Most of the time, the poetry I write is born from a time of reflection and prayer. Sometimes, it’s during intercession, a fancy word for praying for others. Praying is an essential part of the Christian life. It’s where we get to know God and grow spiritually. The more time we spend with Him, the more we become like Him and want to pray for others. As we get to know Him and how He feels, He turns our hearts towards others, sometimes giving us insight. Many times, it’s feeling compassion and empathy; you feel a moment of their pain but can lift it to God on behalf of others. It has the best side effect when we assimilate into this beautiful, sacrificial, selfless act. We walk away with the blessing, and it increases our faith.
God Wants Us to Pray
God wants us to bring Him our needs, pain, difficulties, and weaknesses. He is ever-giving, and as we spend time with Him, we become more like Him. The more we spend time with Him and become like we want to be like Jesus Him, the more we desire to talk to God on behalf of others. Praying for others is a selfless act of heart and soul that contains its own blessing for us. God loves it as we take time, sit with and feel the pain of another, and give it to Him. We walk away from that time so blessed, stronger, and more because we can’t outgive God.
"With all prayer and petition pray [with specific requests] at all times [on every occasion and in every season] in the Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition [interceding in prayer] for all [a]God’s people." Ephesians 6:18
God Helps us Pray
When we spend time with someone, we get to know them better, and they rub off on us; it’s the same when we spend time with the Creator. God teaches us to pray through examples in His word. His Holy Spirit will highlight the words in the Bible for us. The more we spend time with God in His Holy Spirit, the more a need, compassion, and a burden on our hearts for another. When we go to God with this need, we act like Jesus as an intercessor. When we feel the pain of compassion and use our faith, it increases our faith. We find firsthand that we can’t outgive God. As we can more easily approach the throne, it builds our faith, encourages us, and makes us come out better.
"In the same way, the Spirit also helps our weaknesses, for we don’t know how to pray as we ought. But the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which can’t be uttered."
Romans 8:26
Jesus is Praying for Us
Jesus interceded for us by coming to die for our sins, but Hebrews says He is still interceding or praying for us. The one who knew the worst of our sins and suffered for them now lovingly selflessly prays and intervenes with God on our behalf. If I want anyone praying for me, it’s Jesus. In these times, my heart is softened in prayer for another; God will put a few words in my mind. As I write them down, my heart begins to flow with a poem for them. Sometimes, the poem sounds like God speaking in the first person. At other times, it’s an encouragement. It’s a labor, a pouring out of the heart. Some people call it a gift; it is, but the gift is to me because it’s one of the most beautiful times I have had with God.
"Therefore He is able also to save forever (completely, perfectly, for eternity) those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede and intervene on their behalf [with God]. "Hebrews 7:25
Poem
I wrote this poem during my prayer; it happened exactly as described above. I’m not a trained poet, but I’ve improved much since my first poetry book. In this case, it was written for a single mother with several kids in a desperate state. She was conned by a married man, who pretended to want to marry her and adopt her kids to sleep with her. He told her of his wife when she broke the pregnancy news. She refused to have the abortion and wanted to give the baby a better life. Yes, she made a mistake, but God was with her in it all. I was with her the day she had to hand her baby over to be adopted. While praying for her, I thought about Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel, and the heartache she had when she gave Him for God’s purposes. Inspired by Hannah, I wrote this for this courageous young mother. I read this poem to her, feeling the love of God flow through me, and the gift was to me; I couldn’t believe how blessed I was. We cried and held her until she broke the embrace. Following God’s ways, the Spirit’s leading and His word are honors, the richness of life, and blessings.
