My Notebook on Prayer and Intercession

By Suzanne Robinson Pollard

My Notebook on Prayer and Intercession has been written to share the things the author, herself, did not know, or understand, about how prayer and intercession is a call from God's own heart.
A Call to worship Him through prayer and intercession.
My Notebook began as a tool for the author to share with her own children what the difference was betw

• Language: English
• Publisher: Examplar Parables for Today
• Release date: Dec 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9780992582319

Book preview

Prologue

While attending an evening prayer meeting, my eyes were drawn to a young girl sitting in the back of the church. She was quietly, busily colouring in a picture book while she waited for her mother to finish leading the prayer group. I looked at her bowed head and I felt the Lord remind me of a verse I hold dear to my heart.

Fathers (Mothers) do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

(Ephesians 6:4)

Then I felt Him speak into my heart, challenging me to think on my own children, and ask me how I could be sure that they understood the words they heard their mother use. Yes they mimic the words they hear me use but, as to whether or not they actually understood how to use them to God’s Glory, I could not have accurately answered His challenge.

I felt the Lord say that it was the same with this young girl and most children who live in Christian households. Children grow up mimicking their parents in the hope that their parents will be pleased with them.

Parents hear their children use the words they use, and so rarely think to sit with their children and discuss how powerful words can be when used in prayer.

My heart was saddened at this lack on my part in not teaching my own children, but then grew silent as I felt the Lord direct…

‘Teach my children about the importance of prayer and intercession in their daily lives. Teach them why they pray, how to pray, when to pray and what they pray’.

The more I allowed God to speak into this need to teach on these things, the more certain I became that these insights were not only for our children but for everyone interested in prayer and intercession.

Teach them how to worship the Lord their God through prayer and intercession. I desire that all my people would know that Prayer and Intercession is not just a weapon, or a plea for help it is a powerful tool of Victory. I desire that their voices would once again join with their hearts and return to a heart of worship -A heart of praise - a heart of prayer. A heart to seek to put Me in every part of their daily life.

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Prayer is the greatest weapon we have against the evil one

As a Christian we pray knowing we do so in the power and authority found in our salvation through Jesus Christ, and not by our own strength or power.

The evil one has only one weapon – he whispers lies and deceit into our ears and causes us to doubt the truth of God’s promises and word in our lives.

The evil one whispers in the hope we will not remember that he lost any hold over our lives over two thousand years ago when Jesus went to the Cross for us.

God did not want us to ever forget the battle has been won so He had it written into the scriptures long before Jesus came to earth.

God wrote it so that we can declare it into and over our lives knowing the evil one will be forever reminded that he has no part in the lives of us or our families. And so we are able to say it is written

...no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me, declares the Lord."

(Isaiah 54:17)

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We are only the clay pot

As human beings created by God, we cannot heal by our words or our deeds.. God made us to be empty vessels He could fill with His love, His Power, His Grace and His Mercy to His Glory. Only God can heal people

God can do anything…far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!

(Ephesians 3:20)

It is only by God’s Grace and God’s great Mercy we are able to see through the lies and deceit of worldly strife and hate to the love and peace God has for us.

Why does He heal? Because He loves us and He wants us to be well.

Does He always heal people in the way we want? No.

Sometimes He heals their hearts and not their bodies. We don’t know why this happens but we have to trust God and thank Him for His peace to fill our own hearts as He helps us and the people we pray for to accept His answers to our prayer requests.

When we pray in Jesus’ name we pray with the authority He gave us.

Jesus replied, …and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

(Matthew16:17)

God heals because He loves us. This is how much God loves us – even though He stayed in Heaven – He sent His Son to redeem us from sin and His Spirit to guide us through life.

If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever--He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth...

(John 14:15-17)

Pray with a humble heart knowing that in your own strength you are able to do nothing. Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself…I have heard you, declares the Lord.

(2 Chronicles 34:27)

How do we humble ourselves? We come to God and are honest about how we feel and what we think.

It is only when we let the Holy Spirit guide our words and check our heart attitude are we able to speak with the authority and power found in the name of Jesus’.

Why did He have to die?

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

(Isaiah 53:5)

According to Old Testament law people could only be forgiven their sins if they took an animal or bird to the temple to be sacrificed. This sacrifice was a life for a life. The animals died to pay for the sin of man. However this payment only covered the sin up to the day of the sacrifice. So, day after day, man would have to kill an animal or bird in the hope that his sins would be eventually forgiven forever.

Today the blood of an animal is no longer acceptable as a way to purify man’s sins. God will only accept the blood of Jesus Christ as payment for the sins of man. Jesus came and offered His life as the last blood sacrifice that would ever be needed by anyone who wanted to be forgiven their sins against God. The bonus is that when we accept Jesus died in our place then we get the free gift of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in our hearts and helps us live a life knowing we are forgiven all our past, present and future sin when we confess them to God. The Holy Spirit in us encourages us to ask God to help us to do better the next time we are tempted. By choosing to do better we are able to be God’s hands and feet on earth we are able to be God’s hands and feet on earth.