All intercession is an extension of what Jesus is doing at the right hand of the Father, so when we intercede, we are joining Jesus in this important work.
Romans 8:34 “Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; he also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us.”
Intercession can be described as standing in the gap for someone who needs an encounter with the Lord. In intercession, we are facilitating a meeting between God and humankind or a specific situation.
While many have responded to the specific call from God to be intercessors, I believe that all Christians should be intercessors. This doesn’t mean that you have to serve on an intercession team at your church, but I believe that we should, as the Body of Christ, pray for one another in the body and for other needs as the Holy Spirit brings them to mind. In fact, the Word of God calls believers to pray for one another many times. So intercession is truly an obedient response to the Holy Spirit to pray for other believers, situations, and needs, as he directs.
However, before we go to stand in the gap for another, it is crucial that we make sure we are in right standing with God. I’m not talking about salvation – I’m talking about repentance and alignment. Psalm 139:23-24 is useful here, we must confess all known sin to the Lord and ask The Holy Spirit to reveal any secret sin. We don’t have to hunt for sin, just willingly confess anything that the Holy Spirit brings to mind in these moments.
Psalm 139:23-24
“Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my concerns.
See if there is any offensive way in me;
lead me in the everlasting way.” (CSB)
If we attempt to pray for others while hiding secret sins in our hearts, we can be sure the Lord will not hear us. Psalm 66:18 “If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear;” (NASB)
Unrepentant sin also gives opportunity for the enemy to come against us and bring fear, doubt, and other attacks. Repenting and realigning with God brings us back into a place of protection where we can enforce our authority over all the power of the enemy. (Luke 10:19) When our conscience is clear, we can effectively stand in the gap for others.
Now, let’s take a look at some Scriptures that talk about praying for one another.
“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” (James 5:16)
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” (Romans 12:14)
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6)
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:18)
“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” (1 Timothy 2:1-4)
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” ( Galatians 6:2)
From these examples in Scripture, we can see that Praying for the needs of other believers is very important.
In the book, ‘The Prayer Saturated Church,’ Cheryl Sacks shares the following breakdown for types of intercessors. I’ve included the types and brief descriptions below. The sections in quotes are from this book.
“Personal Intercessors – Often God will place a particular person on an intercessors’ heart on a regular basis. This is likely the Lord’s call to adopt that person in intercession. Mordecai is a biblical example of a personal intercessor as he went before the Lord on Queen Esther’s behalf.”
“Mercy Intercessors – They seem to start crying every time they begin to pray. Like Jeremiah, the weeping prophet. They feel the heart of God for a person or situation. Their tears are as prayers. When we don’t understand mercy intercessors, we may try to comfort them or shut down their emotional expressions. At such times in our attempts to quiet them, we may quench the Spirit’s call to weep over the sins of our nation or some other issue upon the Father’s heart. Even Jesus wept over Jerusalem and its spiritually fallen condition.”
“Crisis Intercessors – They love to pray in a crisis. It’s not unusual for them to be awakened by an S.O.S. from God at three in the morning. Author Beth Alves calls crisis intercessors ‘the paramedics of prayer.’ You’re most likely a crisis intercessor if every time you pass by an auto accident, you start praying for the people in the accident, the ambulance drivers, the doctors in the emergency room, and the family of the people in the accident.”
“List Intercessors – They function from the structure and usually pray from an endless list. Their spiritual gift may be administration (1 Corinthians 12:28). They can pray over the entire church’s prayer request – every health concern, financial crisis, and need for protection – lifting up each one individually and in detail.”
“Financial Intercessors – They have faith for large sums of money – usually for other people. They may have little money themselves but can trust God for great financial blessing to be released into the kingdom. They may have the gift of faith (1 Corinthians 12:9). These are the people you want to have pray over the offering or for finances to complete projects such as purchasing new buildings and property.”
“Global Intercessors – They pray for nations and people groups. They may have a burden to pray for missionaries across the world and for international organizations. Dick Eastman, president of Every Home for Christ, prays for every national by name every day.”
“Worship Intercessors – They often sing their prayers. Worship intercessors may want to sing continually in the prayer room. Other intercessors may be thinking, ‘What’s wrong with this person? We’re here to pray!’ Once I was in the prayer room when someone spontaneously led us in signing ‘Shine, Jesus, Shine’ as an intercessory prayer over the Middle East.”
“Salvation Intercessors – Most Christians will intercede for the lost from time to time 00 even regularly. However, some Christians pray much more and with unusual fervency for those who do not know Christ. In such cases, the person’s prayer life may be fueled by their calling as an evangelist (Ephesians 4:11).”
“Government Intercessors – Some people feel strongly led to ask the Lord to intervene in the different kinds of government: church government, city and national government, court decisions and laws. They ask God to change the nations. They also are informed. They know the names of the government officials and what bills are coming up to be voted on.”
Do any of these types of intercession resonate with you? I encourage you to pray into this and ask the Lord what role he would have you fill in intercession. Intercession is the responsibility of all believers. We must not neglect this crucial responsibility in the church.
There is so much more that could be said about intercession. But I have run out of space in this specific post. I’m sure I’ll revisit the topic in the future.
For now, if you’d like to go deeper, the books I recommend you get started with are listed below.
Intercessory Prayer by Dutch Sheets
Possessing the Gates of the Enemey by Cindy Jacobs
The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson
The Happy Intercessor by Beni Johnson
Sarah Louise 