5. Kind. Kindness is a necessary commodity for the intercessor-advocate, as illustrated by the following story.
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An old man carried a little can of oil with him everywhere he went. If he passed through a door with squeaky hinges, he put a little oil on the hinges. If the gate was hard to open, he poured a little oil upon the latch.
Every day he found a variety of ways to use his pocket oil can to others’ advantage. Neighbors thought he was eccentric, but he went on his way, doing all within his power to lubricate the hard places and make life easier and more enjoyable for others.
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Do we carry with us the oil of human kindness? When the traffic is backed up, the grocery clerk is rude or your boss decides to come down on you, are you exercising the oil of gladness? Go ahead and do it. It will make your day.
6. Discipline. The intercessor will not be successful without applying discipline to his or her work of intercession. As the next story illustrate, discipline is vitally important.
A visitor to a famous pottery establishment was puzzled by an operation that seemed aimless. In one room there was a mass of clay beside a workman. Every now and then he took up a large mallet and struck several smart blows on the surface of the lump. Curiosity led to the question: “Why do you do that?”
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“Wait a bit, sir, and watch it,” was the reply.
The visitor obeyed, and soon the top of the mass began to heave and swell. Bubbles formed upon its face.
“Now sir, you will see,” said the modeler with a smile. “I could never shape the clay into a vase if these air bubbles were in it, therefore I gradually beat them out.”
It sounded in the ears of the visitor like an allegory of Romans 5:3-5, “Tribulation produces perseverance … character … hope” (NKJV). Is not the discipline of life, so hard to bear sometimes, just a beating out of the bubbles of pride and self-will, so the Master may form a vessel of earth to hold heavenly treasures?
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7. Leadership ability. In his book Wind and Fire, Bruce Larson points out some interesting facts about sandhill cranes:
“These large birds that fly great distances across continents have three remarkable qualities. First, they rotate leadership. No one bird stays out in front all the time.
Second, they choose leaders who can handle turbulence. And then, all during the time one bird leads, the rest honk their affirmation.
“That’s not a bad model for the church. Certainly we need leaders who can handle turbulence and who are aware that leadership ought to be shared. But most of all, we need a church where we all honk encouragement.
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It is safe to say that some of our prayer assignments are also being borne by other Christians. Let’s guard our hearts against feeling that we–and our prayers–are “the only reasons” something happens.
The apostle Paul warned us that we are “not to think of [ourselves] more highly than [we] ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (Rom. 12:3).
