Ones Who Intercede

Ones Who Intercede

He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede. Isaiah 59:16, ESV

“WHY DOESN’T GOD DO SOMETHING?” Most people have asked this question at some point in their faith journey when confronted with difficulties. We long for him to intervene in situations that seem to beg for intervention. We pray and wait, hoping he will do something to resolve those situations. Meanwhile, according to certain passages in the Prophets, God is looking at us and saying, “Why don’t they do something?”

Isaiah described injustices going on around him that, not surprisingly, sound very similar to what we see in our world today. People were groping for justice and righteousness, and God “saw it, and it displeased him” (verse 15, ESV). God certainly didn’t expect his people to do everything themselves—to accomplish miracles and to establish his Kingdom in their own power. But he did call them to live out Kingdom values. But they neglected his covenant, and society was in a mess. Though he “wondered that there was no one to intercede,” he nevertheless brought salvation himself. He became the intercessor he was looking for.

There’s a profound principle in this prophetic observation: God is looking for human beings to intercede. He assigned us to be stewards of his creation (Genesis 1:26-28) and agents on earth who ask for his intervention, who stand between heaven and earth and mediate his blessings to this planet. In fact, this seems to be why God became man rather than simply saving us from afar. If he set up the world to be under human stewardship, and there were no righteous humans to fulfill that purpose, he would have to become the righteous human he was looking for. Since he redeems us and fills us with his Spirit, we can now be the intercessors we were called to be.

Make the most of that position. Be the heavenly agent on earth who invites God’s action into our affairs. Live as a mediator in the gap, a conductor of his presence into the world around you. Be the answer to your question of why nothing is happening. Pray for God’s wisdom, power, and love—and embody them however you can.

God does nothing on earth except in answer to believing prayer.