Do you ever stop to consider how amazing it is that God Almighty CHOOSES to work through the prayers of his people?!  Intercession is definitely a privilege, and because of Jesus, we can approach the throne of grace with boldness and confidence (Hebrews 4:16).  Personally, I have interceded more for our country in the past 3 months than I have my entire life.  It’s a calling that can be quite consuming and heavy. Sometimes you just need a good laugh. Can you relate?  Recently this greater sense of responsibility and concern brought comic relief as it resulted in a hilarious slip-up in speech that turned out to be a trail of encouragement and exhortation.

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Last week during my son’s high school soccer game, the other team kicked the ball uncomfortably close to our goal.  In an attempt to spur our team on, I intended to yell, “INTERCEPT IT”! Instead I blurted out, “INTERCEDE IT”!  At first what I misspoke made me laugh.  Then the words hit my head like the impact of a soaring soccer ball! “INTERCEDE IT”… “INTERCEPT IT”… I passed the words back and forth in my mind. That’s exactly what our prayers do! Through intercession we attempt to block the goals of the enemy!  Whatever his evil plan for the time is, we need to, “INTERCEDE IT”!

However, despite our heartfelt prayers, sometimes the Lord allows the enemy to “score” or even win a game. Such appears to be the case at this time in our country.  Unlike with sports though, what defines the end of a game is not so cut and dried; after all, we can’t see a cosmic scoreboard with a countdown. We’ve all experienced that the Great I Am’s clock is definitely not the one used by man.

Along those lines, His ways are not our ways, but He gave us the promise of Romans 8:28 so that even through loss, we will not lose heart. When a sports team faces defeat it’s a learning experience and a challenge to improve endurance, skill, and teamwork. Learning and growing may be two ways in which the Romans 8:28 promise is fulfilled. With this word of assurance though, it’s important to remember that the future outcome isn’t solely dependent on us because, GOD IS WORKING ALL THINGS TOGETHER FOR GOOD for those who are called according to His purpose… Also, even when the enemy scores a goal, or wins a game, let us keep in mind that Jesus is already victorious and we are on the triumphant team!  We’ve just yet to see the final championship showdown as recorded in Revelation.

Like athletes on a sports team, we should never give up, even when things look bleak. At least that’s what coaches call for, and what God’s Word commands.  Perseverance comes as we support and encourage each other. The Lord reminded me of this as I was cheering for our team which was down 1-0 in this action-packed divisional match. After screaming, “Go Saint Cloud!”  the words echoed in my head. SAINT CLOUD is the name of my son’s high school as well as our city.  In that moment it also served as a reminder of Hebrews 12:1-2: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a CLOUD of WITNESSES, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

In the previous chapter of Hebrews, we read a list of the heroes of our faith such as Enoch, Noah, and Abraham to name a few, who comprise this CLOUD OF SAINTS–a whole TEAM of God-fearing people pioneered our faith and left a legacy.  Additionally, believers can find inspiration from the Apostles and early church in Acts who persevered through much hardship as they laid down their lives, and we are grateful they did!  What about the dedication of other martyrs throughout history or persecuted Christians in the world today?  Of course, Jesus is our ultimate example as verse 2 reminds us of his authority, sacrifice, love, and victory!: looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

After the assurance that we are not alone in this race, we are exhorted to “lay aside every weight and sin.”  There are a few times in the past 3 months when I heard rumors about legal pathways promising that Donald Trump would in fact be our president again. Every time I received news promising all would be made right, I felt a huge sense of relief, or more accurately, the surge of energy you experience when 5 o’clock finally hits at the office on Friday! Many of us have imagined different scenarios where this all plays out.

Would this be a celebration of a victory for truth, justice, and freedom?  Of course! But subconsciously I was just as excited about the prospect of regaining a sense of security and the return to my comfortable life.  Sadly, I could instantly feel my mindset slipping back into one of complacency.  In America it’s easy to live in one continual “weekend” where we can spiritually kick back and relax, making pleasure our priority.  However, we are called to throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles us. Why? So we can run the race with endurance! The spiritual battle did not begin with this election, and regardless of the outcome of the presidential race, the spiritual war would not end at inauguration, so we must not grow weary in doing good.

Speaking of ending, when the final buzzer sounded, the score for the soccer game remained 1-0.  But my sophomore son wasn’t discouraged because he knew they had played hard and that he would have more chances to play.  Intercessors, we have more opportunities to fight the good fight too!  We have yet to play our personal final game or take part in God’s ultimate championship match against Satan and his followers.

Soccer and spiritual parallels continued heading my way, even the next day, which happened to be that same son’s 16th birthday! As I was writing “Happy Birthday” on the bathroom mirror and attempting to draw a soccer ball, Philippians 3:13-14 came to mind:  Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.   What wise counsel, and more importantly, mature example Paul set for us!

At the bottom of my son’s birthday message I included the Philippians 4:13 address and decided that I should add a goal to complete the picture.  Thankfully, before I started drawing, I realized that I had a picture of a football goal in my head- I had the wrong goal in mind!  Sigh. A football goal would be much easier to draw. You might know where this is going….

Too often in life we lose sight of the goal Jesus set for us before leaving earth – the Great Commission that stems from a love for Christ and people. Instead, we set our eyes on the easier goal of what this world offers and values.  In the end these goals won’t count, so let us fix our eyes on Jesus and His kingdom and live in light of eternity. 

If you had a big IFA TAKE ACTION button, what Ephesians 2:10 assignment would yours say?  Ask our Heavenly Father what position He would have you play – even TODAY!  Maybe you are called to run for political office, become active on your school board or city council, talk to one young person or many about where they can find their true identity, or help a woman through a crisis pregnancy.  Certainly we can all play OFFENSE through the praise and worship of Jesus and the minute by minute commitment to live for His glory!

During this time, while we fast and pray for our country, the leaders, and the laws, we find ourselves in the DEFENSE position.  As we play this “away game”, every time something from the enemy comes our way, let’s IMMEDIATELY PRAY to “INTERCEDE IT!”  Even as the Lord brought the “cloud of witnesses” verse to mind, He also told me to right then and there pray for my city for salvation and revival for many– that it would be filled with a PRESENT DAY CLOUD OF WITNESSES FOR HIM!  We have spent much time and prayer to “INTERCEDE IT,” in what feels like a fight for survival.  Now it’s time to THRIVE and take the ball down to GOD’S GOAL, with the heart cry of “REVIVAL”!

Karen Quiroz is an intercessor, homeschooling mom, and past coordinator of the Bible Read-A-Thon. (Photo Credit: Unsplash.)

If you had a big IFA TAKE ACTION button, what Ephesians 2:10 assignment would yours be?  Share in the comments below. . .