Before God can use you effectively as an intercessor or a prophetic voice, one of the things He deals with is your eye. He deals with the way you look at people. How you handle their mess, their mistakes, their flaws, their sins, their weaknesses, and their nakedness.
Because for you to stand in the gap for other people in the courts of heaven or before the Throne of God and plead for their cause, you must be full of compassion, mercy, and love, just as Christ Jesus was tempted in every way that we are, yet without sin, and became the Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief so that He can now be an effective High Priest who understands and identifies with our weaknesses.
So He has to remove the critical, finger-pointing eye. And many times, He does it by breaking you. Over and over again. He turns your eyes inward so that you see yourself as you really are. He focuses your eyes on the planks of wood in them, so that you can realize that what is in the eyes of others is just a tiny, little speck compared to your own need for God's help.
He opens your spiritual eyes to how helpless your own soul is without His grace and how merciful He has been to you. He allows you to go through what is commonly referred to as "dark nights of the soul" so you can come face to face with how helpless a human soul is without the love, grace, and compassion of God.
He takes you through experiences that break you so much that you realize there is no goodness in you except that which Christ brings by His presence in your life.
He has to do this because if He doesn't, you run the risk of standing before Him like the Pharisee, nose stuck in the air, and flaunting yourself before Him, "I am not like those others Lord...I am better."
You may begin to pray for others from a platform of accusation or without feeling.
Then your sacrifices on their behalf would be rejected.
He wants you, instead, to offer sacrifices that are sweet smelling and acceptable before Him, sacrifices from a heart that recognizes His grace and mercy, like the tax collector who was approved, because He approached God with, "Have mercy on me, Lord" kind of heart.
( Luke 18:9-14 )
So He humbles you. Oh, how He humbles you. Then no matter what you discern in the Spirit concerning others, or see, or hear physically about them, you are quicker to fall on your knees and pray for them, and groan for them...as you would for yourself.
Yes, an intercessor knows what it means to be broken by God to the level where you lose every confidence in your own flesh. And when God does this in you, your tongue sticks to the roof of your mouth where gossip and slander are concerned. Your eyes become tender and full of compassion. Your heart bleeds for people as He bleeds for them. You're broken by what breaks His Heart. And then, He can fill you with His tears for others.
Hebrews 4:15-16 NLT
15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
Isaiah 64:8 NLT
8 And yet, O Lord, You are our Father.
We are the clay, and You are the potter.
We all are formed by Your hand.
_Nina-Rita_
Inspired by the Holy Spirit
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