By David Kubal

We live in a day where we are constantly bombarded by messages that we should be accepting of other people’s behavior.  The same-sex marriage debate is a perfect example.  We are told that we should love our neighbor as ourselves, meaning that we should accept people’s behavior regardless of God’s perspective with a distorted understanding of love.

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As we are confronted with the demands of tolerance a cycle begins.  We initially cry out in desperation then as we experience series of defeats weariness sets in and then finally resignation.  We must constantly look to our Lord for his point of view, examining our hearts that we are taking on the Lord’s point of view.

“Jesus said to his disciples, “Things that make people fall into sin are bound to happen, but how terrible for the one who makes them happen! It would be better for him if a large millstone were tied around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.  So watch what you do!” Luke 17:1-3

When it comes to prayer and intercession, this is a critical passage to remember.  It is God who defines what sin is – and what sin is not.  Just because something has become popular doesn’t make it right, just because a politician say we should believe his views, we shouldn’t, and just because judges rule in particular manners doesn’t make them right.  As we struggle with the cycle that tolerance creates we must be mindful that we mustn’t become negligent in our intercessory calling.

We shouldn’t be surprised with the boundless manners that sin enters mankind, but we must always watch our hearts to ensure that God is our plumb line, not contemporary opinions to effect our prayers.

One of the characteristics of an intercessors heart that unlocks God’s hand through our prayers is desperation, and the biggest problem with tolerance is that it neutralize desperation.  If we are tolerant of ungodly things, then we will not reach godly levels of desperation.   Intercessory endureance is must as we continually be examining our heart to ensure our desperation is not neutralized.

So, how are we to do this?

The apostles said to the Lord, “Make our faith greater.” Luke 17: 5

Our Lord’s words were just as convicting and challenging to the disciples as they are to us some 2,000 years later.  Their reaction was the same as ours:  HELP!  They understood their ability be “salt” in the lives of others was limited in their own efforts; the needed greater faith.

This simple prayer, “Make our faith greater,” is one that believers will need to rely upon in the days ahead like no other times of our lives.  We will need a greater ability to examine our hearts, a greater ability to know God’s heart, and greater power to pray and believe the Lord can still work a miracle.

This may be an oversimplification, but to focus this treatment of the passage, faith has one purpose:  to shape history.  Our faith changes the thoughts in our head, the attitudes of our hearts and the actions of our hands.  God has called us to join him in shaping history through prayer and fasting; and we live in a day that we must pray for a greater measure of faith to do this.

Intercessor, as we watch the seeming limitless parade of evil before our eyes let us evaluate all we see through God’s eyes,  guarding our hearts and praying for greater faith.  We will need it!