Welcome to season 2 of the Determined to Dance podcast. I pray that you’ll be uplifted, encouraged, and will move forward each and every day. Today’s episode, Intercession for our Family, looks at what intercession is and how we stand in the gap for our family.

Show Notes: Intercession for Our Family

Intercession. It’s a big word and when I was a younger Christian, I really didn’t understand what it meant. I figured people who were often called “intercessors” prayed for hours on end and covered tons of countries and people groups like Israel. I pictured a white-haired saint on bended knees in a prayer closet in their home. Intercessors danced on a dance floor much too grand for me.

I was wrong. While someone who intercedes could fit the above description, it doesn’t have to.

What is intercession and who are intercessors? Dictionary.com says: an act or instance of interceding. An interposing or pleading on behalf of another person. A prayer to God on behalf of another.

So, an intercessor is basically one who acts, pleads, or prays on behalf of another. Wow. That means I’m an intercessor. And you are too.

In Hebrew, intercession is “paga,” which means to encounter, meet, reach, entreat, make intercession. Ezekiel uses the term, stand in the gap, in Ezekiel 22:30: “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”

I love this word picture. Imagine a wall protecting a person, castle, or town. Now picture a place where it’s been broken and the enemy has easy access inside. A mighty warrior stands in this broken place and fights anyone who tries to get through.

The mighty warrior can be you. Or me. People, communities, cities, nations, and the world are filled with brokenness. We can be the intercessor, the warrior, who pleads on their behalf. We need to put on the armor of God (Galatians 6) and talk to God about the broken people and places around us.

We are going to dig deeper into intercession over the next six weeks and see how we can make a difference in the lives of others. We’ll start with our family.

I pray more for my family than anyone. Well, except maybe myself. My family is the people I’m closest to. Some are kin to me by blood: my mom, children, grandchildren, brother, nieces, nephews, and those related through marriage. My family also consists of various friends and neighbors that I consider part of my tribe. While I love them deeply, they can also be the people who aggravate me the most. What can I pray when it comes to people I’m deeply vested in?

1. I pray for their relationship with God. If they are saved, I pray for their relationship and knowledge of Him to increase daily. If not, I pray for their salvation.
   
2. I pray for safety and protection. I lift them up and pray that God and His angels will guard over them as they work, play, rest, and travel.
   
3. I pray for wisdom and discernment as they make decisions daily. I ask God to put the right people in their life to help them grow closer to Him and remove those who hurt them.
   
4. I pray for their relationships, jobs, hobbies, ministries, and recreation activities so that they will be full of life and help them continue on their journey with God.
   
5. I pray for blessings and healing where they need it most.
   

I don’t necessarily pray for each of these things for each person. My prayers are specific and targeted at the individual needs of each person. I firmly believe in specific prayer and ask God to lead me as I pray for my husband, mom, children, and others.

An important thought to keep in mind as we pray is not to take on guilt or shame. The devil will pound our thought life with condemnation like you don’t pray enough, you don’t pray the right way, you don’t pray the right things.

God is big enough to let us know if we’ve veered off track in our prayers and will point us to the prayer path that we need to follow. God is so good and as we pray for our families, we can trust Him to care for them and for us each and every day.

Let’s pray: Father God, we lift our family to You. These people so close to us can love us best or hurt us most. Help us to look past our pain and pray for healing from their pain. We love them so much and ask that you save, protect, guide, and love them better than we can. Bless and heal those closest to us today. In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen.

We are called to intercede on behalf of others and it’s good to start with our own family.

Today’s featured author is Rachelle Paige Campbell, the author of Her Hometown Dream, a contemporary romance novel. Amy Parker returns home for a visit but thinks she has found a way to stay for good. As she sets out to make her dream a reality, long-buried secrets threaten her future. Learn more at rachellepaigecampbell.com 

Next week, we’ll discuss how to intercede for our community. Until then, stay determined to dance…

Click to tweet: Today’s episode on the Determined to Dance podcast, Intercession for Our Family, looks at how we stand in the gap for the most important people in our lives. #TuesdayThoughts #prayer

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Remember: Intercession for Our Family

I absolutely love music and each week I’d like to share a relevant song we can enjoy together.

https://youtu.be/JR4l0-48SeY