Day Two – Evening

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:5)

Isaiah’s response to seeing the King, the Lord Almighty, is “Woe to me!” But not just woe to himself. He further states that he lives among people of unclean lips. So, “woe to all of us.” we see here the posture of an intercessor. Isaiah, though a great prophet, was also a great intercessor for his countrymen. Most prophets are also intercessors.

As a prophet, or an intercessor, the key indicator that the prophet/intercessor is positioned properly for approaching the Lord is one of carrying the burden of the Lord for those he or she is assigned to. You see this with Abraham, Moses, Joseph, Samuel, Isaiah, etc. Isaiah did not see himself as perfected, due to his incredible relationship with the Living God, but saw himself as no different than his people.

To further illuminate my statement, let’s examine the alternate attitude/posture. What if Isaiah had said, “Oh, no! My people are in deep trouble. Thank God I’m not one of them.”  Do you see the immediate contradiction that would disqualify him as prophet/intercessor? Someone once said, “You cannot set yourself apart without setting yourself above.” Though the favor of God favor was on Isaiah, he was nevertheless the same as those around him. We see this stated clearly in Hebrews:

“In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. ¹¹ Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.^{[g] 12} He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;” (Hebrews 2:10-12)

Jesus is the model and Jesus is perfect theology. Even the Lord Jesus Christ while in his fleshly body considered himself brother to the children of God.

All that to say, the correct posture for us as intercessors is “one among many.”  For we are people of unclean lips, and much more. There is much that each of us has done to contribute to the state of our country. Sometimes it’s what hasn’t been done. For example, had the Church universal, (the Body of Christ on the earth), done a better job declaring the wonders of Jesus and demonstrating the power of the Gospel  to our nation, we might not have found ourselves in the state we are in. The proper response to that understanding is repentance.

Let the Lord lead you in repenting for your own sins and how they’ve contributed to the whole, and include yourself when praying for the whole.

The Lord bless you, as you present yourself to Him in Spirit and in Truth, while lifting up the people He loves and gave the life of His Son to save.

SG