Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus,

“7) For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will.  8) That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.  9) But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them are not Christians at all.)  10) Since Christ lives within you, even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit will bring you eternal life because you have been made right with God. . . .  26) And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress. For we don’t even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groaning that cannot be expressed in words.  27) And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.” Romans 8:8-10,26 (NLT)

While reading Scripture describing Moses’ intercessory prayer for his Nation, I was immediately moved to pray in the Spirit or in the power of the Holy Spirit which is praying “in tongues”. Nevertheless, it was the sentence that included the words: “But Moses sought the favor of the LORD . . .” Exodus 32:11 (MEV) that caught my eye so to speak. Scripture revealed by the Spirit of Truth relays that the Sovereign Lord God Almighty spoke with Moses directly which clearly indicates that Moses already had the favor of the LORD. Therefore, this particular Prayer of Intercession was specifically for those the LORD referenced more than once as a “stiff-necked” people (Exodus 32:9 & 33:3,5). Partakers of the New Testament/New Covenant between GOD and man is better because the blood of Jesus ratified this covenant once for all; and every Believer expected to walk by faith not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7; Galatians 3:11; 1 Timothy 6:12; Hebrews 10:38), are urged to pray in the Spirit on all occasions and with all kinds of prayers, requests and petitions (Ephesians 6:18; Philippians 4:6). Such includes prayers of intercession for the un-saved or lost in the kingdom of darkness as well as for kings and all those in authority (1 Timothy 2:2); and prayers of supplication for the saved who are now in God’s Kingdom of Light.

There is nothing in the Word of God about only praying for those we like, nor about only praying when we feel like it. (Hence, we endeavor toward strengthening our re-created spirit and the ongoing renewal of the mind by the WORD, that both may stand together in telling the body what it is going to do regardless of whether or not it feels like doing.) Neither those under the New Testament/New Covenant nor those referenced as “stiff-necked” who were under the Old Testament/Old Covenant could’ve ever saved themselves (Ephesians 2:8-9). Therefore, we give thanks to Abba Father Who has “delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love” Colossians 1:13 (AMP). Jesus the Anointed One is the Vine (John 15:5) Whom Isaiah prophesied about as the shoot/rod from the stem of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1). Now, both the natural branches who believe and the grafted branches who believe are to be bearers of good fruit (Romans 11:1-36; John 15:1-4; Galatians 5:22-23). However, whereas the favor of the LORD had to be sought under the Old Testament/Old Covenant, partakers of the New Testament/New Covenant rendered the righteousness of GOD by the blood of Jesus are surrounded by the favor of GOD everywhere and in everything.

Speak the promise . . . Harriet