Summer 1993

Intercession
Penny Smith

"And in every province, whithersoever the king's commandment
and his decree came, there was great mourning among the
Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay
in sackcloth and ashes ... Then was the queen exceedingly
grieved; and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to
take away his sackcloth from him: but he received it
not" Esther 4:3-4

Even Queen Esther was perplexed. All the favor she experienced in the kings courts had not prepared her for the reality of impending tragedy. Had she been sensitive to the need and in tune with the times, she would have not sent clothing to Mordecai.

Mordecai was taking the course which he knew had worked with his forefathers. He fasted and prayed.

It is like this with us at times. If our ear is not tuned to what the Lord is doing, we can miss it. Esther, the Jewess girl, now queen, was caught up in the affairs of the kings court, and did not even know that the lives of her own people were threatened.

How much care we need to take in order to be fine-tuned to God's purposes. Here is where spiritual "tuning" is so necessary: that of having an ear tuned to hear God's voice and also tuned to the signs of the times. Jesus admonishes us to watch the signs of the times so we may know.

Esther was concerned with Mordecai's temporal and emotional needs. Now there is nothing wrong with being concerned with another's needs; we should be. But Esther did not consider the spiritual implications of Mordecai's behavior.

Isn't it true that we can be quick to try cheering people up because they are not acting as usual? Do we even consider that they may be functioning within a spiritual realm of which we are not presently perceptive?

The burden of prayer (a prayer burden) is a most neglected area today. Our churches need prayer warriors who are willing to lock themselves in with God until there is a release within that individual's spirit in the realm of prayer.

What is a prayer burden? And what is intercession?

First, the prayer burden. When God, the Holy Spirit desires to express His prayer through us, we may feel a heaviness, even a sense of being depressed. We are burdened. We may or may not recognize the need; but if we respond to the heaviness by drawing aside to the inner chamber, a place of private prayer, the Holy Spirit will use us. The burden constitutes the unexpressed prayer. When voice is given to the prayer and it is released, our burden will lift and lightness will return. If heaviness descends again, we must resume praying.

To recognize a prayer burden requires spiritual sensitivity. Whenever we become aware of a sense of heaviness, rather than assuming we are "down in the dumps," we should seek to find a release in prayer. Many times we miss opportunities to become instruments in God's hands through prayer, simply because we, like Esther, are insensitive to the real need, the need to pray.

We might distinguish between a prayer burden and intercession by thinking of a backpack. When it is on our back we are weighed down by the burden; the burden is relieved when we remove it. The process of unpacking the bag is intercession.

The customary sign of bitter grief was that of renting or tearing clothes, putting on sackcloth and sitting in ashes, or sprinkling them upon the head. This kind of grief portrays death and was used as a sign of repentance. Repentance is not preached today as it was in any of the great moves of God. Genuine repentance is an on-going spiritual exercise and becomes deeper as our relationship with the Lord deepens.

In the tabernacle worship, repentance and death took place at the outer court. The holy place was the place of prayer. So it is with us today. Once we have repented of sin we have died to our sins or trespasses; then it is we may take our place of intercession in behalf of others, inside the gate, in the holy place at the altar of incense, in the resurrected life and power of Christ.

Repentance is the gateway to power in prayer.

Even though Esther was insensitive to the needs around her, God used her. Her availability and willingness, her submission and interest gained the king's favor at this time in her experience. She had some growing and developing to do, but she was willing.

We may not think we are much in God's eyes, but He will use us to the extent that we are available to Him. He will change us, teach us, guide us, and reveal His ways, if we are willing to learn His ways.

Esther may have been too caught up in her own affairs to hear of the terrible plight that was about to befall her people, but when she received the word, she was faced with the most crucial demand on her life. The process of purification to enter the king's chamber and all the times of intimate friendship which she enjoyed was about to be tested. Was her relationship with the king consistent enough to meet this challenge?

It is in times like these that we are spiritually stretched; they are the maturing seasons of one's spiritual life. If our hearts are bent toward carnal pleasures or self-satisfaction, these are the seasons where we are most likely to fail. But if we will tenaciously grasp and cling to the fact of His Word simply because He has spoken it, we will eventually pass through this experience to even deeper intimacy with the Lord than in times past. He has said, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you" Hebrews 13:5 NASB.

Haman had given to the king, a false witness concerning the Jews, and furthermore, he had bribed the king for the destruction of the Jews. He would get even with Mordecai for not bowing to him (see Esther 3:5,9). So Mordecai, when he learned what was happening, went into the city in sackcloth and ashes, "and wailed loudly and bitterly."

The ministry of intercession is probably the most needed and yet the most neglected ministry in the Church, as well as in our private lives. Life is to be a life of prayer. But there are those times when we are called upon to enter the priestly role of intercession for specific people, particular needs, urgent crises. When we submit to the spirit of intercession, the Holy Spirit works in us, in an especially unique way.

"The Spirit maketh intercession for the saints" Romans 8:27.

Intercessors are chosen, are called by God. He uses a vessel to suffer the birth pangs of prayer to bring birth to His purposes in the Spirit realm. God chooses intercessors on the basis of their availability and willingness. New Testament intercessors are behind the scenes, hidden, secret co-workers with the Lord, praying as the Spirit gives impetus. Intercession is not our work, but God's work in us. Intercession is our highest privilege.

Here is where Esther's character really radiated. "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish "Esther 4:16 NIV.

Esther entered a period of "life or death" prayer and fasting. There are times in our lives when God intends for us to experience the intimacy of life/death intercession.

What about our situations, those which appear to us as being hopeless?

Isaiah 59:16 reads, "And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that ther was no intercessor." May we take our positions of intercessors as Esther did. "If I perish, I perish."

It may be a life and death matter.