“This is what the Lord God showed me. And behold, the Lord God was calling for a judgment by fire and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. Then I said, “Oh Lord God, please cease. How can Jacob stand? He is so small.” The Lord relented concerning this. “This also shall not be,” said the Lord God.”
– Amos 7:4–6
Did you catch that? God just gave Amos a picture of judgment coming by fire upon his people. And Amos just stood in the gap and said, “Oh Lord God, please cease.” And verse six, in Amos chapter seven said, “The Lord relented and said, “This shall not be.”” The Lord withheld the judgment his people deserved in that moment because Amos interceded in that moment. What a picture of the power of prayer, the potential of prayer, the opportunity you and I have that God has invited us into to stand in the gap on behalf of others and to ask for his help and his provision and his salvation and his deliverance.
Amos 7:4–6 Encourages Us to Pray for Others
Oh, we must be faithful to pray for others, to intercede for people in need. I would just encourage you, as soon as this podcast is over, just spend time interceding. Think about people in need that you know in your life, in your family, in your work, in your church. Think about people in your community who are in need, and then just broaden all the way out. There’s so much. Think about nations, about leaders of nations, and about major issues. Look at the headlines in the news.
Pray for people and realize that God will use our prayers as a means by which His grace and His mercy are poured out in the world. Realize that our prayers matter, that when we pray, not only does God listen, but God acts according to what we say, according to what we ask. It’s the whole basis for this podcast.
Amos 7:4–6 Teaches Us to Pray for the Salvation of Sinners
“When you remain in me and my words remain in you,” Jesus says, “Ask whatever it will be given. You pray according to my word, and it will be given to you.” So God, we pray right now. There’s so many things coming to my mind, I trust all of our minds. We pray for people around us who don’t know you. God, we intercede for them today. They deserve your judgment. They are sinners and yet you love them. God, we pray for their salvation. I’m tempted to pray by name. I know that we all have different names that come to our minds. God, we pray for the salvation of family members and friends and coworkers and neighbors and people in our cities. We pray for spiritual awakening in our cities. Lord, we ask for your mercy over our cities, for your mercy over the people around us.
God, relent your judgment. Show your salvation. We pray. We pray for people who are sick, who are hurting, God, for healing and for help and for strength for them. God, we pray for those who are struggling with sin and temptation. We pray that they would know your power, Lord Jesus, the power of your spirit to overcome sin and temptation. Lord, we pray for people around the world that we don’t even know that you’ve invited us to pray for right now.
Praying for the Muslim Thai People
We intercede for the Muslim Thai of Thailand, 1.3 million of them Muslim Thai people, no known followers of Jesus among them. God, we ask right now, please save them. Have mercy on them. We are interceding right now for the Muslim Thai people. You love them, Jesus. Lord you have paid the price for their sin. You desire them in your family. Lord relent your judgment upon them.
Show your salvation among them. We pray that even in response to our praying right now, there would be laborers who go to the Muslim Thai and that you would open their eyes to see the truth, the love, the beauty of Jesus, your glory in the face of Jesus. God, do the supernatural work of regeneration and salvation and faith in the Muslim Thai people.
God, what a privilege you’ve given us to intercede on behalf of others. Help us to faithfully cry out to you, and we pray that you would use our prayers as a means by which your mercy is poured out among people around us and among nations far from us. In Jesus’ name, we pray according to your word of Amos seven verses four through six. Amen.
