"There is no greater force on this earth than a child of God prostrate on the floor in fasting and prayer."
Separated between heaven and earth, Moses stood before the face of God on Mount Sinai. Forty days without food and water, the Glory of the Almighty was Moses' strength. Engulfed in the Presence and unaware of the sin below. Moses sensed a change in God's attitude. Intensity was building around Him. God had had enough! His anger burned toward the people of Israel. They had made a golden calf in the presence of God and proclaimed it to be the source of their deliverance from Egypt, mocking the God of heaven. God spoke to Moses and said, "I have seen these people," the LORD said to Moses, "and they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation" (Ex 32:9-10).
Any normal man would have fled in terror but Moses was not a normal man. From the humble beginnings of a burning bush, he had been transformed into a man who was deeply concerned for his people. Moses stood his ground and reasoned--Yes! Reasoned with the Eternal.
Didn't Moses know that God is Sovereign? Didn't he fear the Eternal?
God said that he was going to destroy the Israelites, and that should have been the end of the conversation. He even asked Moses to leave Him alone. But Moses knew God more deeply than any other on the earth. Instead he stood and reminded God of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He expressed a concern for God's reputation among the other nations. Then Moses did an astonishing thing that must have warmed the heart of God. But now, please forgive their sin--but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written (Ex 32:32). Moses was willing to lay down his eternal inheritance for a disobedient people. We can only imagine that this must have reminded God of His own Son who was to die for the sins of the world. God listened to Moses and relented on the disaster He had threatened.
What would have happened if Moses had not interceded for his people? We can be assured that God doesn't play games. History would have been very different if Moses had not made a stand and reasoned with God. Some may say that God had His plan laid out beforehand and was testing Moses' commitment to Israel. That may be partly true, but we see no indication of that in the Scriptures. He had destroyed wicked nations before and He would do it again. But Israel had a faithful Intercessor.
Que sera sera, whatever will be will be, the future is not ours to see, Que sera sera. Many Christians take such an attitude about prayer. After all, God is sovereign; whatever is going to happen will happen. He has a master plan that is fixed and cannot be changed by little old me.
When we look at how God operates, a pattern develops--if God wants to send a message, He uses an angel. Couldn't He send the message Himself? Yes! But just as He chooses to use angels to do His heavenly work, He chooses to manifest Himself through you. Couldn't God appear 50 feet tall with thunder and lightning, with a mighty earthquake, with angels descending at the foot of the bed of every man, woman and child on the face of the Earth? Certainly! But He chooses to use you. God loves to work with His creation. You see it all through the Bible. He shares His authority and power with us so that we can take part in His sovereign will. In intercession, our voice is harmonized into His eternal sovereign song.
Your prayers can move the heart of God--can change His mind! He will listen to what you say. Your prayers can change the course of history. You can participate in the operations of Heaven.
The Eternal God searches among men. He searches for broken hearts. He calls; Who will pray for my people? Who will weep with the wounded and the suffering? He sees man too busy to pray, to stop, look and care.
Intercession is the highest form of prayer. You forsake your inner warfare, and through love, attack Satan's kingdom head on. With the authority given to you by the blood of Jesus, you tear down spiritual strongholds, and fight for the deliverance of another precious soul. You stand shoulder to shoulder with angels, mighty warriors of God and Jesus Himself who is continuously interceding for us in heaven.
He delights in hearing something other than bless me Lord. When we intercede through fasting, it is a period of time set aside exclusively for someone else's need. This has a great credibility before God and is a powerful force against Satan.
Satan constantly comes before God with accusations against His church. All they care about is themselves. If you remove all your spiritual niceties and blessings, they would drop You like a hot potato. Their whole life revolves around making themselves feel good. Let’s prove him wrong and give God something He can be proud of--children of God that radiate the selflessness of His Son.
Related Article: Fasting And Prayer