Although there is a two-fold message within the text, as I was reading this Oswald Chamber's devotion this morning, it came to me that it ties in with the previous post. At least in the sense that we are called to stand firmly on the foundation God has placed us upon, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and be in intercessory prayer for those we know who are either lost in darkness because of unbelief, or the ones who are being led astray by the constant onslaught occurring within the church.
Because the Lord expects His children to desire to carry His message to others, it is necessary that we always keep them in our hearts and minds, but most importantly in our prayers. When discord appears between us because of the things we see as falsehoods that our friends and family are falling prey to, we are called to make every effort to turn them back to God's truth through intercessory prayer. Sometimes the circumstances make us uncomfortable, or the impact of their rejection can break our hearts. But the battle is not ours. It solely belongs to the Lord. We feel the sting of the arrows being flung our way, but the war that is being waged is a spiritual one. That is when we are called to pray with fervency, for "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16 - KJ), meaning the Lord will hear them.
If we keep ourselves acutely attuned to the prodding of the Holy Spirit, we will know when He is asking us to intercede in prayer for others. We should never make it our own work, but ask Him to work in the hearts of those we love. After all, we are not being assaulted, but Him. His honor and glory are at stake, not our wounded pride or self-interest. It is then that the "when" of the circumstances comes into play: when we put ourselves aside and lay others before the throne of God. And it is then that we will see what Job realized when he did the same.
"And the Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends."
Job 42:10
"The plaintive, self-centered, morbid kind of prayer, a dead-set that I want to be right, is never found in the New Testament. The fact that I am trying to be right with God is a sign that I am rebelling against the Atonement. 'Lord, I will purify my heart if You will answer my prayer; I will walk rightly if You will help me.' I cannot make myself right with God, I cannot make my life perfect; I can only be right with God if I accept the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ as an absolute gift.
Am I humble enough to accept it? I have to resign every kind of claim and cease from every effort, and leave myself entirely alone in His hands, and then begin to pour out in the priestly work of intercession. There is much prayer that arises from real disbelief in the Atonement. Jesus is not beginning to save us, He has saved us, the thing is done, and it is an insult to ask Him to do it [again, and again!].
If you are not getting the hundredfold more, not getting insight into God's word, then start praying for your friends, enter in the ministry of the interior. 'The Lord turned the captivity of Job 'when he prayed for his friends.' The real business of your life as a saved soul is intercessory prayer. Where God puts you in circumstances, pray immediately, pray that His Atonement may be realized in other lives as it has been in yours. Pray for your friends now; pray for those with whom you come in contact now." (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, June 20)
