"The Great Intercession"

The High Priestly Prayer

17:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. [1] 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them [2] in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, [3] that they also may be sanctified [4] in truth.

20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

Did you know Jesus prayed for you thousands of years ago? He prayed this prayer for His disciples, and for "those who will believe in [Him] through their word." He prayed this prayer with your name in his mind, before he died on the cross with your face in mind. Take a minute and read this scripture again. This time, insert your name in place of "them." Imagine your Savior in the garden, on his knees, tears streaming down his face, as he intercedes for your life. It's a powerful scene that needs no explanation and is sure to touch your heart. A scene that shows just how much Jesus loved them, and you. How desperate He was to bridge the gap between us and God. Thank you, Lord, for your life of sacrifice that brought me where I am today.

"Come to The Water"

"Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!" Psalm 34:8


“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive." John 7:38-39


I am a dreamer. I have always had vivid dreams. Some of them are quirky. Some are scary. Some are directly from God and I can always tell the difference. If you've ever had an "encounter" with God's presence, whether through worship, prayer or any other avenue, you know the feeling you. It's an unexplainable "awe." It's what I like to call "awe-some." :) When I have these dreams from God, I wake up with a sense of reverence. A feeling that I've just spent some time in the presence of the Lord. I could take up blog upon blog of the different dreams I've had, and their meanings, but for now I'll take you through the dream that pertained to the verse above.


The setting was in a dark room. It was crowded; not with people or cluttered with things, but it was crowded with cages of frogs. These frogs were all suffering. They looked tired and close to death. They all had water feeders that had strange writings on them, none of which I recognized. I began walking through this room, concerned for these frogs who seemed to be dying before my eyes. At the end of this room, there was a desk. A lady sat behind it. She was very calm, very bright. She had a beautiful glow about her. I sat at the desk and asked this lady why these frogs were dying and how to help them. She pointed to room in the corner and said, "They need THE water. They are being fed something other than the water you drink, and they are dying. Show him." Still confused by who she was, and what exactly she meant, I stood up and walked over to the room that seemed much like a closet. In the room was an old friend of mine. Someone I had known in the past, but by no means kept in touch with or knew anything about, except for the fact he no longer believed in God. I approached him as he was caring for this frog, who he seemed to be very interested in, very worried about. I saw the concern on his face. "What's wrong?" I asked him. "I'm trying to get him to drink this water. He is dying and I can't figure out why. He's had plenty to drink but it's not satisfying." I felt a need to help my friend keep this frog alive. I looked at the water and knew immediately something wasn't right about it. I searched the closet and among the water feeders there, I  saw one that stood out, that almost seemed like it glowed. The writings on the side, I recognized! It read, "The Holy Spirit." I grabbed it quickly and said to him, "This is the one! This is the water your frogs need! It's the only one that will satisfy them!" He reluctantly took the feeder from me, more out of desperation than willingness, he gave it to his frog, and the frog quickly sprang back to life. Then I woke up. 


Now the story gets interesting. I had this dream about two years ago. Up until recently, I knew who this dream was meant for. I prayed for this person often. I didn't know all the details, but I knew God wanted me interceeding for this person and their life. Until recently, prayer and this dream was all I had to go by. That is, until I found this friend on a social network. Even more interesting, the word "frog" was associated with their screen name.

God knows our needs. He knows we can't survive on any other water. You can try the waters of Buddhism. You can test the waters of Islam. You can drink the fountain of Atheism. But until you've tasted and seen that the Lord is good, that he wants LIFE for you, you'll never be satisfied. The frog in my dream was my friend's life. God wanted me to offer this friend the Living Water, the Holy Spirit. So friend, if you read this, God is speaking to you...it's not an accident you came upon this...take that water! You'll never thirst again....

"In a dream, a vision of the night,

         When sound sleep falls on men,

         While they slumber in their beds, 

    Then He opens the ears of men,

         And seals their instruction, 

    That He may turn man aside from his conduct,

         And keep man from pride; 

    He keeps back his soul from the pit." 

Job 33:15-18

"Does God Still Speak?"

Isaiah 30:21
Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it, whenever you turn to the right or whenever you turn to the left'.


John 14:26
The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.


If you've ever taken time to get into the Word, you'll agree with me about its promises: they are BIG ones. I know for myself, sometimes I can take for granted the many promises God has given me in this life. One of my favorite ones is His promise to always lead and guide me. There are TONS of scripture that refer to this but in order not to lose my ADD readers, I've included only two of them. However, there are some verses I want to share with you about a man named Elijah. 


"And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.And when Elijah heard it,he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 1 Kings 19:11-13


This story was interesting to me because I don't think we are so different from Elijah. When were are going through tough times, seeking some answers, we expect God to show up. We expect it to be a big, bright, LOUD answer. Elijah seemed to expect the same, but God surprised him. God's voice wasn't in the blustering wind, or the trembling earthquake, or the raging fire...but in the quiet whisper. Why? I believe he was preparing us for the way he would speak to us in the future. 


After Jesus walked this earth, died on the cross, and rose again, he left a special gift with us: the Holy Spirit. No longer would we have to rely on God to guide us from the outside. He could now take up residency in our hearts, through the Holy Spirit. He called this Spirit a Counselor, one that would teach you all things, and help you remember the words of Jesus. It was what He meant when he said ,"I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts." 


God is more than able to use a loud, boisterous voice to get our attention. But, in His sovereignty, he more often than not chooses to speak to us in a whisper...in our hearts. He's speaking to me this second, as I write this blog. He's speaking to you this very minute, as you read this blog. It's a gentle whisper, but your heart can hear it if you slow down...and listen.