Dec 29, 2025 – Intercessors
Two sisters walked in the colonoscopy office just before us this morning. Each step in the check-in process that the sister-patient took, we knew Don would be called next; so, when the sister-driver (the one with the loud-ringing phone) got the call to go get her car, I tried to quickly finish my blog and pack up to be ready for my call. Sister-driver got stopped by the man on the phone who didn’t seem to understand the order of events as he held her there in conversation instead of letting her head on out to her car to pick up sister-patient. We heard about him being his mom’s good son and coming from Atlanta to take her to this appt since the other son is in Charlotte and how he helped her take down her Christmas tree and would be staying another night and then somehow he traveled back a few years talking about how he’d had Covid before we knew what Covid was. Sister-driver was so patient, but finally found a break in the conversation and left, while another lady picked up the covid convo with the man.
When I got out to the elevator after the call from Don’s doctor, sister-driver was there. The slow elevator gave us a chance for a brief talk about our loved ones. She said her sister had gotten the good report she had been praying for and it hit me that, though I’d said “God be with you” at some point and kissed Don before he was taken back for the procedure, I hadn’t been praying. I was talking with and listening to God while blogging, but I likely should have been more focused on that moment of interceding for him. I say that because the first thing his doctor said to me was, “It’s a good thing he came on in.” Gulp. What? He then downplayed that comment by saying that he thinks the one small and one large polyp that he removed and sent for biopsies will be okay like the ones that have been found in the past. Sister-driver asked for Don’s name and said she would be praying for him. Thank You, God, for intercessors and for moments of encouragement at elevators.
JC – “Trust Me with every fiber of your being! What I can accomplish in and through you is proportional to how much you depend on Me. One aspect of this is the degree to which you trust Me in a crisis or major decision.” On our elevator ride, sister-driver and I talked about how God hears our heart, but that our relationship with Him can be so much deeper and our prayers so much more powerful when we spend real time with Him talking and praying. I prayed in the car, about the biopsies and the healing of the spots, while I waited for the nurse to bring Don out. Young continues in her interpretation of God’s voice, “I care as much about your tiny trust-steps through daily life as about your dramatic leaps of faith. You may think that no one notices, but the One who is always beside you sees everything – and rejoices. Consistently trusting in Me is vital to flourishing in My Presence.”
Prevail 363 – Such a good point Larson is making here, “Over the centuries, people have held God to a double standard. They’ve blamed Him for the evil in the world and have dismissed Him for having a wrathful side. People want a passive, gooey God that allows them to do anything they want. And they want a God that deals with anyone and everyone who would dare infringe upon their idea of what life should look like. God’s ways are far higher than our ways. He is a God of Love and a God of justice. His involvement is purposeful and His timing, meticulous. And He keeps good records…. Those who have decided to live their life the way they want will face the great white throne of judgment. They’ll face God’s wrath with no one [Jesus] to advocate for them…. No one is exempt from Judgment Day. Don’t waste a minute of your life. Steward your gifts with passion and purpose. God cares deeply about what you do and why you do it.” That makes me feel better about not praying during Don’s colonoscopy. I believe it was a good use of my waiting time working on the blog. It also would have been good for me to just pray, as long as I prayed in faith and not in fear. God knows my heart and my heart wanted to serve others while also being there for Don. And, as I wrote in the 28th’s blog, if I had been praying and likely distracted by others, I’d have been judging their annoying habits and not having a pure heart.
Power – Joyce offers a great answer on the perplexities of decisions about what we should and shouldn’t do. “Of course you want to be able to know for certain what God wants you to do in every situation, but you don’t; and like everyone else, you must step out in faith and eventually do one thing or the other. Pray with all your heart that if what you are doing is wrong, God will graciously close the door before you make a huge mistake. If you don’t have peace about something, then you should not do it.”
Because her advice is so helpful on this very crucial subject, I’m going to include the rest of the devotion, “If after prayer and waiting you feel you don’t have a clear direction from God, then it may mean He is simply giving you the freedom of making your own choice. If you do make a decision that turns out to be wrong, God will meet you where you are and get you back on the right path. One thing is for sure: God is merciful, and we don’t have to be afraid to make deicsions. The best way to learn is to begin doing!”
Utmost – Chambers writes, “When God gives a vision by His Spirit through His word of what He wants, and your mind and soul thrill to it, if you do not walk in the light of that vision, you will sink into servitude to a point of view which Our Lord never had. Disobedience in mind to the heavenly vision will make you a slave to points of view that are alien to Jesus Christ…. You have to walk in the light of the vision that has been given to you and not compare yourself with others or judge them, that is between them and God.”
Streams – Judges 18:9-10 – “Come on…! We have seen that the land is very good. Aren’t you going to do something? Don’t hesitate to go there and take it over…. God has put into your hands, a land that lacks nothing whatever.” Cowman points out in today’s devotion that, “…nothing is ours unless we take it.” I believe that applies to my prayers for Don. I get a little caught up in whether our lack of prayers binds God up in what He can do for us or whether He will do want He wants despite our involvement. When I expressed that in the short elevator ride with sister-driver, that’s when she said, “God knows our hearts.” So, we aren’t in control and responsible for everything that does or doesn’t happen around us. Cowman points out, “We need to have appropriating faith when it comes to God’s promises and should make His Word our own personal possession. A child was once asked what appropriating faith was, and he answered, ‘It is taking a pencil and underlining every me, my, and mine in the Bible’…. Put your finger on a promise and say, ‘It is mine.’” Child-like faith.
JA – “LET MY PEACE RULE IN YOUR HEART, AND BE THANKFUL. And let My Spirit help you in this challenging endeavor…. A simple way to request His help is to pray: ‘Holy Spirit, fill me with Your Peace.’ Try sitting in a quiet place until you feel relaxed and calm. When you are thoroughly relaxed, it is easier to seek My Face and enjoy My Presence.”
