An intercessor

As a country girl, I’m familiar with “varmints” (the the animal variety) that destroy crops and eat my flowers. In May, a varmint (I suspect a ground hog) chomped on my Shasta Daisy, eating blooms and leaves until there was nothing left but a tiny bit of stem. Would my flowers recover or perish? Could I be an intercessor?

I had a choice, I could pull up the injured flowers, throw them away, and plant something else in their place.

But I wanted to give them another chance.

The gift of another chance

At one point in His ministry, Jesus spoke of the importance of repentance–turning away from sin to avoid the consequences. Our Lord warned those who were listening to His message, “But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” (Luke 13:5)

Oh, my, our Lord got right to the point didn’t He?

Then Jesus told this parable:

“A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of his vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ (Luke 13:6-7)

” ‘Sir, the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.” (Luke 13:8)

In His parable, Jesus gives us an example of intercession. The man who cared for the plants requested to the owner of the vineyard the opportunity to work around the roots of the fig tree. He interceded to give the plant another chance to thrive.

We have an intercessor.

An intercessor is one who intervenes or mediates between differing parties, particularly the act of praying to God on behalf of another person (Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary*).

Aren’t we blessed when someone intercedes on our behalf?

The Holy Spirit is our intercessor

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)

Sometimes we mess up and we’re grateful for that intercessor–the one who intercedes for us. God knows our needs and He will send the Spirit. And sometimes He sends one of His helpers to guide our path when we’re in need of intercession.

He may call us to be that messenger of the Holy Spirit–to be His helper when another is needing guidance.

Have you benefitted from an Intercessor? Have you been called to assist someone in need?

Thank you for being a blessing to others in your service to our Lord.

P.S. I nurtured my injured daisies, providing extra water and fertilizer throughout the summer. This past week, my daisies bloomed again (after three months). Grateful for my intervention, they rewarded me with another set of blooms.

*Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary. (2003). Holman Bible Publishers: Nashville, Tennessee, p. 828.