Authentic Prayer: Intercession

I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem.
They will never be silent day or night.
Whoever calls on the Lord, do not give yourselves any rest,
and do not give him any rest until he establishes Jerusalem
and makes it an object of praise throughout the earth.
Isaiah 62:6-7

Pray for others.

The prophet Isaiah had at least as many concerns as anyone else. Likely born to a family related to Judean royalty, he had a wife and two sons to worry about (Isaiah 7:3, 8:3). His literary skills show off time he invested in methodical scholarship. He preached for forty years as a friend and antagonizer of kings. Tradition says he was sawn in half under the reign of evil Manasseh.

Isaiah cultivated a view larger than his own complicated life. He envisions the holy city of Jerusalem with its goodness shining bright and its salvation secure. He sees its inhabitants like a beautiful crown clutched by the Lord, as a bride treasured by her groom. Isaiah won’t stop pressing God until all of this comes to pass.

Your own issues can easily consume your time and energy for prayer. But God invites you to pray beyond yourself. He calls you to stand watch for the sake of others near and far, interceding in prayer until they become everything he intends them to be.

Don’t be silent. Pray until the Lord’s vision becomes real.

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