The Intercessor

Sometimes, when life gets busy, we tend to omit God from it. For example, a few months/years ago, I was in graduate school. In order to obtain the desired advanced degree, one had to work nearly impossible hours. During that time, I worked on weekends, nights, early mornings, Saturdays, Sundays...you name it. I worked and worked and worked some more. There were times when going to meet a friend for lunch was impossible or spending time with my husband required some planning. In those years, I was not happy. And although my hard work gave forth educational and professional rewards, I felt empty.

Since I wanted to get the degree and because I wanted to be acknowledged in the process, God was put on the back-burner. Despite my successes, my busy schedule eventually caused me to feel "burnt-out." Little by little and without notice, "life"took a toll on my emotions. Suddenly, I struggled to get out of bed every morning and battled insomnia most nights. Something was not right. Something was missing.

Halfway during graduate school, I met a woman from Rhode Island. She was a Christian and was always very cheerful and enthusiastic about God. My initial impression was that she was a religious fanatic. "No one should be this cheerful about God," I thought as I continued to work. Ironically, I found myself desiring her joy. I wanted to feel happy and peaceful in spite all the stress.

Slowly but surely, our relationship evolved from a simple "hello" in the hallways to dinner in her house. The more she spoke about God and her relationship with Him, the more I desired to know Him. What I once wanted, professional success, no longer became my desire. My desire is to develop a closer relationship with Him. I was blessed to have completed my degree during graduate school but now, I try to make sure that what I do is in line with God's desire. I still struggle with defining His desires for me and that my desires are aligned with His. I pray that our desires align but in all honesty, sometimes, I don't know what to pray for.

I was reading Romans the other day when a scripture caught my attention: Romans 8:26-27. In it, it talks about living in the Spirit. His Word says that our Spirit helps us in our weaknesses and that although we sometimes don't know what we should pray for, our Spirit "intercedes with groans that words cannot express." That message really spoke to me. For me, it means that no matter how "life" pans out, our desires are known to God. That means that with all the craziness of life, our Spirit intercedes for us at all hours of the day, night, on weekdays and on weekends! What a wonderful gift! Praise Jesus!