In the bustling region of Decapolis, desperate friends carried their deaf companion to Jesus, imploring Him to heal what only He could heal. This scene from Mark 7 reveals a deep spiritual truth: sometimes the greatest gift we can offer another person isn't our own strength, but our willingness to stand between them and God.
The Heart of Going Between
To intercede means to pray on behalf of another—to go between, to advocate for someone who cannot speak for themselves. When those friends implored Jesus to lay His hand on their deaf companion, they were practicing intercession. Later, in Bethsaida, another group brought a blind man with the same fervent plea: "implore Him to touch him."
Both times, Jesus responded to their asking, their standing in the gap, and He healed.
This imploring is intercession—standing in between God and human need.
The Circle of Our Prayers
The Divine Opportunity
Intercessory prayer reveals itself as an act of selfless love—an expression of God's own love flowing through us to others. When we pray for someone, we participate in divine work, becoming vessels through which God's blessing flows. We have the extraordinary opportunity to join the Lord's work as He uses our prayers to touch lives we may never fully understand.
Prayer for others isn't merely a spiritual discipline; it's a sacred trust. It's recognizing that in God's economy, He often chooses to work through the prayers of His people.
Our intercession becomes the bridge between heaven's resources and earth's desperate need.
How much may we also ask the Lord for others to hear and see Him? Will you accept the profound responsibility and privilege of standing between heaven and the hurting world around you?
