As Ryan talked about the seeds of faith that have been sown and cultivated so that God can make them grow, I’m reminded of the seeds of faith in my own life that I have seen God grow.
One of the seeds of faith that was sown and cultivated in me was intercession. Intercession has been a big part of my Christian journey at Lifespring and it was one of the first places I got to experience the presence of God in a tangible way. I’ve mentioned before that Ryan was one of the first people to sow that seed in me, whether he was conscious of it or not. His dedication to praying and doing worship at intercession every Friday was something I admired.
At the time when Adrian and Ryan had left Lifespring, Overflow was no longer running and intercession was not available to my knowledge. I remember feeling convicted to do intercession for the next generation after me. To be honest, I was no prayer warrior nor am I now. All I wanted was to create an opportunity for the younger generation to experience what I did. To have a place where they can be in the presence of God, hear His voice and be transformed to be more and more like Jesus. I remember sending Gabe & Ryan an email to find out if I could do it and they gave me the go ahead.
I was excited and nervous at the same time. The first couple of intercessions, no one showed up. For some reason, I had thought in my head that Ryan had experienced something similar, and so I was motivated by the fact that if Ryan had been able to do intercession alone, then perhaps I could. I later found out from Ryan that even though he started alone, someone always showed up (Thanks Ryan!).
After some time, there were days when people came and there were days where no one showed up. Oddly enough, no young people came. Perhaps it was because I didn’t advertise it and assumed that God would bring people. Although there were no young people, there were three people who ended up coming consistently during that time. Little did I know, these people would be the ones to sow seeds of faith and cultivate those seeds in me.
The first person is Dan Seow. If you know Dan, you know that he has a heart for people. As far as I know, he’s been interceding for people long before I started praying. For some reason, this guy decided to drive to the Church house (where intercession was held) every Wednesday after work to come and pray.
The second person is Adina Headlam. Adina would take a bus either from her work or home, every Wednesday, rain or snow, just to have a place to pray for the things on her heart.
The third person is Desmond Yu. Desmond was in a season of life where he was intentionally putting himself in places where he could experience the presence of God. Intercession just happened to be one of those places. Desmond also helped me lead worship for intercession, which was a great comfort when I needed the support.
As someone who was leading intercession at the time, it was encouraging to know that I wouldn’t be praying alone on Wednesday nights because of these three who were dedicated to praying and interceding for the things God put on their heart. I’ll be honest, I don’t know if I would have had the patient endurance or perseverance to keep going in intercession if it wasn’t for these three. They helped sow seeds of faith in me, watered my roots when they were dry, and cultivated a spirit of intercession.
As I reflect on my experience, I am reminded that intercession was not for just one generation. It was for the brokenhearted. Whether we were broken ourselves or broken for others, we knew that prayer was the answer.
Whether you were young, old, a seasoned Christian or a new believer; in whatever season of life you were in, if you had a broken and contrite heart, intercession was where you needed to be.
At our last intercession on January 19, 2025, we had 27 people. I believe we are living in the season of fruitfulness. The seeds of faith for intercession that were planted before my time and even after are starting to grow again. God is doing something.
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.
– 1 Corinthians 3:6 NIV
As we bear fruit in this season from the seeds that have been sown, watered and cultivated by others, and when we have eaten from the goodness of God and are satisfied, I’m reminded to be careful not to forget the Lord who brought us here.
“When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”
– Deuteronomy 6:10-12 NIV
Father, thank you for blessing us with your goodness, kindness, mercy and grace. As we experience your fruitfulness in this season, let us not forget where you have taken us from and how you brought us to where we are now. Thank you for sending people to help us along our journey. May we continue to give you praise for the seeds, soil, water and fruit, all the same. May you continue to keep our hearts broken for you and your people. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen!