Secret Identity
Unit 18, Session 1, Day 3, Esther 4-6
Today’s devotional reminded me of the Haggadah, which is recited during the Passover Seder each year in observant Jewish households. It recounts the story of the first Passover. In it, the language is very first-person. “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt…” It is spoken as though the speaker had been there personally. Esther, who had kept her heritage to herself, was now being asked to reveal herself and to intercede on behalf of her people. She could have interceded without revealing herself, but the impact of her revelation, that Haman’s plan would have led to her death, gave an intimacy and immediacy to her intercession.
I think intercession before God often works in a similar way. We need to be able to identify with the person for whom we are interceding. That was easy for Esther, for she was simply revealing herself to be one of those for whom she was interceding. If our intercessory prayers are going to beyond the quick “God bless so and so…” we need to find some level of connection with that person. I’ve never had cancer, but have lost relatives who did. I am able to empathize to some degree at least.
There is one who went to extraordinary lengths to be able to identify with us and to intercede for us. Jesus left heaven to be one of us. To know what we go through and to intercede for us before the Heavenly Father. Hebrews 4:14-15 tells us “14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” (NASB) Is it too much, then, to ask that we make the effort to identify with those for whom we intercede?
Today’s question is: “How can you cultivate a greater shared identity with the people on
whose behalf you are interceding?”
Bonus tune. I thought I'd share one of my favorite Promise Keepers songs. Enjoy
"For Such a Time as This.
Today’s devotional reminded me of the Haggadah, which is recited during the Passover Seder each year in observant Jewish households. It recounts the story of the first Passover. In it, the language is very first-person. “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt…” It is spoken as though the speaker had been there personally. Esther, who had kept her heritage to herself, was now being asked to reveal herself and to intercede on behalf of her people. She could have interceded without revealing herself, but the impact of her revelation, that Haman’s plan would have led to her death, gave an intimacy and immediacy to her intercession.
I think intercession before God often works in a similar way. We need to be able to identify with the person for whom we are interceding. That was easy for Esther, for she was simply revealing herself to be one of those for whom she was interceding. If our intercessory prayers are going to beyond the quick “God bless so and so…” we need to find some level of connection with that person. I’ve never had cancer, but have lost relatives who did. I am able to empathize to some degree at least.
There is one who went to extraordinary lengths to be able to identify with us and to intercede for us. Jesus left heaven to be one of us. To know what we go through and to intercede for us before the Heavenly Father. Hebrews 4:14-15 tells us “14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” (NASB) Is it too much, then, to ask that we make the effort to identify with those for whom we intercede?
Today’s question is: “How can you cultivate a greater shared identity with the people on
whose behalf you are interceding?”
Bonus tune. I thought I'd share one of my favorite Promise Keepers songs. Enjoy
"For Such a Time as This.