The Prayers of an Intercessor

The Prayers of an Intercessor

DMW

Copyright © 2020 by DMW

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Do Not Despise Small Beginnings

A Virtuous Woman

Adolescence

After Graduation

Born Again

Growing in Grace

Time Changes All Things

Moving On

Misery Becomes Ministry

Father Knows Best

I dedicate this book to my one and only Lord, God Almighty.

Without Him, this book would not exist. Not only was it the Lord who inspired me to write this book but it is because of Him

I even have a story to tell. For He is one who answers our prayers.

From the depths of my heart and soul,

I give all the glory to You, O God!

Introduction

There have been so many wonderful books written on prayer, many that I have had the opportunity and pleasure of reading. So, when the Lord put it upon my heart to write this book, my reaction was, Why would I do that? I mean, what could I have to say that hasn’t already been said? What insight could I give that hasn’t already been given?

Truth is, nothing; I don’t have any great insights that others haven’t already shared. Nevertheless, out of sheer obedience to the Lord, I began to write this book, and you know what? It wasn’t any new insight or truth into prayer that He wanted me to share. It was simply my experiences that He wanted me to share, and He has entitled this book "The Prayers of an Intercessor."

My prayer now is that in reading this book you will see that it isn’t how much you know or don’t know, or how great your prayers sound. The power of prayer is just simply believing in God. In His Word, and believing Him to do what He says in His Word He will do. It’s in being available, being one He can use in whatever way He chooses. Honestly, all it takes is childlike faith.

Chapter 1

Do Not Despise Small Beginnings

Where do I start? Well, I guess the most logical place would be the beginning. As far back as I can remember, I talked to GOD. Of course, I wasn’t aware at that time that what I call my everyday conversations with God was a form of prayer. I was also taught what I call learned prayers. For instance, when we were put to bed, we would repeat what our parents would pray with us. Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep was one; it went like this: Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. I have to say I prefer the new version. Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. When I awaken from my rest, may I and those I love be blessed. I was not fond of if I die before I wake; it made me afraid to go to sleep. I had such a fear of dying, even at a young age. I thank God for delivering me from that spirit of FEAR and saving my soul!

Of course, I loved the mealtime prayer my father taught us.

He taught us by his example; he would pray this prayer when we all sat down to eat. We ate more evening meals together than any other meal. The most important thing a father can do for his children is pray over them and with them, as well as teach them how to pray and raise them in church. His prayer went like this: Our heavenly Father, grant us grace, and may this food by Thee be blessed. Bless us now and every day, at home, at school, at work, and at play. Amen. I’ve always loved his prayer; it made me feel safe and secure. I’ve always thought it covered all of us. Home was my mom (she was a hard worker, but she didn’t work outside the home after me and my brother came along); work was my dad; school was my older siblings; and play was me and my little brother (we were at home with mom).

Of course, as we grew, we too were in school, but nonetheless it was an all-inclusive prayer. I’m really not sure if my dad learned that prayer or he originated it. I never heard it anywhere else but in our home. Whether he composed it or not isn’t important. The important thing is that he was teaching us the importance of giving God thanks. That has always stayed with me.

Another prayer we were taught as children was the prayer Jesus taught to His disciples, what we have always called The Lord’s Prayer. Matthew 6:9–13 says, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

As I have already stated, as far back as I can remember, I talked to God, though as a child I didn’t recognize our talks as prayers. As I grew older, I came to understand that talking to God is prayer. The sincerest form of prayer, because it isn’t something you’ve learned or rehearsed or even memorized. It’s just simply speaking to Him from your heart.

Not that I think learned prayers are wrong; on the contrary, I think it is very important to teach your children to pray, and reciting prayers are one of the easiest ways to do that. The Lord’s Prayer is the first scripture I memorized. It is a wonderful model of prayer to follow. Just don’t let it ever be become words you’ve learned and now repeat. Prayer needs to be heartfelt conversation with God, not just words. If you are just repeating words you’ve memorized rather than praying that which you’ve learned, then they are empty words, and most likely powerless.

The Lord’s Prayer can also be used as an outline to go by. For instance, Our Father which art in heaven is addressing and honoring God as who He is. Jesus was giving His disciples an example of how to pray. Each verse in this prayer gives us the example of how to pray.

You can pray it word for word or use it as a guide to go by when you pray. The important thing is that we pray! I have to say, I have been very blessed through my life to have always been aware of God’s presence in my life. As a child I would talk to God just like I would someone I could see. I remember He would put songs in my heart, and I would sing them to Him and sometimes dance before Him. When I started to go to school, the Lord would give me songs to sing to Him while I waited for the bus to come. I would see a flower or a butterfly or something He created and it would become a song in my heart that I would sing back to Him.

I can’t say I remember any of the words now, but I remember the many songs I sang to Him; and I remember what my heart felt as I sang praises to my God! He birthed worship in me way back then. WOW! I don’t say that in a prideful way. I say WOW because I am just now seeing, as I’m writing, what He has done in me and for me. Who knows, maybe the reason He wanted me to write this book was for me. So I could see and appreciate all He has done for me throughout my life.

When I was a child, my family and I attended church, but as I got a little older, we were no longer attending regularly. We started going less and less until finally, we just stopped going as a family. I didn’t know or understand why at the time. I was too young; it would be many years later that I would learn the reason why. My sister and I, and sometimes our younger brother, would still go occasionally. My sister and I would also go when we went to visit our cousins.

As the years went by, though, it became only on Christmas and Easter that I went. My sister went with me and sometimes my cousin Rose went with me. My dad would take us, drop us off, and then come back and pick us up when it was over. I hear a lot of talk in church today about children going to church on Christmas or Easter just for the candy. That is so wrong of us to say or even think. Who are we to judge another’s heart? The Word of God tells us that He alone is the true judge.

God alone is the one who knows and sees the heart of man. We can only judge their fruit, not their heart.

But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)

I definitely was not there for the candy, nor do I ever remember getting any candy at church. In fact, I don’t even know if the church we attended gave out candy. I went on Christmas and Easter because I didn’t want to miss being in the house of God on the two most important days of the year. I just couldn’t stay home, especially on Easter. The celebration of Jesus’s birth and His resurrection are the two most important days in a Christian’s life. Without Christmas, we have no Savior. Without the resurrection, we have no hope of a life in heaven with HIM!

Looking back, I so regret not going to church regularly. I missed out on building a firm foundation while I was young. I also did not build the close relationship with Jesus I could have. I knew Jesus as the Savior of the world, but it would be years later that He would become my personal Lord and Savior. It would be then that I too would find out it’s about relationship and not religion. We’ll talk about that more later.

When I was a child and we were still attending church as a family, I was so backward and shy that I would not leave my mother’s side. Therefore, I stayed with my parents during church. I didn’t go to Sunday school class with the other kids, so I didn’t get any training on my own level. I can honestly say the only times I remember getting fed the Word would be when we went to visit my cousins on my dad’s side. They lived in West Virginia. My cousin Donna was the same age as my sister, who was nine years older than I was. Donna taught Sunday school for the young people in the church she attended. I so enjoyed going to church with her and I loved being in her class.

I so admired and looked up to her. I was so in awe listening to her teach the word of God. I believe that may be one of the things that gave me the desire to teach His Word. I remember thinking I wanted to be like her (a Sunday school teacher) when I grew up. She spoke of things of the Bible on my level, so that I could understand. Sad to say, those were the only times I went to Sunday school growing up.

I do remember going to church school once. I believe I may have been in first or second grade at the time. Back then, there were certain days of the week we were free to go to church from school. Boy, have things changed; it’s getting so now they don’t even want children to pray in school.

Anyway, a friend in my class invited me to go with her. I was so excited to go, I jumped at the chance. The church was next door to the school. The classes lasted about an hour or so, I don’t remember exactly. I can’t say I knew who the teacher was, but I do know she was anointed to teach the Word of God. I can still remember what she said. Oh, not word for word, but I remember the meat of it. She had an easel standing beside her, covered up with a white sheet. She began talking about a treasure she had found. As her story progressed, she shared that the treasure was a person. She began telling us about how this person was her best friend. She told of how wonderful he was. How she could count on him. All the many wonderful things he had done for her. How much he loved her and she loved him. She had me so intrigued. I could have listened for hours.

When she came to a close, she said she wanted us to meet her friend. She then lifted the cover, and there was a life-size picture from the waist up of Jesus, or a likeness of what we imagine Him to look like. I was in awe. Wow, she made Him sound so real. This was someone she had a very real and close relationship with. He sure didn’t sound like someone in the sky, as I thought in my mind. I didn’t understand or yet have a personal relationship with Jesus. I believed in Jesus, but the truth is, I did not yet know in whom I believed.

I talked to God the Father as my heavenly Father. I knew that He gave us His one and only Son. I knew that Jesus was that Son, and that He came to earth to die for us on the cross.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

I knew He was the Savior of the world, but I didn’t know Him in a personal way. I believe God put me there, that day. To hear that you could have a personal relationship with Jesus, even if I didn’t completely understand it all at the time. The seeds were planted and would one day grow as God gave the increase.

In 1 Corinthians 3:6–7, Paul says, I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth anything or he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

The sad part of the story is that, because I was not a member of that church or faith, my schoolteacher wouldn’t let me go anymore. I praise my God that He had a greater plan. He put me there to hear that message, the seeds were planted in my heart, and, as I said, they would one day be watered, and God would give the increase.

Even though I still continued to go to church occasionally, after we had stopped going as a family, I was only going to the worship service. I still wasn’t attending Sunday school, and the preaching, truthfully, was over my head. I understood very little of the sermons. That’s why I say I was unable to build a firm foundation at a young age. My knowledge of the Bible was very limited. I knew a few Bible stories and a few scripture verses, but that was about it. The things I did know, I learned from my parents and my grandmother (my mom’s mom), and I will say I was grounded in them. I was taught about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. That God gave His only Son Jesus as a baby in a manger, and that Jesus came to die for all our sins. That He rose on the third day and was now in heaven.

No one could take those truths from me. I knew that I must believe in Him to go to heaven, and I did believe. I just didn’t fully understand salvation. I thought all I had to do was believe, but now I know better. I know that it’s not enough to just believe. James tells us in the second chapter of the book of James that even the devils believe and tremble. That doesn’t make them saved, nor does it make us saved, Jesus says; you must be born again.

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)

I was taught the Ten Commandments, and I did my best to keep them. I knew a few other bits of scripture, but I can’t say I knew enough to understand the truth of His Word. When I went to church, I wasn’t really learning anything. Truthfully, I went because I felt it was the right thing to do, and in my own way it made me feel closer to God. As I said, I had religion, but I did not yet have or understand having a relationship. As I said, I was unable to digest the sermons; they were too deep for me. I was trying to chew with no (spiritual) teeth. Just as Peter said, I needed the sincere milk of the Word. I wasn’t ready for meat.

As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. (1 Peter 2:2)

I wasn’t even a babe yet, according to the Word of God. I was just fooled into thinking I was. Don’t get me wrong. I thank God for the parents He gave me and for all they taught me. I was very blessed to have wonderful, loving parents who took good care of us. I have to say, my mom was one of the most loving people you would ever want to meet. She was very affectionate, and not just to us kids. She had a hug for everyone, even strangers.