Luke 1:8-10

“Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.”

We must be about praying for our leaders. This includes our church leaders, government leaders, and our family and friends as the leaders of their homes or jobs. I have often be overwhelmed with prayer needs and the time to truly lift those up to God in intercession.

But, intercession is vital! It is vital because God constantly talks about the importance of pray in His Word…and also it is what Jesus lives to do! WOW! Look at this verse in Hebrews 7:23-25…

“Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.”

Jesus is the example of what we strive to follow each day. Intercession is a part of what Jesus always lives to do. I assign the people in my life different days that I will pray over them. I don’t try to tackle every person God has called me to intercede for every single day! Those prayers wouldn’t be specific or fruitful.

Perhaps today you can take a few moments to make a list of those you desire to pray for…don’t forget our leaders! Assign those people to days of your week so that you can have only a few people to lift up each day. That way you can make sure that you are truly praying specifically and passionately for those people. It sure has helped me!

Whatever you do, lift up those around you. We MUST pray over our leaders! We cannot sit back and be passive. Jesus is the example of eternal intercession and I want to conform each day to His likeness, running the race with endurance!