I am learning the meaning of intercession. Intercession is praying from a place of "we" and not "them." I think it is literally putting your place in the person's shoes and praying from a place of feeling what they feel. I don't think casual prayers connect us to the heart of the Father and allow us to pray from a place of identifying with the pain.

Since I've been in
Africa

I have prayed to be able to intercede for the children here. Today, God allowed my heart to break to the point where I could stand in the gap and pray as if I was one of the children. Goo Goo is the teacher of a squatter camp in the slums of
Africa
. She originally found the children having sex underneath blue tarps tied up with string; these are 5-10 year olds. She said she told them if they would stop she would teach them, she has been there 3 years and not only have they stopped but they are learning about the love of Jesus.

One of the girls mentioned that her father is beating her and raping her, but then proceeded to play ball. It has become just a way of life, there is no shame or dealing with the pain. Then, one of the girls said "don't take a picture of me" b/c the demons are telling me you will pray for me. Both her parents have died of AIDS and now she lives with a witch doctor. These are typical heart-breaking stories that we hear daily in the lives of the children of
Africa

.

When I first arrived I would typically pray "Lord bless them, heal them, protect them", but when I was praying for "them" I lost the right to intercede. God is calling us to pray from a place of identifying with others pain, a place where the Father's heart is revealed. I once heard someone say that we use prayer like a "spiritual epidural" where we don't want to feel the pain of others. Today I was able to pray from a position of brokenness and hopelessness as a child here. I felt the hurt, the pain, the desperation, but I also felt the love of the Father for them. Lord, teach me to pray for those you have called me to live among.