Courage As An Intercessor

by Ng Siew Yong

I used to think prayer was something serious, like, if you come to God, you need to be holy, you need to be strong, or you need to be like the priests mentioned in the Bible. You need to have the right words and language, perhaps. But over time, as I approached God, I came to a realization that it is not that way. We come to God as we are, as His beloved and His delight, knowing that we are made by Him. And because of what He has done on the cross, we can boldly approach His throne of grace.

So, how do I grow myself as an intercessor? If you know me, you’ll probably say that I’m timid, fearful, shy, have many doubts, am not confident, and don’t talk much. Over the years of knowing God, I think His love has transformed me inside out. It’s been a pretty weird transformation, though. If I were to think about how far I’ve come, it’s because of His love. His perfect love has changed the way I perceive and handle things. Some of you might be wondering – really? Perfect love? How? Let me enlighten you.

Do you believe that God speaks to His children? Well, God desires to do that in various circumstances! As for me, God has shown me His heart for certain things, such as justice or awakening for certain situations. I didn’t know or have any clue about being an intercessor or intercession, but I just wanted more of God. I just wanted to know this God that says He loves me and wants to be with me. And for me it has taken months and even years to have a glimpse of what intercession is. For me, it’s praying what is on His heart and releasing His power through prayer.

As you know, PenHOP has their own intercession every Tuesday night, and I will always be there to participate, whether worshipping corporately or praying on the mic. Every time the prayer leader announced a time for open mic prayer, I was so terrified because in my heart, I know I want to pray but my mind is like, “I cannot, I’m scared, what if I prayed the wrong prayer, what if I said the wrong word, etc.,” not realizing that I was turning my eyes away from who God is.

During a retreat last year, after reading Matthew 6 in the Bible, I was asked how I could actually be more involved in the prayer movement. At that time, I thought, “Yes, sure. I’ll pray daily in my secret place.” That’s when the miracle happened. I have never been so passionate about praying in my entire life! Because it’s so satisfying getting to talk to God about everything you want! I mean, God is the best listener. Little did I know that this actually elevated my relationship with God day by day. I was able to tell God anything, anywhere. I was drawn closer to God anytime! Prayer became part of my communion with God.

But still, every Tuesday night at PenHOP, there are still pockets and pieces where I do not know what to pray for, but God always says, “It’s okay. I see your heart. I will increase that hunger into understanding.” So, I have started to write down some prayer lists on Tuesday about what they are praying for and I pray them the next day where nobody sees, but only God. And every time I do that, I am elevated into a place to contend for either justice, awakening or even revival. It brings me nearer to God’s heart.

Perfect loves casts out all fear. Up to this day, I am still afraid of praying, but every time I am afraid or scared, I realize that my heart is far from and not connected to God.

 Jesus lives forever interceding for us. That’s His ministry. If we were to become more like Christ, it’s just normal that we would alleviate our fear in His perfect love and gain wisdom and understanding from Him in our secret place. We will never get hold of the heart of God if we never try to desire Him and seek Him out. It is in the fear that we have that we realize we need more of God. We need Him to mature us in loving Him rightly. And in knowing Him rightly.

Being an intercessor simply means laying hold of Jesus’s heart, releasing His power through His word and being confident that He will incline His ear to those who cry out to Him.

“And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

- Luke 18:7-8.