The Power of Intercessory Prayer
Today our nation is observing National Day of Prayer. In honor of this day, this week's devotionals are taken from the book A Call to America by Nancy Jesudass, a speaker at Come to the Fire.
The revivalist Leonard Ravenhill saw the spiraling downfall of this nation, and in 1979, he wrote the book America Is too Young to Die. He is right. That time has come. We are, as a nation, at the point of death. Yes, we are dying as a nation!
I'm one of the millions from a poor and an oppressed nation who came to America to find refuge because I heard that God blessed America more than any other nation on earth. But now, where can the needy nations find such refuge?
The moral life of our nation is collapsing! God needs a Mordecai and an Esther. God does not need a famous preacher like Jonah who was full of self-focus and wanted to serve God in His own way.
Mordecai said to Esther, "Who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14). Esther took this burden seriously upon herself! All of the Jews fasted for her. She and her maids also fasted three days without food or water.
With courage and confidence, Esther went to the court of the king. "When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter" (Esther 5:2).
Oh, what a moment! A moment that forever changed history!
The beauty of Esther attracted the king so much that he forgot she had broken the law! That is how attractive we are to be in the sight of God when pleading for our nation. The lover in Song of Songs exclaimed toward His beloved: "You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you. You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride" (Song of Solomon 4:7, 9).
When God looks at us that is how He feels about us when we are sharing His burden!
The king then asked Queen Esther, "What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you" (Esther 5:3). If you read through the story, you will find Esther got much more than half the kingdom.
Jesus, our King, says a similar thing to us: "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it" (John 14:13-14).
The glory of the Father must be our passion, our aim, and the end of our prayer.
