INTERCEDING FROM THE HEART OF GOD PART II
Kay Keith Peebles 1/29/2021 21.04
My first perspective of God the Father was that of an angry old man who judged us from a distance. Because I didn’t feel loved, I thought He wasn’t loving, He was always finding fault with us and eager to judge us. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. The Apostle Paul, formerly Saul of Tarsus, understood His great love more than most. His prayer in Ephesians Chapter 3 powerfully explains God’s love for us.
“That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19.
We know in the Gospels the Lord Jesus said, “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father.” This statement affirms that the Ephesians prayer to know the depth of the love Christ has for us is also equal to the love of the Father. Several years ago I began to understand the far-reaching love of God for us all. If we are going to intercede from the heart of God, we must first know His heart!
Intercession is praying for others, as opposed to praying for ourselves, our needs and wants.
My husband and I were counselling with a couple that was in dire distress. We were leaders in a church and were told by our Pastor the husband and father of two was having an affair with another woman. When confronted by the Pastor, he refused to repent. Healing the marriage seemed hopeless but we asked our Pastor if he would let us work with them and try to restore their marriage. We began the daunting challenge hoping and praying the Lord would restore this Christian man to his family and his God. I will use other names to protect this precious couple.
Lilly had strong faith that the Lord wanted to heal and restore their marriage. She was amazing as she humbled herself to intercede for Ted. Her prayers and declarations had a bulldog tenacity that also kept me motivated and believing for the full restoration of their marriage. The Lord had given me a vision that Ted was like a dog connected to a stake in a backyard without a fence. The rope was long enough for him to get some exercise and explore the yard but he was only allowed to go so far. If he took a running start, once he got to the end of the rope it would yank him and flip him right on his back! We both felt encouraged by the vision and hopeful Ted would repent soon.
For weeks the four of us met and discussed marital issues together and then we separated so that Lilly could be honest with me about their situation and Ted with my husband. Each week as they arrived I looked into Ted’s glazed eyes that appeared far away from our discussion. The seduction of lust was powerful and mesmerizing. I wondered if the Lord would be able to break him through. After four months the Lord gave my husband and me a different approach. I compiled an eight page list of scriptures which talked about adultery, immoral sin and the eternal consequences of dying in our sin. I read the scriptures out loud and then gave Ted the scriptures so he could meditate on them later. We then asked him to repent of his sin of adultery and take communion. It was amazing to see him respond, and for the first time in four months his eyes looked more normal. The Word of God appeared to have pierced the stronghold that had gripped him. He immediately chose to send a text to the other woman while we were all sitting there together and it looked as if we would be moving into the reconstruction of the marriage.
Within a month I received a frantic call from Lilly asking us to come over. Ted was packing his bags to go move in with the other woman! I was angry and offended on Lilly’s behalf. My anger was not just at Ted, but I was also angry that Lilly was still trying to hold on to her marriage. I knew this was serious since Ted had already confessed and repented of his sin and took communion. We did not go over to try to stop him from leaving. Others did but they were not successful. I felt deep concern for Ted, his life and especially his eternity. I was also disappointed that Lilly would still try to continue to fight for him. What I didn’t know was the Ted that Lilly had fallen in love with. She knew the gold God had placed deep inside his heart. She knew the deep compassion he had for others and had seen him at his best. She knew the current version of Ted was not the man she loved and married and she was determined to get him back!
A couple of months went by and Ted contacted Lilly wanting to come home and reconcile. Lilly told Ted she would try again but he must live separately for six months and prove himself to her and the family again. To my amazement, Ted did everything she asked him to do. He humbled himself before her and his children and within a year we were invited to the re-dedication of their marriage vows! Today they are happily married and leaders in their church. God is capable of restoring a severely broken marriage to its “first” love passion and commitment.
Despite my doubts, the love of God apprehended Ted and healed him and Lilly. I thought he had gone too far for the Lord to save. The word of God had opened up his heart long enough for him to say “yes” to God. The communion would seal his heart with God. We cannot fathom the depths of God’s love nor the lengths He will go to in order to save a soul. Each one is precious to Him. It was also Lilly’s undying love and her humble, sacrificial intercession for Ted that brought him home. She demonstrated God’s love for him by continuing to believe in him. Nothing any of us did for Ted would have broken him free except for the unfailing love of God for Ted’s soul. I repented to the Lord and asked Lilly and Ted to forgive me for giving up. I learned a powerful lesson on the lengths the Lord will go to restore a broken soul.
Those who have learned to earnestly pray for the lost and broken in this world have learned to intercede from the heart of God. Every move of God has begun through intercession. Every revival recorded has been birthed through days, months and even years of intercession.
This is a powerful testimony from Duncan Campbell on the Revival in the Hebrides 1949-1952: … “But the most remarkable thing that night was what took place in a village seven miles away from the church. There wasn’t a single person from that village in the church. Not one single person, seven miles away, while this young man was praying, the power of God swept through the entire village and I know it to be a fact that there wasn’t a single house in the village left with an unsaved soul in it. Not a single house in the village!”
That is the power of one praying from the heart of God! What would happen if believers in a nation would earnestly seek the Lord, repent of their own sin and begin to pray unceasing prayers for revival in their land?
“To pray constantly only for ourselves is a mark of failure in prayer. It is in intercession for others that our faith and love and perseverance will be stirred up and that the power of the Spirit will be found in us for bringing salvation to people.” Andrew Murray, The Ministry of Intercessory Prayer.
“When an intercessor has gained the place of intercession in a certain realm, he has entered into the grace of faith – along that special line the measureless sea of God’s grace is open to him. That is the gained place of intercession.” Rees Howells.
“The role of angels during times of revival…They guard the heirs of eternal life. They also attack satan’s forces – But are dependent on prayer. Intercession arms them…And they attack with total abandon.” Mario Murillo, Seven Stages to Critical Mass.
The most powerful force for revival and reformation in a nation and the world is prayer, yet it is the most neglected by the church. Those who have entered into intercession from the heart of God know it is the most glorious place to be. Mountains move, lives are changed, strongholds are broken and angels are released to fulfill the will of God. There is nothing on earth worth more than the invitation of God to pray for those who have lost their way. No matter how bad it looks, how long it takes or how rough the road, while there is breath in the lungs, there’s hope for the lost soul.
“God is the God of revival but man is the human agent through whom revival is possible.” Duncan Campbell, The Lewis Awakening, 1949-1953.
“Since we are approaching the end of all things, be intentional, purposeful, and self-controlled so that you can be given to prayer. I Peter 4:7. TPT.
Nothing happens unless we pray. When we are interceding from the heart of God, we are praying prayers that move mountains. When our prayers are Holy Spirit led, we are praying prayers that part the waters. When we are praying prayers that dispatch angels to pull down strongholds, we are bringing His Kingdom to earth. When we are interceding from God’s heart, we are abiding in the most holy place, and encountering Him face to face. Selah.
