day 656: Interceding

"I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them."

Business is filled with those who intercede on the behalf of others. We have managers and supervisors who intercede on the behalf of us to the next layer of management. We also have others in the organization who intercede on our behalf because they want us to do well and they want us to be recognized, etc. However, there are also people and times when we are interceded on by another that is not so positive or desired. We see this happen all too often don't we? Sometimes we can end up spending quite a bit of our time trying to be sure that others, when they do intercede, do so correctly. We can also call this staying on the right side of someone else. Regardless, when someone intercedes for us it can become disconcerting. The same can be said about us when we intercede for others. How and when we step in for others is an important responsibility that we carry. When we speak of others, we must ensure that we carry messages in a positive and encouraging way. If we can't, then it's better to not say anything at all. Interceding is never going to go away, so our best management is to not play into the games and to stay above the fray.

We are so fortunate to know that we have available to us the One who can intercede on our behalf as well as who we can ask to intercede for others, and NEVER be concerned that that there will be something bad or disparaging said. This is the gift that God gives us with prayer. We can ask God to intercede in anything, big, small, significant, or insignificant. And, God does not mind if we ask for that intercession to be about anything. He wants to be there for us and be in all aspects of our lives. Work remains an important part of most of our lives and there is no reason for God to not want to intercede there as much as anywhere. Today, is God coming to work with you? Have you invited Him into the middle of the conversation? If not, think about changing that up today and putting Him right there in the cubicle with you.

Reference: 1 Timothy 2:1 (New Living Testament)