I thought this piece from "Praying
the Names of God" by Michael Ramsey is helpful as we reflect on “intercession”:
“To intercede is to bear others on the heart in
God's presence. . . . Intercession thus becomes not the bombardment of God with
requests so much as the bringing of our desires within the stream of God's own
compassion. . . . The compassion of God flows ceaselessly toward the world, but
it seems to wait upon the cooperation of human wills. This cooperation is
partly by God's creatures doing the things which God desires to be done, and
partly by prayers which are also channels of God's compassion.
Real intercession, then, does not consist in
presenting God with a laundry list of demands or requests. Instead it involves
spending time in God's presence, seeking His will, being guided by His
Spirit as we offer up prayers on behalf of others.
Ask Christ to increase your desire to be like him,
to speak his Word with a pure heart, and to reflect his love by becoming an
intercessor, taking others into your heart so that you can carry them into
God's presence through prayer."
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