One of the great pictures in the Old Testament of intercession is the story in Numbers 16. Moses and Aaron spend much of that time period on their faces before God interceding for Israel. Everything has fallen apart. The spies have returned from Canaan, but they don’t want to take the land. The people are in rebellion and want to head back to Egypt. It’s a mess.

Then, Korah leads a rebellion and challenges the authority of Moses. God steps in and lets the earth open up and swallow the clan. Watching the Lord take out a whole clan, one would think that would cure people of the thought of rebellion. Of course not! They come back at Moses and Aaron the next day and Moses and Aaron are on their faces once again asking God not to wipe them out. A plague starts and Moses instructs Aaron to grab his censor, put incense in it and head out to the people to make atonement for them.

⁴⁷ So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. ⁴⁸ He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped. ⁴⁹ But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah. ⁵⁰ Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped. (Num. 16:47-50, NIV)

What a picture of intercession. Standing between the living and the dead.

Our lives of prayer are meant to be lives of power. We are called to be in the presence of God. There will be times when the Spirit infuses our hearts with a burden to pray in a deeper way. Our hearts may be challenged and we cry out to God. We may find ourselves in that place where we are spiritually standing between the living and the dead. Our prayers lifted up to God reach his presence and something changes.

Grab your censers. Fill them with incense. Take your stand.