EXCERPTS FROM THE MINISTRY

Although God remained at Abraham's tent door for several hours, talking a great deal to him, God did not say a word about His purpose in coming to secure an intercessor. We often act in the same way. Perhaps you want a brother to do a certain thing for you. If you are wise, you will not come to him and immediately ask him to do what you desire. You will first determine his mood by having a talk with him about various matters. At the very end of your visit, as the brother is seeing you to the door or conducting you on your way, you may open yourself to him and tell him of your desire. However, if he does not linger with you but says, "See you in the meeting tonight," you will realize that his heart is too cold and that he would not be interested in doing what you want him to do. But if he says, "I would like to stay with you for a while longer," then you will know that you can open yourself to him.

When God came to Abraham, Abraham welcomed Him, providing Him water and serving Him a good meal. Although God spoke to Abraham during the preparation and eating of the meal, He did not disclose the purpose for which He came. Only when God rose up and walked away from the tent and Abraham accompanied and conducted Him and the two angels on their way, did God tell Abraham of His intention. While Abraham walked with them, the Lord said, "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?" (18:17). God could not hide His intention from Abraham, His dear friend and called one.

As Abraham lingered in God's presence, even after the two angels had left for Sodom, remaining standing before Him (18:22), God opened up to him. God did not open to Abraham directly but in the way of implication. God did not say, "Abraham, I shall soon destroy Sodom. Lot is there, and I am very concerned about him. I have come to ask you to intercede for him." God was not that simple. Instead, He said, "Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know" (18:20-21). Although God did not say a word about Lot, His intention in speaking about Sodom was for Lot. These two friends talked about Lot, but neither of them mentioned his name. They spoke about him in a mysterious way, in a way of implication. Abraham knew that God's concern was for Lot, and he interceded for Lot without mentioning him by name. Nevertheless, God knew Abraham's intention as Abraham knew God's intention.

Do not think that God's revelation regarding intercession comes in a sudden, miraculous, "Pentecostal" way. In order to receive such a revelation from the heart of God, we must pass through a long process. We must come all the way from Ur of Chaldea through many places to the tent door at the oaks of Mamre in Hebron. Firstly God called Abraham by appearing to him as the God of glory. At that time Abraham was neither prepared nor qualified to receive a revelation from God's heart. He was not in intimate fellowship with God. Even after he had slaughtered Chedorlaomer and the other kings, Abraham was not ready to converse with God in an intimate way. In chapters fifteen and sixteen we see that although Abraham was a man who sought God and loved Him, he was still so much in his flesh. In chapter seventeen he was circumcised and terminated, his name was changed from Abram to Abraham, and he became another person. Then, in chapter eighteen God came to him at the oaks of Mamre in Hebron not as the God of glory nor as the Most High God, the Possessor of heaven and earth, nor as the El-Shaddai, but as a mortal man to enjoy a meal with His intimate friend. At that time God had found a man who was after His heart. The glorious intercession which Abraham made before God in Genesis 18 was not a prayer from man on earth to God in heaven; it was a human conversation between two friends. God came down from heaven, lowering Himself, putting on the form of a mortal man, and conversing with Abraham. Eventually, He indicated to Abraham that He was the Almighty God; yet they continued to talk as two friends. When Abraham was in this condition, he was prepared and qualified to receive a revelation from God's heart concerning His desire. Intercession is an intimate talk with God according to the unveiling of His heart's desire. This is the first principle of intercession.

In order for God to reveal His heart's desire to a man, that man must be prepared. Although millions of people belong to the name of God, very few have been prepared, disciplined, trained, circumcised, and terminated. Although we are not very much like Abraham, occasionally we have had similar experiences. We were willing to abandon ourselves and reject our flesh. Then, much to our surprise, God came to us as a human friend. We did not pray to Him or call on His name; we talked to Him as to an intimate friend.

In order to fulfill the first basic principle of intercession—that it should be according to an intimate revelation of God's heart's desire—we need to pass through a long process. We need to be dealt with, circumcised, and terminated. Then we shall be ready for intimate fellowship with God. God will come to us on a human level, not on a divine level, just as He came to Abraham. Suppose God would come to you in this way today and you would serve Him a meal and talk with Him, speaking with Him face to face. How good it is to talk with God in this way! When we have fellowship with God like this, we do not have the sense that we are talking to the almighty, majestic God, but to another human being. This is the meaning of intercession being according to the revelation of God. This intercession is always intimate, mysterious, and in the way of implication.