Intercession

Intercession does not have to be complicated.

At its simplest, intercession is praying for another person, situation, church, city, or nation so that the will of God can be carried out. It is not trying to convince God to do something He does not want to do. It is learning what is on His heart and coming into agreement with Him.

Jesus taught us to pray:

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Jesus’ teaching on prayer

That is really the heart of intercession.

God reveals His will. We agree with Him. We pray it. And we trust Him to bring it into the earth.

Why Do We Need to Pray?

If God already knows everything, then why do we need to pray? Because God has chosen to work through His people. Prayer is not mainly about changing God's mind. It is about bringing our mind into agreement with His. There is a big difference.

Instead of praying:

“God, here is what I think You should do.”

Intercession begins more like this:

“Father, what do You want to do in this situation?”

Then we agree with Him.

The pattern is simple:

God's will → revealed to us → prayed by us → carried out in the earth.

Jesus Is the Foundation of Intercession

We cannot understand intercession without understanding Jesus.

Jesus is our mediator.

Sin separated mankind from God, and Jesus came to restore what was broken. Through His death and resurrection, He made the way for us to come back into relationship with the Father. That means our prayers are not trying to create a victory that Jesus failed to accomplish.

Jesus already won the victory.

We pray from what He has already done. That changes everything. We are not begging God to somehow defeat the enemy. We are standing in what Christ has already accomplished.

Jesus Represents Us in Heaven, and We Represent Him on Earth

Jesus showed us how this works.

While He was on the earth:

• He did what He saw the Father doing.
• He spoke what the Father gave Him to speak.
• He carried out the Father's will.
• He depended on the Holy Spirit.
• He revealed the Father to people.

Jesus did not operate independently. He lived in agreement with the Father. Now we are called to do the same. Jesus represented the Father on earth. Now we represent Jesus.

That means ministry is not supposed to be us deciding what God should do.

We listen.

We obey.

We pray.

We act.

We allow Jesus to continue His work through us.

What Does an Intercessor Actually Do?

An intercessor stands in the gap. You are standing before God on behalf of someone else.

It may be for:

• healing,
• salvation,
• deliverance,
• protection,
• direction,
• restoration,
• or a situation that needs God's intervention.

You are bringing that person or situation before God.

Instead of simply saying:

“God, help them.”

You begin to pray with understanding:

“Father, let Your will, mercy, truth, protection, and purpose come into this situation.”

You are bringing the need into the presence of God.

The Holy Spirit Helps Us Pray

One of the most important things to understand about intercession is that we do not always know what to pray. Romans 8 tells us that the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. There are times when someone suddenly comes strongly to your mind.

You may wake up thinking about someone. You may feel an unusual burden for them. You may feel that you need to pray, but you do not know why. Do not automatically ignore that.

Pray.

You do not have to know everything. The Holy Spirit knows what is happening. Our responsibility is to respond when He prompts us.

Learn to Recognize the Timing

There are times when prayer becomes especially important. Someone may be facing temptation. A family may be approaching a crisis. Someone may be getting ready to make a major decision. A church or ministry may be under unusual pressure.

Sometimes the Holy Spirit will begin dealing with us before we know anything is wrong. That is part of being spiritually alert. Jesus did this with Peter. He told Peter that Satan desired to sift him, but Jesus had already prayed for him.

Notice that. Jesus prayed before Peter went through the test. Intercession is not always reacting after something happens. Sometimes God moves us to pray beforehand.

Intercession Sometimes Means Carrying a Burden

Galatians tells us to bear one another's burdens.

There are times when you may strongly feel what someone else is going through.

You may feel:

• their pain,
• sorrow,
• grief,
• struggle,
• or spiritual burden.

But the purpose is not for you to carry that burden forever. You carry it to Christ.

That is the difference.

It is not:

Their burden → you keep it.

It is:

Their burden → you carry it in prayer → you give it to Christ.

We are not the Savior. Jesus is.

Our responsibility is to bring people and situations to Him.

Intercession Can Establish Boundaries

Prayer is not only about asking God to bless someone. There are times when intercession becomes protective. You pray over your family. You pray over your children. You pray over your church. You pray when you sense temptation, deception, danger, or pressure.

There are times when prayer simply says:

“No further.”

That does not mean living afraid of the enemy. A watchman does not live frightened. He simply stays alert.

There is a difference between fear and awareness. We should not live carelessly.

Prayer should become part of our normal life, not something we only use after everything has already gone wrong.

Intercession and Strongholds

A stronghold can be understood as an established pattern of thinking that begins controlling someone's life.

It may involve things like:

• fear,
• unbelief,
• rejection,
• suspicion,
• failure,
• false beliefs,
• or other destructive thought patterns.

This is more than having one bad thought. It is when a way of thinking becomes established. Intercession can include praying that deception is broken and truth begins to take its place. The goal is not just for someone's circumstances to change.

The goal is freedom.

Travail and Deep Intercession

Sometimes prayer becomes deeper than normal words.

There may be:

• deep emotion,
• groaning,
• weeping,
• or a powerful burden to pray.

Romans 8 speaks about the Holy Spirit helping us with groanings that go beyond normal words. Sometimes God places such a strong burden on someone that ordinary prayer does not seem enough.

But there is an important warning here.

Do not manufacture it.

Do not try to make yourself cry. Do not imitate someone else's prayer. Do not try to sound spiritual. If the Holy Spirit is moving on you deeply, respond to Him. If He is not, do not try to create something. Real intercession comes from the Holy Spirit, not from performance.

Intercession and Spiritual Warfare

Intercession also connects with spiritual warfare.

But we need to keep this in the right order. We are not fighting with God. We are cooperating with Him. The struggle is against spiritual opposition that tries to hinder what God wants to accomplish. And again, we are not trying to create victory.

Jesus already won.

The believer stands in what Jesus has already accomplished. We pray from victory, not trying to earn victory. That is why faith and persistence matter. Sometimes we pray and nothing seems to change immediately. That does not mean nothing is happening. There are times when we simply continue to stand until God releases us from the burden.

A Simple Pattern for Intercession

Intercession can be brought down to seven simple steps.

1. Listen

Pay attention to what God is putting on your heart.

Who keeps coming to mind?

What situation keeps coming before you?

Do not automatically dismiss it.

2. Discern

Ask the Lord what He wants concerning that person or situation.

Do not assume you already know.

3. Agree

Bring your thinking into agreement with God's will.

Intercession starts with agreement.

4. Pray

Speak God's will and purposes over the situation.

Bring the person before Him.

5. Stand

Do not give up simply because nothing appears to have changed yet.

Some things require persistence.

6. Watch

Remain sensitive to the Holy Spirit.

He may give you more understanding, change the direction of your prayer, or show you when something has shifted.

7. Release

When the burden lifts, release it to God.

You do not have to carry everything forever.

Trust Him with it.

The Heart of Intercession

Intercession is really about cooperation with God.

God has purposes He wants accomplished. Jesus has already provided the victory through His finished work.

The Holy Spirit reveals, leads, and empowers us.

And we agree with God through prayer. That means an intercessor is simply someone willing to say:

“Lord, show me what is on Your heart. Help me agree with You and pray what You want until Your purpose is accomplished.”

Jesus represents us before the Father.

Through the Holy Spirit, we represent Jesus in the earth.

That is the heart of intercession.