Intercessory Prayer Series

Intercessory Prayer

Definition:

a) Working with God in prayer by using our authority in this world to bring about His will for us and for others;

b) standing in the presence of a king or high authority to obtain grace and the provision for the needs of others.

An intercessor is therefore one who takes the place of another before God, doing spiritual warfare for someone else. We must work with the Holy Spirit for this to be done. (Romans 8:26) Intercession is not praying for yourselves.

We need a glimpse of the true picture of intercession from God?s perspective:

1. The power of intercession.

2. The need of intercession.

3. The effect of intercession in situations.

4. The practical application with our responsibility and involvement.

1.The Power of Intercession

The power of intercession is the power of prayer itself. Prayer is the highest form of power that exists, and is the foundation that must be laid before any real, lasting, Christian fruit can come forth in our ministries. (James 5:16 Amplified)

“All things are possible to him that believeth.” ~ Mark 9:23

“Men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” ~ Luke 18:1

2. The Need of Intercession

The absence of prayer is the absence of the power and influence of God in this world.

The answers for the problems today are prayer needs.

As we pray, we can birth new Christians into the Kingdom. (Isaiah 66:8-9; Hebrews 12:22-23; Galatians 4:19) “workers together with Him.” ~ II Corinthians 6:1

In the book of Joel, God revealed the need and told His people if they would pray, the need would be met and that restoration would take place.

Everyone has a call to prayer and should be praying for one another. But some have a ministry of intercession in that they are more devoted in this area and are used more often and have a greater anointing in this area.

In II Corinthians 1:11 Paul said the believers could help him by their prayers.

In Ezekiel 36:36-38 God said He would do certain things but not before His people interceded to Him for those things.

So we see the will of God can only happen as we pray to Him for it to happen.

3. The Effect of Intercession

We should never underestimate our enemy that tries to prevent the will of God from coming to pass in this earth.

Intercessors clothed with the armor of God are the only successful weapon and vehicle to stop Satan?s purpose in this earth and bring about God?s will. (Ephesians 6)

Epaphras, fellow servant and a faithful minister, gives us a scriptural example to follow. (Col. 1:7, 4:12)

The effects of intercession on the unseen warfare are seen in Ephesians 6:12, Daniel 10, and Ezekiel 28.

4. The Practical Application

There are two types of prayer in intercession:

1. Mental, which is limited to our knowledge of a situation.

2. Spiritual, which is unlimited in its effect and always a perfect prayer, through the help of the Holy Ghost. (I Cor, 14:14-15)

These two types of prayer can either be need-led prayer or preventive prayer. Praying the prayer of intercession will cause God to get more involved in your life by showing and revealing things to you while you are in prayer.

We start by obeying the Word, by praying the prayer of intercession just because the Bible tells us to. (Ephesians 6:18, I Timothy 2:1-4) (Refer to “Prayer of Intercession” sheets)

In our understanding we can only go so far. By praying in the spirit through the help of the Holy Ghost, our prayers are unlimited in the success they can produce.

Remember, God needs your prayer to work and Satan needs you to stop praying so he can work.

It is your choice.

In our understanding, we can pray certain prayers based on the Word and know, because of the name of Jesus and His Word, that our prayers are answered.

In Romans 8:26-27 we can go beyond our natural ability and understanding and work with the Intercessor, the Holy Ghost, and lay hold of spiritual victories and bring about the will of God.

We are talking about praying in tongues, not speaking in tongues.

When you pray in the spirit, express your desire or situation you wish to pray about, then pray in the spirit and rely upon the name of Jesus, your rights as a believer, the Word of God and the Holy Ghost.

At times, you will feel nothing.

At other times, you may feel what the person you are praying for is feeling.

At other times, you may feel oppressed or burdened in your spirit, or have an urgency within you. Continue to pray until there is a peace or assurance that the answer has come or that you have done what was needed to be done in prayer.