After a long busy day, I was exhausted and went to bed only to find that my husband was on my heart. I prayed for a little while and then tried to go back to sleep, but I was did not have peace, so I felt prompted to read Hebrews chapters 3 and 4.

In these chapters of Hebrews in the Bible, the writer talks about how the children of God in the wilderness did not enter into his rest because of their unbelief and that we can only enter into God’s rest (which includes, but is not limited to salvation from the wrath of His final judgement) if we believe God’s Word until the end of our journey through this life.

My estranged husband (we are still legally married and I have no desire to change that) used to claim to believe, He often seemed to have many insights into God’s Word, but I know of his struggles to believe. One of the doctrines that he is hung up on is predestination. He has listened to a lot of Calvinist teaching which says that God and God alone determines whether or not we are destined to live eternity with him. That teaching is as extreme as what many Baptists teach on the opposite extreme that it is all free will, all you have to do is confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and you will be saved. Both extremes leave out one crucial ingredient to salvation and that is that we must choose to believe in our hearts (in our spirit, not just our minds) and God will reward our belief (Hebrews 11:6).

Another way that my husband fell into the idea of predestination is that he believes in astrology. He believes that the stars dictate who he is and what he can expect from this life. The biggest danger of all of this is that as he continues to follow the stars he is failing to follow the creator of those stars.

The night the movie War Room came out, I went to see it with one of the church groups I fellowship with and the following weekend, I went with another group of friends. The movie shows how we are to become prayer warriors and to pray for those around us. As I was watching the movie, I felt the love that I still had for my own husband and how I knew that God loved him too. Even though my husband is living in sin with a woman who is an atheist (he knows what he is doing is wrong in his heart, but he doesn’t want to face his sin so he is running from God), I am praying for reconciliation with God and then with me. I know that it seems impossible and my husband would likely to scoff at what I have just written if he reads it, but I am reminded of the verse Matthew 19:29 where Jesus said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Intercession is a Duty

Intercession Is a Duty

I have to believe for this to come to pass and I also have to pray.

I need to pray not only for my husband, but I need to learn to have Christ’s compassion to pray for everyone who needs to know Christ. In Hebrews it talks about Jesus being the High Priest, but in Revelation 1:6, it says that he makes us kings and priests. As priests we are to intercede for others just as Christ as our High Priest intercedes for us.  It is our duty as believers to pray and plead for others because it is God’s will for us.

Donna Brown is an ordained minister. As Author Cygnet Brown, she  has recently published her first nonfiction book: Simply Vegetable Gardening: Simple Organic Gardening Tips for the Beginning Gardener

She is also the author of historical fiction series The Locket Saga. which includes When God Turned His Head and Soldiers Don’t Cry, the Locket Saga Continues, and most recently, A Coward’s Solace, Book III of the Locket Saga.For more information about Cygnet Brown and her book, check out her website at http://www.cygnetbrow.com .