He is praying for me!

artwork by Lori Bedo

Lori Bedo described this beautiful work of art on the Artful Story Journaling Facebook page, “I was going through some boxes in my art room and came across some pages from an old art journal. Though years have passed since these were made, I can still see that my eyes were on my Creator . . . the swirls of paint with a cross scraped in the midst . . . scrapes and smudges, smears and cuts, using a putty knife on globs of paint with a cross in the midst . . . loving Jesus . . . I have loved the Lord all these years and He has kept me close to His side through it all.”


I reflected on Lori’s inspired artwork as I listened to one of my favorite hymns from Selah, Before The Throne of God Above…Before the throne of God above, I have a strong and perfect Plea; A great high priest whose name is Love, Who ever lives and pleads for me. My name is graven on His hands, My name is written on His heart. I know that while in Heaven He stands, No tongue can bid me thence depart. When Satan tempts me to despair, And tells me of the guilt within, Upwards I look and see Him there, Who made an end to all my sin. Because the sinless Savior died, My sinful soul is counted free, For God the Just is satisfied, to look on Him and pardon me. Behold Him there, the risen Lamb; My perfect spotless Righteousness, the great unchanging all I Am, The King of glory and of grace. One with Himself, I cannot die; my soul is purchased by His blood. My life is hid with Christ on high; with Christ, my Savior and my God…this inspired me to do a word study of the word “intercedes” from Romans 8:26-27:

NASB: In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according tothe will of God.


Amplified: So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance. And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedesand pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God’s will.


NLT: And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.

Phillips: The Spirit of God not only maintains this hope within us, but helps us in our present limitations. For example, we do not know how to pray worthily as sons of God, but his Spirit within us is actually praying for us in those agonizing longings which never find words. And God who knows the heart’s secrets understands, of course, the Spirit’s intention as he prays for those who love God.

Wuest: And in like manner also the Spirit lends us a helping hand with reference to our weakness, for the particular. thing that we should pray for according to what is necessary in the nature of the case, we do not know with an absolute knowledge; but the Spirit himself comes to our rescue by interceding with unutterable groanings.  Moreover, He who is constantly searching our hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit because, according to God, He continually makes intercession on behalf of the saints.

Young's Literal: And, in like manner also, the Spirit doth help our weaknesses; for, what we may pray for, as it behoveth [us], we have not known, but the Spirit himself doth make intercession for us with groanings unutterable, and He who is searching the hearts hath known what [is] the mind of the Spirit, because according to God he doth intercede for saints.

Intercedes for us: the Greek words entugcháno (from en = in + tugcháno = get, obtain) means to meet up with or to encounter and then to approach someone with a petition, and hupérentugcháno (from hupér = for, on behalf of + entugcháno = entreat) means to make intercession, bring a petition to a king on behalf of someone, ask for something with urgency and intensity. It means to make an earnest request through contact with the one approached. To entreat (in favor or against), to bring a petition to a king on behalf of someone, to ask for something with urgency and intensity, to plead, beg, appeal to or to petition. It further means to intercede for or in the behalf of someone or to plead for someone. It is a picturesque word of rescue by one who ‘happens on’ one who is in trouble, and ‘in his behalf’ (hupér) pleads ‘with unuttered groanings’ or with ‘sighs that baffle words.'


Intercedes for us: the preposition for (hupér) is the Greek preposition which in this context expresses the idea of substitution. Instead of for, one can render it as, Christ intercedes—in place of, for the benefit of, on behalf of—us. This act of love can never be fully appreciated until we understand exactly who the objects of that love were—unlovable, unlovely, ungodly, helpless-to-help-themselves-sinners, constantly rebelling against God's will for their lives, God's mortal enemies! It is for such as these that our constantly Risen Lord constantly makes intercession. Our Great High Priest speaks to His Father on our behalf and He is engaged in this gracious work continually, in the present tense, He is continuously interceding on behalf of His children.


Greek Scholar Kenneth S. Wuest writes, “God the Father who searches the hearts of His saints, understands the intent or bent of our unutterable prayers, unutterable because we do not know the particular things we should pray for in connection with a certain circumstance, for He knows the mind of the Holy Spirit praying for us and in our stead in our prayers in the case of the above-mentioned items for prayer, the Holy Spirit praying according to the plan of God for our lives. The Messiah's current intercession includes every form of Messiah’s identifying Himself with humanity, and includes the idea of intercession. The Apostle Paul speaks here of the present intercession of Messiah on behalf of believers, which is based upon and follows His once-for-all offering of Himself as the sacrifice for sin.”


Pastor John F. Walvoord notes that “the verb hupérentugcháno is used twice to refer to Christ's intercession. For those prepared to enter into its wonderful truth, the fact that Christ intercedes for His own in heaven is another guarantee of the security of the believer. While the hope of the believer for eternal salvation rests essentially on his possession of eternal life and the finished character of the death of Christ, it is undoubtedly strengthened by the fact of the intercession of Christ. In His intercession in heaven, Christ sustains the believer and keeps him from many of the spiritual dangers of life. Such intercession pleads the fact that the believer is in Christ and a partaker of His righteousness. The doctrine of intercession emphasizes the great truth that Christ never ceases to intercede for His own. While human prayers on earth are limited in both extent and power, the intercession of Christ knows no limits within the will of God. As an infinite person, Christ is able to concentrate His intercession wholly on each individual believer without any diminution or detraction from the needs of any other. In effect, the believer is assured of the intercession of Christ in such a manner as would be true if Christ centered all His love and all His intercession on that one believer. Whatever may be the limitation of human prayers, the believer is assured that there is One who never ceases to pray to him and his needs and that this Intercessor has all power and favor with the Father and, accordingly, “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.”



Robert Murray McCheyne, the beloved Scottish minister of the 19th century, wrote, “It was dawn, and I was painfully aware of being only a few weeks into widowhood. After another restless night, I felt too weary to pray for myself. ‘Lord,’ I sighed, ‘I need someone to pray for me right now.’ Almost instantly God's Spirit comforted my distraught mind with the words of Romans 8:26-27, reminding me that Jesus was praying for me that very moment. With a wave of relief, I acknowledged Him as my lifelong intercessor. I will never forget how that bleak morning became gold-tinged with hope. Since then, I have drawn courage and strength countless times from my faithful High Priest. If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet the distance makes no difference. He is praying for me!" 


There are tears of joy flowing from my eyes even now as I recall the many times in 2004 that our then 13 year-old son, Jason, and I sang along with the album, Hiding Place, by Selah as we were driving in the car. The playlist includes the wonderful songs: You Raise Me Up, I Bless Your Name, There is Power in the Blood, You Are My Hiding Place, Through It All, By and By (We’ll Understand It Better), and the song I featured here, Before the Throne of God Above.


Lord Jesus, thank You for tears that remind me what a joy it is to know that I know that I know that I am, right now, under the completely sufficient imputed righteousness of Christ. Nothing I do will make You love me more, and nothing I do will make You love me less. Because I have placed my trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ, I am redeemed by Your precious blood, I am a greatly blessed, highly favored, and deeply loved child of God. As You are, so am I in this world (I John 4:17). The threat of failure, judgment, and condemnation has been removed (Romans 8:1). Knowing that God’s love for me and approval of me will never be determined by my performance is the most encouraging promise to which I cling. Thank You for the tears of joy now falling from the eyes of my heart--they come from the assurance and joy of our salvation, that You could not love us more, and You could not love us less than You do right now—interceding for us--praying for us, Before the Throne of God Above. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.


Look Up—meditate on Romans 8:26-27… pray to see what it reveals about the character of God.

Look In—as you meditate on Romans 8:26-27… pray to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your discoveries: "Because God is_________, I will_____________."

Look Out—as you meditate on Romans 8:26-27 …pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others. Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.

* If you liked this post, you’ll love this book – Name Above All Names Devotional: Focusing on 26 Alphabetical Names of Christ

Weekly LinkUps…

righteousness...be still & know

artwork by Liz Lassa, creator of Spiritual Circle Journal

Liz Lassa, creator of Spiritual Circle Journal, described the meaning behind this beautiful work of art…Did you know this was the original cover to the Spiritual Circle Journal? The one I created and shared with 27 ladies in a friend's home right before I realized God was up to something bigger than I had imagined. It hangs in my quiet time spot/creative space. There is so much significance in the art. We are to be like the tree, staying rooted by the flowing river of Living Water. The rough edges around the picture of the tree represent our rough edges that the Lord wants to smooth off like the pebbles below. The three glass circles in the sky represent the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The sparkles in the river represent the nuggets that God wants to teach us when we get still and spend time with Him. The whole point of the Spiritual Circle Journal is to help people love their time with God and crave it more often. To grow closer to God, to know Him, to love Him, and to do His will.

I was inspired to dig a little deeper for some of those “nuggets that God wants to teach us” through a word study of the word, righteousness, from Romans 8:10-11…


Amplified Bible: But if Christ lives in you, [then although] your [natural] body is dead by reason of sin and guilt, the spirit is alive because of [the] righteousness [that He imputes to you]. And if the Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, [then] He Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you.

NLT: And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

Phillips: Now if Christ does live within you His presence means that your sinful nature is dead, but your spirit becomes alive because of the righteousness he brings with him. I said that our nature is “dead” in the presence of Christ, and so it is, because of its sin. Nevertheless once the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead lives within you he will, by that same Spirit, bring to your whole being new strength and vitality.

Wuest: But, assuming that Christ is in you, on the one hand the body is dead on account of sin, but on the other hand the [human] spirit is alive on account of righteousness and assuming that the Spirit of the One who raised up Jesus out from among the dead is in residence in you, He who raised from among the dead Christ Jesus, will also make alive your mortal bodies through the agency of the Spirit who is resident in you.

Young's Literal: and if Christ [is] in you, the body, indeed, [is] dead because of sin, and the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness, and if the Spirit of Him who did raise up Jesus out of the dead doth dwell in you, He who did raise up the Christ out of the dead shall quicken also your dying bodies, through His Spirit dwelling in you.


Righteousness in Greek is dikaiosune (from dikaios) which means being proper or right in the sense of being fully justified (being or in accordance with what God requires); it is the quality of being upright. In its simplest sense, dikaiosune conveys the idea of conformity to a standard or norm.

Dikaiosune is rightness of character before God and rightness of actions before men.  Righteousness of God could be succinctly stated as, all that God is, all that He commands, all that He demands, all that He approves, all that He provides through Christ.


Righteousness comes from a root word that means straightness. It refers to a state that conforms to an authoritative standard. Righteousness is a moral concept. God’s character is the definition and source of all righteousness and this is exactly what Paul is referring to in the context of the present verse. God is totally righteous because He is totally as He should be. The righteousness of God could be succinctly stated as that which is all that God is, all that He commands, all that He demands, all that He approves, and all that He provides (through Christ).

Dikaiosune here refers to the divine action by which God puts a person right with Himself (in the act of justification which here equates with imputed righteousness). The original use of this word group (dikaiosune, dikaios) was in the law courts where a judge declared an accused person "not guilty" and henceforth "right" before the law (righteousness was thus the opposite of a declaration of "guilty" with subsequent condemnation).


Pastor Ray Pritchard describes dikaiosune in this application: “If you want righteousness, you can have it. Let me go out on a limb and make a bold statement. Whatever you want in the spiritual realm, you can have if you want it badly enough. I don’t think we appreciate the importance of that truth. Most of us are about as close to God now as we want to be. We have about as much joy as we want, about as much peace as we want. For the most part, you are where you are right now because that’s where you want to be. If you were hungry for something better from God, you could have it.

If you want it, you can have a close walk with God.
If you want it, you can have a better marriage.
If you want to, you can do God’s will.
If you want to, you can grow spiritually.
If you want to, you can become a man of God or a woman of God.
If you want to, you can change deeply-ingrained habits.
If you want to, you can break destructive patterns of behavior....

When Jesus says, “You will be filled,” He means “You will be filled with Jesus Himself!”

If you are hungry, come and eat of the Bread of Life.
If you are thirsty, come and drink of the Water of Life.
If you are weary, heavy laden, come and find rest.
If you are guilty, come and be forgiven.
If you are far from God, come back home again.

The French philosopher Pascal said that there is a “God-shaped vacuum” inside every human heart. Since nature abhors a vacuum, if we don’t fill it with God, we will fill it with something else. So many of us have filled our hearts with the junk food of the world, it is no wonder we are so unhappy.

Augustine explained both the problem and the solution: “O God, You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in You.” You will never be happy until you put God first in your life. And you can never do that until you surrender your life to Jesus Christ once and for all.

In the kingdom of God, everything begins with a seeking heart! Salvation begins with a hungry heart. If you are tired of the life you’ve been living, you can make a new start. Whatever you want in the spiritual realm, you can have if you want it badly enough. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. “Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? If you are, you can be filled. This is the promise of God to hungry hearts and thirsty souls.”

Lord Jesus, daily as I long to “be still and know,” I picture You, my Shepherd, by the still waters and the green pasture of the 23rd Psalm. I bring whatever concern I have, or person for whom I am interceding by the hand. I walk out to You in the green pasture, and I place my concern, or the hand of the person for whom I am interceding in Your nail-pierced hands . . . knowing that You are sovereign, You love me, and You love the person for whom I am interceding more than I do. You have a plan, a hope, and a future for each of us. I walk away, thanking You for how the Spirit of Christ is flowing through me and how You are at work in my life and in the lives of those for whom I am interceding. I know and believe that I am the righteousness of God in Christ. I experience Your peace that passes all my understanding. Praying as Catherine Marshall prayed, “Lord Jesus, I trust You, You know what You’re doing, I relinquish my will to Yours.” In Jesus' precious Name Above All Names I pray, amen.

Look Up—meditate on Romans 8:10-11 … pray to see what it reveals about the character of God.

Look In—as you meditate on Romans 8:10-11 … pray to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your discoveries: "Because God is_________, I will_____________."

Look Out—as you meditate on Romans 8:10-11 …pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others. Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.

* If you liked this post, you’ll love this book – Name Above All Names Devotional: Focusing on 26 Alphabetical Names of Christ

Weekly LinkUps…

righteousness...Jesus paid it all...

artwork by Liz Lassa, creator of Spiritual Circle Journal

Liz Lassa, creator of Spiritual Circle Journal, described the meaning behind this beautiful work of art…Did you know this was the original cover to the Spiritual Circle Journal? The one I created and shared with 27 ladies in a friend's home right before I realized God was up to something bigger than I had imagined. It hangs in my quiet time spot/creative space. There is so much significance in the art. We are to be like the tree, staying rooted by the flowing river of Living Water. The rough edges around the picture of the tree represent our rough edges that the Lord wants to smooth off like the pebbles below. The three glass circles in the sky represent the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The sparkles in the river represent the nuggets that God wants to teach us when we get still and spend time with Him. The whole point of the Spiritual Circle Journal is to help people love their time with God and crave it more often. To grow closer to God, to know Him, to love Him, and to do His will.

As I pondered this beautiful artwork, I was inspired by the old hymn Jesus Paid It All.

I was inspired to dig a little deeper for some of those nuggets through a word study of the word, righteousness, from Romans 8:10-11…


Amplified Bible: But if Christ lives in you, [then although] your [natural] body is dead by reason of sin and guilt, the spirit is alive because of [the] righteousness [that He imputes to you]. And if the Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, [then] He Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you.

.
NLT: And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

.
Phillips: Now if Christ does live within you His presence means that your sinful nature is dead, but your spirit becomes alive because of the righteousness he brings with him. I said that our nature is “dead” in the presence of Christ, and so it is, because of its sin. Nevertheless once the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead lives within you he will, by that same Spirit, bring to your whole being new strength and vitality.

.
Wuest: But, assuming that Christ is in you, on the one hand the body is dead on account of sin, but on the other hand the [human] spirit is alive on account of righteousness and assuming that the Spirit of the One who raised up Jesus out from among the dead is in residence in you, He who raised from among the dead Christ Jesus, will also make alive your mortal bodies through the agency of the Spirit who is resident in you.
.
Young's Literal: and if Christ [is] in you, the body, indeed, [is] dead because of sin, and the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness, and if the Spirit of Him who did raise up Jesus out of the dead doth dwell in you, He who did raise up the Christ out of the dead shall quicken also your dying bodies, through His Spirit dwelling in you.
.
Righteousness in Greek is dikaiosune (from dikaios) which means being proper or right in the sense of being fully justified (being or in accordance with what God requires); it is the quality of being upright. In its simplest sense, dikaiosune conveys the idea of conformity to a standard or norm.
Dikaiosune is rightness of character before God and rightness of actions before men.  Righteousness of God could be succinctly stated as, all that God is, all that He commands, all that He demands, all that He approves, all that He provides through Christ.


Righteousness comes from a root word that means straightness. It refers to a state that conforms to an authoritative standard. Righteousness is a moral concept. God’s character is the definition and source of all righteousness and this is exactly what Paul is referring to in the context of the present verse. God is totally righteous because He is totally as He should be. The righteousness of God could be succinctly stated as that which is all that God is, all that He commands, all that He demands, all that He approves, and all that He provides (through Christ).
Dikaiosune here refers to the divine action by which God puts a person right with Himself (in the act of justification which here equates with imputed righteousness). The original use of this word group (dikaiosune, dikaios) was in the law courts where a judge declared an accused person "not guilty" and henceforth "right" before the law (righteousness was thus the opposite of a declaration of "guilty" with subsequent condemnation).


Pastor Ray Pritchard describes dikaiosune in this application: “If you want righteousness, you can have it. Let me go out on a limb and make a bold statement. Whatever you want in the spiritual realm, you can have if you want it badly enough. I don’t think we appreciate the importance of that truth. Most of us are about as close to God now as we want to be. We have about as much joy as we want, about as much peace as we want. For the most part, you are where you are right now because that’s where you want to be. If you were hungry for something better from God, you could have it.

If you want it, you can have a close walk with God.
If you want it, you can have a better marriage.
If you want to, you can do God’s will.
If you want to, you can grow spiritually.
If you want to, you can become a man of God or a woman of God.
If you want to, you can change deeply-ingrained habits.
If you want to, you can break destructive patterns of behavior....

When Jesus says, “You will be filled,” he means “You will be filled with Jesus Himself!”

If you are hungry, come and eat of the Bread of Life.
If you are thirsty, come and drink of the Water of Life.
If you are weary, heavy laden, come and find rest.
If you are guilty, come and be forgiven.
If you are far from God, come back home again.

The French philosopher Pascal said that there is a “God-shaped vacuum” inside every human heart. Since nature abhors a vacuum, if we don’t fill it with God, we will fill it with something else. So many of us have filled our hearts with the junk food of the world, it is no wonder we are so unhappy.

Augustine explained both the problem and the solution: “O God, You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in You.” You will never be happy until you put God first in your life. And you can never do that until you surrender your life to Jesus Christ once and for all.

In the kingdom of God, everything begins with a seeking heart! Salvation begins with a hungry heart. If you are tired of the life you’ve been living, you can make a new start. Whatever you want in the spiritual realm, you can have if you want it badly enough. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. “Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? If you are, you can be filled. This is the promise of God to hungry hearts and thirsty souls." 

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To God be the glory, great things He has done. The greatest thing in all our lives is to worship God. That’s what we were created to do. When we give honor to God, He blesses us and lights our path. When we look at His glory and holiness, He gives us His perspective, and everything else pales in comparison. But when our busyness pushes worship aside and our focus gets off the finished work of Jesus Christ and onto the things of this world or ourselves, we lose our way. He delights in those who reverently honor Him and put their hope and trust in His unfailing love and mercy, not in their own ability. Today, if you’ve put your hope in anyone or anything else, ask the Lord to forgive you. But don’t stop there. Ask His Spirit to so work in your life that your primary goal becomes honoring and pleasing God.

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Precious Savior, forgive me for getting wrapped up in myself and my tasks and forgetting to give You the glory for all the great things You have done in my life and in the world around me. Create in me a heart of worship. This day I give honor to You and worship You for the glory of Your name, for the splendor of Your holiness! Thank You for the free gift of salvation, that I am justified on the basis of Your finished work on the Cross. Thank You that, right now, I am under the completely sufficient imputed righteousness of Christ. Because I have placed my trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ, I am redeemed by Your precious blood. The threat of failure, judgment, and condemnation has been removed. Knowing that God’s love for me and approval of me will never be determined by my performance is the most encouraging promise to which I cling—To God be the glory, what great things You have done! In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

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Look Up—meditate on  Romans 8:10-11… pray to see what it reveals about the character of God.

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Look In—as you meditate on  Romans 8:10-11… pray to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your discoveries: "Because God is_________, I will_____________."

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Look Out—as you meditate on  Romans 8:10-11… pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others. Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.

Previous word study from Romans Chapter Eight…

12 word studies from Ephesians Chapter One…

Weekly LinkUps…