Embracing the Call to Intercede: Ep 7: A Sacred Act of Love

0:00 Music. Welcome to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast with your host, Connie Morris, where truth speaks, healing begins, and every word is rooted in faith. Before we begin, let us go before the Lord in prayer. Father God, we thank you for this moment. We thank you for every listener, every heart, and every home represented. We invite your presence into this space. As we begin, we stand on the words of Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4.10.

0:42 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, So that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me. And God granted him that which he requested. Lord, today we echo that same prayer. Bless us indeed. Bless every woman listening. Bless her mind, her body, her relationships, her dreams, and her destiny. Let your blessing not only surround her, but transform her. Enlarge our coast. Stretch us beyond what we thought was possible. Expand our influence, our impact, and the reach of this message.

1:24 Not for our glory, but for yours. Let your hand be with us. Go before us in every conversation. Guide our words, anoint our purpose, and let every episode carry your truth with clarity and power. Keep us from evil that it may not grieve us. Shield us from harm, from cycles of sorrow, from spiritual attack and emotional heaviness. Cover us in your grace so we rise in strength, not in grief, in wholeness, not in wounds. And just as you granted Jabez what he requested, Lord, grant it unto us. Let this podcast be a wellspring of truth, a refuge for healing, and a launchpad for purpose. In the mighty name of Jesus, amen.

2:09 Hello, and welcome back to Diary of a Black Woman with your host, Connie Morris. As we continue our faith on the go message, we are at interceding for others. And I hope that you are enjoying these podcasts, and I hope you are enjoying my little intro music. So we're going to start this episode out with Ezekiel 22, 30. And I saw for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. Ezekiel 22, 30. We see here in Scripture that.

2:50 God is always seeking for a man that will build up a wall that will stand in the breach before the land. But then he says, so he would not destroy it. But then we see here that he found none. And so we're still on the same topic of when God wants to talk. And many times when God wants to talk, it may be about you, but many times is he wants you to intercede for someone else. You know, when God wakes us up in the night or in that early morning hour, it's often not just for us, it's for others, for a sacred opportunity to stand in the gap for those who cannot or will not pray for themselves.

3:36 Maybe they don't know how. Maybe they think they have done so bad that God will not hear them. But he wakes you up. He steps in the room. He taps you on the shoulder. Maybe he doesn't tap you on the shoulder, but his presence is enough that it wakes you up so that you can pray for someone who cannot pray or will not pray for themselves. When we think of intercession, intercession is a selfish act of love. It's partnering with God to bring his will and blessings into someone else's life. And as you know, that the intercession can bring many times, I just want to kind of pause here for a minute.

4:18 You know, God will place someone on your heart and you might say, what's going on? What's going on? You know, and you don't really need to know. He just says he really wants you to pray. And I remember there was a time just recently I woke up and there was a friend who I haven't seen in a while and she was on my heart really strong. And I say, what's going on with them? And I reached out to my sister because it was one of her friends. And we used to be friends, but she was really friends to my sister. And she said, I don't know. I don't have any clue. But then I found out later on, within a week or so, that she had a sister who was really sick. And within a couple weeks after that, that that sister was really turned out to be turned.

5:02 She was sick. A couple weeks later, she was in ice. Her mouth was speaking deaf. God wanted me to intercede for her, for her well-being. God wanted to do a miracle in her life. I prayed for her. It was an early Saturday morning. I prayed for her and her family, gave some instructions that God had told me to give the family. I gave it through my sister and they did what was required. And now the lady, which is a friend, is now up and in recovery. And so those are so powerful because at the time she had quit, she said, I don't want to live anymore. They were just getting ready to let her die. And God says, no, I need you.

5:45 To intercede because the family had just took her word for it and says, you know, she wanted to die, let her die. And how does that work in real life? And so when you have, when you are sick and you are on your bed, please, please, please, we might say some things we don't want to happen, but find some friends who will intercede for you. And so that's my little pause right there just to say, hey, surround yourself with some praying friends. Don't let anyone take your first word because when you're in misery and your body is hurting, we say the dumbest things, you know, but don't let someone use your dumb things to go ahead and unplug you, right? You know, and so when God wakes up, wakes us up in the night, remember we are to intercede, to stand in the gap for those who cannot or will not pray for themselves.

6:37 At the time, the lady, she could not pray for herself. She was in too much pain. She was willing to give up because of that. And so she somehow in that long thread of friends and God tapped me on the shoulder, go ahead and pray and intercede for her. And so that was a powerful moment for me to even see God at work. I didn't see him at work. I just heard about it because they're in Michigan and I am in Nebraska. The Bible is full of examples of intercession. So it's not something we just made up for this podcast. Moses pleaded with God on behalf of the Israelites. That was found in Exodus 32, 11 through 14. And we know Moses and the.

7:28 Abraham interceded for Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis 18, 22-33. And Jesus himself prayed for his disciples and for all believers, and that's found in John 17. Each of these moments reflects God's heart for restoration and reconciliation. When we intercede, we align our hearts with God's purposes, calling his kingdom to come and his will to be done. These prayers may feel simple or minor at the moment, but they carry an eternal weight. Never underestimate the power of prayer for someone, especially in the stillness of the night, when their distractions are few, where the few and the Spirit's voice is unmistakable.

8:17 That's powerful, right? When you hear God say, when he walks in a room and he just tells you, I want you to pray for this person, just knowing that that's important because you don't know what's going on in their lives, that they may not be able to pray for themselves. Just like the story I just shared with you, that that person had pretty much given up. The family didn't know what to do. And yet God chose me, a friend of the family, to intercede. Now understand this, when you intercede for someone, it's not a glamorous job. You're not going to reach out and say, hey, you know, I prayed and, you know, trying to get some kudos.

8:59 It's not you who healed them. It's you who obeyed and it's God who healed them. So when I heard the report from my sister, she says, Connie, a miracle has just happened. And she gave me the details. And I just had to stop and call her and just praise the Lord right there, right now, because it wasn't me. It was my obedience to do what God had asked me to do for that moment. The prayer is simple, but the weight and the power behind it can do miraculous things. So let's go a little bit deeper. Who needs your prayers? As you sit in the stillness, ask God to bring a name or a situation to your heart. It could be a family member, a friend, even someone you don't know well, but who needs a divine intervention?

9:47 And it could be a neighbor. It could be someone you see at the store, walking down the street. You can see a homeless person. You can just see people out along your daily path who God might just prick on your heart to pray for them. You don't need the whole story. You just need the word of God in your mouth and just pray for them. Remember the weight of his word. He said that he is the one that will bring it to pass. Past, right? And so just do it. Number two, intercession as spiritual warfare. Interceding for others is often part of spiritual warfare. Ephesians 6.18 reminds us to pray for all the saints, staying alert and persistent.

10:32 Your prayers can help break chains, heal wounds, and open doors for God to move. Isn't that what intercession is about? Where we, God uses us to open doors so that he can't move, right? We want him to move. It's not about us. We want him to move. Number three, joining in God's work. Intercession isn't about convincing God to act, right? Because he's waking you up to do it. So he's ready to get to work to do it. It's about partnering with him in his work. Trust that your prayers align with his will and release his power into the lives of others. And so I want you to remember, this is so powerful for me to think about this, because many times we do get kind of self-centered.

11:22 We get about me, myself, and I, me, me, me. But when we think about interceding for others, even for our enemies, our foes, that maybe they cannot or will not pray for themselves. And God just picks you, like he picked Moses, to pray for someone, like he picked Abraham. him. So who needs your prayers? Everyone needs your prayers. But at that particular time, who does God have on your heart to pray? And many times, I always say many times, we already know who we need to pray for, right? We already know who we need to pray for. Right now, like I said, I'm dealing with some HOA crisis and it seems like the people I'm working with, I don't know what's going on with them.

12:06 They should be like wanting to line up and get things right. But, you know, sometimes they need a little help because they will not pray for themselves or maybe cannot pray because in your mind, like, how can I explain this? Some people, you know, don't have the discernment that they're doing something wrong or they have the discernment that they're doing something wrong and they'd rather just keep doing it wrong because they've already done it wrong. Or, you know, that maybe sometimes you get in too deep and if you try to get out, you're going to get in trouble anyway. So you just keep digging a hole for yourself. And so I just like, Lord, I'm just going to pray that they just stop digging a hole and just begin to just stop. And then restoration will begin to occur as they stop digging a hole.

12:51 So I'm praying for restoration. Even though I'm like a little upset about everything, I just have on my heart to just pray for restoration. Why? God's words has weight. Remember, He is the one that will bring it to pass, not you. And so who needs your prayers? We just covered that. Intercession and spiritual warfare, and then joining in God's work. Let's cover some more scriptures. James 5.16 tells us that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. So you have God's word that carries weight, and then you have the righteous person who also has weight. So that makes their prayers powerful and effective.

13:41 Your prayers matter. God hears them. And acts according to his perfect will. So that should make you want to pray. That should make you want to actually pray for somebody. It doesn't just change you, change them. It changes you too. 1 Timothy 2, 1 is another scripture. It says, I urge you then, first of all, look, you know, first of all, you know how that goes. You know that had to be some black person wrote that. First of all, just for jokes, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people. So when you read that in the Bible, he didn't leave anybody out. And so you can't, as a person who's seeking after God's heart, decide who don't deserve prayer, right?

14:26 So when God wants to talk and he tells you to pray for someone, you can't say, I'm not going to pray for them. It says, urge then, first of all, you can roll your head, that petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for all people. Intercession is a biblical mandate for believers. So a mandate means mandatory. And then Galatians 6.2, it says, bear one another's burden and so fulfill the law of Christ. for another, for others, is a tangible way to share their burdens and reflect Christ's love. I think if we would do that more, there wouldn't be such a division.

15:08 You know, we'll pray for people when they're in a crisis. How about if we pray for people, period, all the time, and so that we won't have any crisis, right? When there's a fire, when there's a flood, when there's an earthquake, when there's a tornado. Oh, we're so quick to pray in a crisis. But the Bible tells us here in 1 Timothy 2.1 and Galatians 6.2, first of all, Thanksgiving be made for all people. And then in Galatians 6.2, it says, bear one another's burden and so fulfill the law of Christ. That's what we're supposed to do. As believers, as Christians. That's what we're supposed to do.

15:49 So when God wants to talk, it might not be about you. It might be for somebody else. How do you feel about that? Is that something you can do? Are you ready for it? So what are some action steps that we can take? Ask and listen. Tonight, when God wakes you up, ask, Lord, who needs my prayer? Sit quietly and wait for a name, a face, kind of maybe an impression on your heart or a situation to come to mind. And then pray. Pray specifically. Number two, once someone is brought to your heart, pray specifically for their needs. Use scripture to guide your prayers. That's just Psalm 91. We got Psalms 23. Psalm 91 for protection. Isaiah 41 for strength.

16:33 And you know, you have your, you got a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29, 11. There's so many great scriptures out there that we can pray specifically. If you don't know the Holy Spirit or you got those concordance, you can look up if there's a need, grab a script, look it up, and then pray for that person's need according to the word. Why? Because, you should know this, God's word carries weight. Step one is ask and listen. Two, pray specifically. And number three, we see follow up. If appropriate, reach out to the person you pray for to encourage them or let them know you've been praying for them.

17:15 Your act of obedience could be an answer to their prayer. Sometimes, yeah, that's a good way. Check into them if they ask you to pray or if there's something going on. He's not been praying for you. And then right then, pray for them again. Hey, this is the prayer I've been praying for you. Let them know that you have been uplifting them in prayer. And so the way I want to, action steps, you want to ask and listen, pray specifically, and then follow up. And I want to pray now. Lord, Father Lord, Father God, thank you for calling me to stand in the gap for others. I lift up my friends at work. I lift up the listeners on this podcast and my family to you, trusting that you know their needs even better than I do.

18:01 Using my prayer to bring your peace, healing, and provision into their lives, help me to pray with persistence and faith, knowing that you are working all things for their good. Thank you for allowing me to partner with you in this sacred work. In Jesus' name, amen. The challenge for the week is this. Commit to interceding for one person each day this week. Spend a few minutes and focus prayer for them, asking God to move powerfully in their lives. Keep a journal of who you prayed for and any updates or insights God gives you about their situation. And so that is the challenge for the week is to intercede for one person and just get an insight.

18:46 Like when you write their names down, what did you pray for them about? Maybe what scripture? And they say, what did you pray about? Sometimes they may ask you. You might find some, I've also find out that if you have someone that you have ought against, praying for them, it's not like it brings them closer to you. God has a way of mending those broken hearts and getting that rift or that heartache out of the way. because he's into unity and not division. So if this episode has really challenged you or encouraged you to intercede for others, you know, share this with someone, pray for someone, because we never know if they cannot or will not pray for themselves.

19:29 And so I just want to encourage you to know that God is in the room and he has asked you. To be that intercessor. According to the scripture, the scripture I read earlier, I'm trying to find it right now, he wants you to stand on the wall, stand in the gap for others. And can he count on you to do that? I want to close it out with this scripture. He says, and I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. And so we answer that call, Lord, that you don't have to look anymore, that you have found us, that we will stand upon the wall, that we will stand in the breach before the land so that you will not destroy it.

20:21 Stay strong, stay in prayer, and keep interceding for others. See you on the next podcast. As we close this episode of the Diary of a Black Woman podcast, we declare the word of the Lord from Jeremiah 29-11. I speak this over every listener. You will rise again. You will recover what was lost. And you will walk boldly into what God has prepared. With no shame, no fear, and no apology. May every broken place become a place of breakthrough. May every delay become divine preparation. and may the fire of God stir up every gift lying dormant within you. This is more than a podcast. This is a call to arms.

21:05 We're not just healing. We're rising. We're not just telling stories. We're building an army of women walking in truth, in power, and in purpose. This has been the Diary of a Black Woman podcast with your host, Connie Morris. Don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone God is calling higher. Visit www.diaryofablackwomanllc.com to stay connected, get resources, and join the movement. And I'll see you on the next episode, because God's not finished, and neither are we. Music.