"Do not know what to ask in our prayers, but the Spirit himself intercedes ..." (Romans 8:26).

Another form of prayer is intercession. As the word suggests, "interceding" means : acting as mediator, requiring a favor for others. By interceding, we intervene with God for the good of others. For years, William Carey interceded for the Indies, before moving there as a missionary. Intercession can be exercised in favor of what is dear to the Lord: his church. It can also be exercised towards those who persecute us. Thus the Lord interceded for those who crucified him: "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). Stephen said : "Lord, do not impute to them this sin" (Acts 7:60).

Scripture contains innumerable examples of men of God who, forgetting themselves, intervened with persistence, constancy, and even boldness, ardently desiring the good of the people of God, or certain persons. Moses repeatedly fulfilled the role of intercessor. In Exodus 32, after the golden calf, he implores the Lord, saying : "Come back from the fierceness of your wrath, and repent of the evil you want to do to your people." Remember Abraham, Of Isaac, and of Israel ... whom thou hast sworn by thyself "(Exodus 32: 12-13). In the same circumstance, he intercedes for Aaron so that he may not be destroyed : "The Lord was also very angry with Aaron, whom he would destroy, and for whom I interceded." (Deuteronomy 9:20)

Later, in Numbers 14, Moses, at the hearing of the divine sentence, interceded again. Having heard the proclamation of the mercy, grace and goodness of God on Mt. Sinai, Moses intercedes by appealing to this divine mercy. In response to this intercession, the Lord uses grace and lets himself down, saying : "I have forgiven according to your word."

Hezekiah prayed to the Lord for those who ate the passover without being purified, that this neglect might be forgiven; And the LORD listened to him (2 Chronicles 30: 18-20). We could multiply the quotes by talking about David, Ezra, Daniel, Jeremiah, Paul and so many others.

Jesus, in heaven, continues this service of intercession in our favor : "He can perfectly save those who approach God by Him, being alive to intercede on their behalf." (Hebrews 7:25)

A decision for this day :

Following the example of Jesus and all those men and women of the Bible who have fulfilled this service of intercession, I want to enter this cohort of intercessors in favor of those who do not know the grace of God, but Also in favor of believers who are persecuted.

Paul Calzada

"Pray and pray at all times by the Spirit, watch over this with all perseverance and pray for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18).

Here is a specific recommendation : "Do all kinds of prayers". This implies that there are various kinds of prayers. Paul also writes : "Therefore I exhort, above all things, to make prayers, supplications, petitions, and thanksgiving for all men" (1 Timothy 2: 1). Here he mentions three forms of prayer: supplications, petitions, thanksgiving.

Jesus, when he gives us "Our Father" as a model of prayer, he teaches us that the first form of prayer we must do is praise to God.

God is great, he is powerful, he is good, he is wise, he is Savior, he is our Father ... Praise is the gateway : "Enter into his gates with praises in his courts with Praise him, bless his name ! " (Psalm 100: 4).

Praise can be expressed in various ways, as this text says : "Be filled with the Spirit, but keep psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and celebrating All your heart the praises of the Lord" (Ephesians 5:18 / 20). Singing is one of the forms we can use to praise God.

In this same verse we are asked to give thanks : "Give thanks continually for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:20). Thanksgiving is another form of prayer.

The thanksgiving consists in offering God a prayer for all that he has done for us. It is an expression of recognition. The Bible tells us about ten lepers that Jesus healed, but only one came back to give thanks for it ; It is specified that the latter was the only one to be saved (Luke 17.11 / 19).

Thanksgiving is thank God for His kindness to us, for His works for us.

We are asked to do it continually, and for all things : "Give thanks continually for all things to God the Father." There is not only gratitude but also the expression of faith in the acts of thanksgiving. We recognize that God is the dispenser of all blessings. With James we say : "All excellent grace and every perfect gift come down from above, from the Father of lights" (James 1:17).

Advice for this day :

Before asking anything of God, begin your moments of prayer with a time of praise and thanksgiving addressed to God. It is at the same time an attitude of recognition but also an attitude of faith.

Paul Calzada

"If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask for it with faith, without doubting, for he who doubts is like the flood of the sea, agitated by the wind and pushed to one side and another. Do not imagine that he will receive anything from the Lord" (James 1: 6-7).

Jesus Himself reminds us of the importance of not doubting when we know that what we ask is according to the will of God : "Verily I say unto you, If any man say unto this mountain, And throw himself into the sea, and if he does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, he will see it accomplished" (Mark 11:23).

The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews tells us that we must approach God with faith : "But without faith it is impossible to be pleasing to him, for he who must come near to God must believe that God exists, And that he is the rewarder of those who seek him" (Hebrews 11: 6).

All these verses insist on the need to believe, when we pray. However, the grace of God comes to the rescue of our doubts when we confess them. We can pray like this father who called Jesus for his child tormented by a demon. This man is conscious of his unbelief and asks for help from Jesus : "Immediately the father of the child cried out : I believe ! come to the help of my unbelief !" (Mark 9:24).

Faced with certain situations, we may need to be rescued, so that the doubt. To fight this crippling doubt, the Lord gives us the remedy : His Word : "So faith comes from hearing and hearing from the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17). This text tells us that "faith comes". If we do not have it, it can come. It comes when we let the word of God feed our soul.

Prayer is not a monologue, prayer is dialogue. What God tells us is a thousand times more important than what we have to say to him. Beginning prayer by listening to the Word is the best antidote to doubt.

My resolution on this day :

In order that my faith may be strengthened, and doubt be removed from me, I resolve to attach more importance to what God tells me through his Word than to what I have Present it in my prayers.

Paul Calzada

"Forgive us our trespasses" (Matthew 6:12).

In the Our Father, this wonderful model of prayer that Jesus has left us underlines that all our requests can not be answered on the basis of our merits. It is important that all our prayers be impregnated with that profound awareness that we deserve nothing and that we are sinners.

Scripture reminds us in many places that God is on the side of those who have a humble heart and know how to ask for forgiveness : "For thus says the Most High, whose dwelling is eternal, and whose name is holy : I live in high places and in holiness, but I am with the contrite and humbled, that I may revive the humbled, that I may revive contrite hearts" (Isaiah 57:15). Is not that wonderful ? The favor of God is upon those who pray with a humble and contrite heart. The Apostle Peter says : "Put on humility, for God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble" (1 Peter 5: 5).

When the Prophet Daniel had his heart to pray, that God would fulfill his promise to bring the people of Israel back to his land, he began by humbling himself, and asked for forgiveness for the faults committed. (Daniel 9: 4-20). Daniel was aware that every request had to be addressed to God with a humble and repentant heart.

While we were in a prayer meeting, one of the elders proposed that we sing this beautiful song of Sylvain Freymond : "Forgive, Lord, forgive us for our pride, our resistances, come to take away our sufficiency, and drive away our arrogance. Lord, pardon for all our impure thoughts, Come and change our hard hearts, our obscure reasonings ... "At the end of this song, a brother prayed saying," Lord, thank you because you have already forgiven us, Wait till we ask your pardon. " This last brother seemed to forget that Jesus taught us to pray, integrating in our prayers a central request : "Forgive us our trespasses." It is not optional, it is an essential element in our prayers.

To pray, with a humble and contrite heart, is also to pray, by forgiving those who would have harmed you. Before making your request to God, make sure you have forgiven those who have offended you.

Advice for this day :

If you wish to be heard, approach the throne of grace with a humble heart by acknowledging your sins and forgiving those who have offended you.

Paul Calzada

"Do not hesitate to open your mouth, and let not your heart hasten to speak a word before God : for God is in heaven, and you on earth : let not your words be few in number" (Ecclesiastes 5: 1).

Here is a very important recommendation about prayer, or even praise : "Do not hurry to open your mouth !" This word is preceded by this indication : "Beware of your foot, when you enter into the house of God: draw near to listen ..." (Ecclesiastes 4:17).

In this verse, God speaks of four members of our body. Three of them are visible: the foot (to enter), the ear (to listen) and the mouth (to speak), and an invisible member : the heart. The goal of prayer is not simply to be physically involved, but to be there with the heart.

Prayer is a fundamentally religious attitude. Prayer exists in all religions of the world. It has visible forms more or less ostentatious. The body is involved in a thousand and one ways. However, when we pray, God looks to the heart. It is essential that our whole body (mouth, feet, hands, knees, eyes, ears ...) and our heart, are on the same wavelength.

God abhors hypocrisy. David could continue to give way, playing the harp, after committing adultery, and killed Uri the Hetian. But the truth in his heart was gone. It will be necessary for the prophet to put him face his sin by saying to him : "You are that man". Then David will take off his mask and repent of his hypocrisy. He will declare : "But you want the truth to be in the heart ..." (Psalms 51: 6).

Often, religious practice tends to make men hypocritical. Moreover, many synonyms of hypocrite, plunge their roots into religious vocabulary : bigot, bondieusard, devotee, Jesuit, Judas, Pharisee, tartuffe. God does not call us to have the appearance of piety, he invites us to seek out what makes him the strength, that is, the truth.

Let us not forget that Noah was a drunkard, that Abraham was a liar, that Moses was a murderer, that David was an adulterer and a murderer, that Paul was a persecutor, that Peter was a renegade. If their sin is revealed to us, it is not so that we may find excuses for our sins, but that we may find, as they do, the path of grace in repentance and in the true confession of what we are . In the hearts of these men of the Bible, God saw in them repentance and humility.

My decision on this day :

Before I raise my voice to pray, I make the decision to listen to what God wants to tell me, and to examine my heart in all truth.

Paul Calzada

"Seek ye first the kingdom and righteousness of God, and all things shall be given unto you" (Matthew 6:33).

Pay attention to our prayers centered primarily on us and our own needs. When Jesus wants to teach his disciples to pray, he reminds them that their personal needs must come after God, his reign, his kingdom, his glory. The request : "Give us our daily bread" (Matthew 6:11) comes after the reign of God.

Praying for our daily needs is certainly what we do best. This prayer can take various forms : "Bless my husband, my wife, my family, my work, my goods, my food ..." The "me, my, my, mes" are in the front line. However, Jesus rightly places these needs after the interests of God. This obliges us to ask ourselves the question of our priorities in prayer.

When Jesus invites us to ask for "our daily bread," let us not forget that this took place in a context where the bread of each day was not an absolute guarantee. Let us not forget that this situation of precariousness is still the case today of a large number of people on our land. To pray for our needs by forgetting these disinherited ones, is not this showing a regrettable egocentrism ?

If we can go to church without fear of being threatened, stopped or killed, we are more fortunate than three billion people in the world who do not know that freedom. If there is enough food in our fridge and we are dressed, we are richer than 75% of the inhabitants of this world. If we read this thought we are blessed, for we are not part of the two billion people who can not read !

When we pray for our needs, let us not forget those billions of men, women and children who have no drinking water, school, doctor, home, who are beaten, imprisoned unjustly, who die Of hunger and would like to eat our garbage !

Of course, we can pray for our daily needs, but it is essential that our thoughts be turned first to others. Isaiah says : "share your bread with the hungry" (Isaiah 58: 7). Every day children die of hunger, some will sell to eat a bowl of rice. Our garbage cans are overflowing with garbage, while millions of children feed on household garbage in the Third World !

Advice for this day :

May prayer for your daily needs always be placed in this perspective of generosity. Let us not be leeches that say selfishly : "Give, give!" (Proverbs 30:15).

Paul Calzada

"Therefore I say to you : Whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and you will see it fulfilled" (Mark 11:24).

Jesus left us with a fantastic promise concerning the power of prayer ! However, this promise is not unconditional. This "whole" does not encompass our personal desires, our caprices, our own will. Indeed this all implies :

All that is according to His will, all that is in conformity with His promises, all that helps to establish His Kingdom, all that honors His name, all that rejoices His Father's heart. If Jesus could say : "For me, I knew that you always hear me" (John 11:42), it is because all these conditions were fulfilled.

"We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if someone honors him and does his will, he is the one who He hears up "(John 9:31). The man who utters these words is a man who has just been healed by Jesus. He was blind, and now he sees ! He grasped that Jesus was honoring God by doing His will. To honor God is to do his will.

Honoring God also means honoring Jesus : "If anyone does not honor the Son, he does not honor the Father who sent him" (John 5:23).

To honor God is to be likewise generous : "To oppress the poor is to offend him who has done it, but to have mercy on the needy is to honor him" (Proverbs 14:31). See also: (Proverbs 3. 9/10). These two texts remind us of the importance of generosity towards God and the poor. Generosity honors God, avarice dishonors him. Let us note the fact that there is a link between the sharing of wealth and the fulfillment of prayers : "There was none among them that were needy ... and he performed miracles and wonders by the hands of the apostles." (Acts 4.34 and 5.12).

It is also essential to watch over the way we honor God : "The Lord said, When this people come near to me, they honor me with their mouth and lips, but their heart is far from me, and fear Which he has of me, is only a precept of human tradition" (Isaiah 29:13). This is a superficial but religiously correct attitude to honoring God. The lips honor him, but the heart is not ! Now, God sees it, no one can deceive him, and prayers are not answered !

A question for this day :

Do you want your prayers to be answered ? So honor God with all your heart, for if someone honors God and does his will, it is God's answer.

Paul Calzada

"The Lord Jehovah awakens every morning to awaken my ear, that I may hear as the disciples hear" (Isaiah 50: 4).

To get to know the will of God, we need an exercised ear. The apostle Paul points out to us a royal way : "I exhort you, brethren, by the compassion of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which will be your rational worship. But be transformed by the renewing of the understanding, that ye may know what is the will of God, which is good, pleasant, and perfect "(Romans 12: 1-2).

Three lines are given in this verse so that we can discern the will of God.

First, to offer our bodies "... as a living sacrifice," that is to say, that God does not want us to offer him a mortified body, but a living body. It is also a holy body, ie set apart, dedicated to being the house of God (1 Corinthians 6:19).

Second, do not conform to the present century. The Bible tells us about the present age in these terms : "... for the unbelievers whose god of this age has blinded the understanding, that they may not see the glory of the glory of Christ glorified, Which is the image of God "(2 Corinthians 4: 4). The god of this age personifies all that rises up against God. The devil is the perfect prototype, being the one who always distils false ideas, philosophies denying the existence of God, but opens the door to all superstitious beliefs, such as all the columns devoted to the horoscope in the Most newspapers. Not conforming to the present century is sometimes going against the fashionable, religiously correct ideas, as Jesus did with the Pharisees.

Third, be renewed in our intelligence. This renewal is possible only if our intelligence is not blinded, is always on the alert, and knows how to challenge the credos assenated ex cathedra. This renewal requires to consider that we have everything to learn ; If we are only complemented in routines, traditions, habits, and worshiped as relics, it is impossible to be renewed in our intelligence.

By following these three tracks, we already have something to advance in the discernment of the will of God. Knowing the will of God and doing it is fundamental to being heard.

My prayer on this day :

Desiring to know the will of God, in order to be heard, I pray thee Lord to give me the capacity to live what this verse says. Amen !

Paul Calzada

"Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10).

There is a place, where the will of God is known, and perfectly fulfilled: heaven. There, all heavenly creatures know his will and execute it.

There are so many parasitic noises on earth that blur the voice of God ! There are our more or less rational reasonings, our particular credos, our cultures, our religious and / or intellectual patterns, our social relations, our friendships, our compromises, our education, various philosophies, psychology, and so many others Things that blur the voice of God. All these noises, more or less discordant, prevent us from grasping his will for our life.

Is there any way to silence all these parasitic noises ? Part of the answer is indicated by Jesus. Indeed, why did he retire to the desert places to pray ? Was it not precisely to cut off all the external noises in order to know what God wanted ?

Why could Jesus say : "I always do what pleases me" ? (John 8:29). Was it not because he took the time to keep aloof from listening to his Father ? The desire of God for each of our lives is that we know His will, that we may live it. But his will for me is not necessarily his will for another. This is what Jesus reminds of Peter concerning John : "If I want him to remain until I come, what does it matter to you ? Follow me" (John 21:22). In other words, Jesus recalls that God's will for Peter's life could not be the will of God for John's life.

The Bible tells us in Romans 12: 2 "that his will is good, pleasant and perfect." This statement must lead us to believe that God's will for us is the best.

Indeed we can say : "Thy will be done", but think : "I would rather do mine" ! We can also say "Thy will be done" with the thought that we can do nothing against this will, or else we can say : "Thy will be done" because I know that there is Best for my life. I know that your will is good, pleasant and perfect. It is certainly this attitude of the heart that this prayer demands : "Thy will be done."

Advice for this day :

As it is not always easy for us to grasp what God wants for us, let us pray : Father teach me to discern your will, so that your will for my life may be done. Amen !

Paul Calzada

"That thy will be done" (Matthew 6:10).

The Bible reveals to us that God does not impose his will : he calls men to adhere freely. For this they need to say to themselves, more than to God : "I decide to do your will, that your will be done."

God shows us, through many examples in the Bible, that the great obstacle to the fulfillment of his will is man, with his egoism and pride, his prejudices and his hatreds.

God made His will known to Adam and Eve, but they disobeyed. God spoke to Cain and made known to him his will : "Dominate over sin". But Cain did not listen to this advice. How numerous are the cases in the Bible where men have not obeyed the will of God ! Knowing and accepting the will of God is a daily challenge for us who believe.

Many prayers are not and will never be answered because they are out of the will of God, as James reminds us : "You ask, and you do not receive, because you ask badly, in order to satisfy your passions" (James 4: 3). The word "passions" may be replaced by "desires". What we desire is not always what God wants. Paul prayed to be healed, but God's answer was: no ! : "Three times I prayed to the Lord ... and he said to me : "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is fulfilled in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12: 8-9).

That we desire health, healing, when we are sick is quite natural. This desire is legitimate, yet the will of God may be elsewhere than in healing. In the same way Peter heard Jesus tell him that one day he would have to go where he would not. "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Thou shalt spread out thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and lead thee whither thou wilt not." (John 21:18).

No one likes suffering. But sometimes the will of God is to lead us to go through such a path. "That thy will be done" implies in these cases, to accept suffering. Jesus Himself will claim to be exempted from a terrible cup, his prayer is legitimate, yet his prayer will focus on the will of the Father : "He said Abba, Father, all things are possible to you ; But not what I will, but what thou wilt" (Mark 14:36).

If Jesus had to face this opposition between what he wanted and what his Father wanted, how much more so we will be ourselves and will often have to repeat : "That thy will be done."

My prayer on this day :

Lord, it is with confidence that I want to advance in fulfillment, not what I want, but what you want. Amen !

Paul Calzada