Jesus is the perfect Intercessor for us. He prays for us daily. He does not turn us away when we need help, but He offers His strength. He does not condemn us when we fail, but He is patient and merciful with us. Let us think about three ways in which the Lord Jesus intercedes for us.
1) Christ prays for us when we are tempted.
The Lord Jesus prays especially that we will not yield to sin when we are tempted by Satan. As long as we are in this world, we will be tempted. But the Lord Jesus is praying for us, and the Father has promised that He will not allow us to be tempted beyond our power to resist. He will always make a way of escape for us. Does this mean that we cannot sin? No, not at all. We can sin, but we do not have to sin. We can say “No!” to temptation.
Are you troubled with temptations that you cannot seem to overcome? Then come to the Father through the Lord Jesus and ask Him to give you victory over them.
2) Christ intercedes for us when we have sinned.
When we sin, our fellowship with the Father is broken. Our relationship with Him as His child is not broken, but sin breaks our fellowship with Him. The Lord Jesus pleads for us when we have sinned. He asks the Father to forgive us for His sake. It is because of who Jesus is and what He has done for us that God forgives us of our sins. Our fellowship is restored the moment we confess our sins to the Father. Does this mean that we can decide to sin every day and then confess it to God and think that everything will be all right? No! No! No! If we are thinking this way, we should examine ourselves to see if we are really in God’s family. A true child of God will want to please his Heavenly Father, and he will hate the things that God hates.
Have you sinned? Are you out of fellowship with the Father? Have you lost your joy as a Christian? Then come to the Father through your great Intercessor, the Lord Jesus Christ. Confess your sins to God and ask Him to forgive you. The Lord Jesus will restore your fellowship with the Father.
3) Christ presents our prayers to the Father.
When we pray the Lord Jesus is our great Intercessor. He presents our prayers to the Father. He asks the Father to grant our requests for His sake. It is because of who Jesus is and what He has done for us that God hears and answers our prayers.
Do you have a great need? Are you troubled about some problem in your life or in the lives of your loved ones? Then pray to the Father in Jesus’ name. The Lord Jesus is God’s beloved Son, and He will present your prayers to the Father. The Bible says, “Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.” (Hebrews 4:14, 16, THE MESSAGE)
(UB DAVID & I’LL B JONATHAN, INC.)