(Strong No. 3875). It means an Intercessor, a
Consoler, an Advocate, a Comforter and a Helper.
Our Consoler, Comforter and Helper is the
Holy Spirit Himself:
And I
will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that
He may abide with you forever-- (John 14:16)
But
the Helper, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My
name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your
remembrance all things that I said to you. (John 14:26)
But
when the Helper comes, Whom I shall send to you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth Who proceeds from the Father, He will
testify of Me. (John 15:26)
Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that
I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to
you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. (John
16:7)
When God is silent, He is to be feared even
more. Between the end of Genesis and the beginning of Exodus is a
period of 430 years (Exodus 12:40) of silence where the Israelites
lived and were enslaved in Egypt. But God sent a deliverer Moses.
They sang a mighty song of victory when they had crossed the Red Sea
on dry ground. The period between the Old Testament and the New
Testament is known as the four hundred silent years. But thereafter
God sent The Deliverer, Jesus Christ, to save not only Israel but
also the whole world from their sins.
What are we to do when God is silent? The
below are some examples to follow:
| Exodus 14:13-14 |
And Moses said to the people, "Do
not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the
LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the
Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more
forever. The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold
your peace." |
| Number 9:8 |
And Moses said to them, "Stand
still, that I may hear what the LORD will command concerning
you." |
| 2 Chronicles 20:17 |
'You will not need to fight in
this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the
salvation of the LORD, Who is with you, O Judah and
Jerusalem!' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out
against them, for the LORD is with you. |
| Psalm 46:10-11 |
Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in
the earth! The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is
our refuge. Selah |
One of the miracles of Jesus is calming the
troubled waters of the raving sea. In Mark 4:39-40, He arose and
rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the
wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to His
disciples, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no
faith?"
We are living in very troubled times, full
of uncertainty and unrest. But we have a Heavenly Advocate Who
pleads on our behalf night and day before God the Father.
Intercession is the act of petitioning God,
or praying to God, on behalf of another person or group. Our world
is full of foes and woes. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the
heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). It is therefore necessary for
righteous men and women to go before God to seek reconciliation
between Him and His fallen creation. In the past, we have Abraham
interceding to God on behalf of Sodom (Genesis 18); Moses pleading
to God on behalf of the Hebrew people (Exodus 33:14-17); and many
other faithful intercessors.
But now, we have Jesus Christ, the greatest
Intercessor of all, praying for us. He had prayed on behalf of Peter
(Luke 22:32) and His disciples (John 17). Then in the most selfless
intercession of all, He petitioned God on behalf of those who crucified
Him (Luke 23:34). But Christ's intercessory work did not cease when
He ascended to heaven. In heavenly places, He intercedes for His
church today
(Hebrews 7:25):
Therefore He is also able to save to
the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always
lives to make intercession for them.
His Holy Spirit
also
pleads on behalf of the individual
Christians (Romans
8:26-28):
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses.
For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the
Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which
cannot be uttered. Now He Who searches the hearts knows what the
mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the
saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things
work together for good to those who love God, to those who are
the called according to His purpose.
With Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit as
our two excellent examples to follow, we need to do likewise -
to intercede for all people (1Timothy
2:1-4):
Therefore I exhort first of all that
supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be
made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that
we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and
reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God
our Savior, Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth.
Finally, let us thank God for being our
righteous Advocate and our loving
Judge.
What then shall we say to these things?
If God is for us, who can be against us?
Romans 8:31
The LORD is my light and my
salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 27:1
And He (Jesus) said to them,
"I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven."
Luke 10:18
Source:
Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary
Written on:
19 June 2004