situations and spouses living in abuse. Physical needs are part of those prayers but most of all I pray for their spiritual needs. It is difficult to believe there is a God who loves you when you are being abused. 'If there is a God who loves me, why is He allowing this to happen?' 'Why would a loving God allow beatings, rapes, etc. happen?' These are hard questions to answer. The only answer I have is that God does not cause hurt. Sin does. God can use hurtful times to draw us closer to Him. He can use victory over hurtful times to glorify Him. God loves everyone not just some. He loves us so much and desires us to live in His will not in the ways of the world. I have been praying through the coronavirus for a few things.

1. God will open up the eyes of believers so they will see what He desires of them.
2. People will come into relationship with Him through the words, actions, and attitude of believers.
3. Believers will get to the end of themselves to realize they cannot live with one foot in the world and one foot with God.
4. Eternal life will become more real in the minds of people. In other words, people will think about where they are headed. Heaven or hell and the impact of that.
5. Children will be protected from abuse. Those who live in abusive situations will have someone love on them with His love.
6. People will not go hungry but instead will have people around them to love on them to meet their physical needs. 
7. Those who are quarantined alone will be loved on through calls, letters, people getting their groceries, etc.

It is interesting how the number seven keeps coming up in my life. I have read many times that seven is used in the Bible to show completeness. When I am doing something that has a list such as these things I pray for during the coronavirus and realize I have seven things, I believe God is telling me my list is complete. I love how He speaks to me. It is my pleasure to walk in obedience to Him knowing I am doing what He desires of me.

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for Your love! Thank You for interceding with our Father on my behalf! Thank You for the blessing yesterday with Joshua and Tiffany doing our landscaping! What a blessing to have them in our lives. Thank You Father for cleansing me today so You can fill me with more of You! Thank You for the opportunities You are going to give me to share Your love! Father, I pray once again for Janice to have Your peace. I don't know what she is going through but You do and that is all that matters. Lord, there are so many struggling with physical battles. May You be greater than their battles. I continue to pray for a healing in Doc's body while on this earth sooner than later. Lord, You are the Only One who knows when that will be but I pray it will be soon. May You be greater than his pain today. May Your love come down upon him in a mighty way so he can bask in Your presence. May You be his Soothing Balm in a new, different way in the days ahead. Thank You for being My Intercessor! Amen.