Intercessory Prayer

1. Intercessory prayer –26th
August 2017
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ
Jesus…”(1Timothy 2:5)
Intercessoryprayeristhe act of prayingonbehalf of others.The role of mediatorinprayerwas
prevalentinthe OldTestament,inthe casesof Abraham, Moses,David,Samuel,Hezekiah,Elijah,
Jeremiah,Ezekiel,andDaniel.Christispicturedinthe New Testamentasthe ultimate intercessor,and
because of this,all Christianprayerbecomesintercessionsince itisofferedtoGodthroughand by
Christ.Jesusclosedthe gapbetweenusandGodwhenHe diedonthe cross to save us fromGods
righteousJudgment.Because of Jesus’mediation,we cannow intercedeinprayeronbehalf of other
Christiansorfor the lost,askingGodto grant theirrequestsaccordingtoHis will. We canlearnfrom
1 Timothy2:5, “For there is one Godand one mediatorbetween Godandmankind,the man Christ
Jesus…” We can also understandwhenwe read Romans8:34, “Whothenis the one who condemns?No
one. ChristJesus who died—morethanthat, who wasraised to life—isatthe righthand ofGodand is
alsointercedingfor us.”
A wonderful model of intercessoryprayerisfoundin Daniel 9.Like Daniel,Christiansare tocome to God
on behalf of othersina repentantattitude,recognizingtheirownunworthinessand seekingHis
forgivenessintheirself-denial.Danieldoesnotsay,“Ihave a rightto demandthisoutof You,God,
because Iam one of your special,chosenintercessors.” Buthe says, “I'ma sinner,” and,in effect,“Ido
not have a right to demandanything.” True intercessoryprayerseeksnotonlytoknow God’swill and
see itfulfilled,buttosee itfulfilledwhetherornotit benefitsusandregardlessof whatitcostsus. True
intercessoryprayerseeksGod’sglory,notourown.
We wishtolistthe followingasonly a partial listof those to whomwe can offerintercessoryprayers: All
inauthority:“…forkingsandall thosein authority,that we may livepeaceful andquiet livesin all
godlinessandholiness.” (1Timothy2:2); All inMinisters:“…forIknow that throughyour prayers and
God’sprovisionofthe Spiritof Jesus Christwhat has happenedto me will turn out for my deliverance.”
(Philippians 1:19).For friends:“Sonowtake seven bullsandseven rams and go to my servant Joband
sacrificea burnt offeringfor yourselves.My servant Job will prayfor you, andI will accept hisprayer
and notdeal with youaccordingto your folly.Youhave not spoken the truth about me, as my servant
Job has.” (Job42:8); For fellowcountrymen:“Brothersandsisters,my heart’s desire andprayer to God
for the Israelites isthat they maybe saved. (Romans10:1); For the sick:“Isanyone amongyousick?
Let them call the elders ofthe churchto prayover them and anointthem withoil inthe nameof the
Lord.” (James 5:14); For yourenemies:“Also,seekthe peace andprosperity ofthe city to whichI have
carried you intoexile. Pray to the LORD for it, because ifit prospers, youtoo will prosper.” (Jeremiah
29:7); For those who persecute us:“ButI tell you, love yourenemies and pray for thosewho persecute
you…” (Matthew5:44); For those whoforsake you:“At my firstdefense, no one came to my support,
but everyone deserted me. May it not be held againstthem.” (2 Timothy 4:16).

2. There isan erroneousideaincontemporaryChristianitythatthose whoofferupintercessoryprayersare
a special classof “super-Christians,”mostlydonebythose prosperitypreacherswhoclaimthatthey
have beenspecially calledbyGodtoa specificministryof intercession. ThisisNOTtrue because the
Bible isclearthat all Christiansare calledtobe intercessors.All Christianshave the HolySpiritintheir
heartsand, justas He intercedesforusinaccordance withGod’swill aswe can readfrom Romans 8:26-
27, “In the same way, the Spirithelps us inour weakness. We do notknow what we oughtto pray for,
but the Spirit himselfintercedesfor us throughwordless groans. 27
Andhe who searches our hearts
knows the mindof the Spirit,because the Spirit intercedes for God’speoplein accordancewith the will
of God.” Therefore asChristianswe are tointercede forone another.Thisisnota privilege limitedtoan
exclusiveChristianelite;thisisthe commandtoall.Infact, the bible tellsusthat, notto intercede for
othersissin.“Asfor me, far be it fromme that I shouldsinagainstthe LORD by failingtopray for you”
(1 Samuel 12:23).
Whenwe read the gospelswe canlearnthat both Peterand Paul,whenaskingotherstointercedefor
themdidnot limittheirrequesttothose withaspecial callingtointercession. Theyall prayedaswe can
observe in Acts12:5, “SoPeter was kept in prison,butthe church wasearnestly prayingto Godfor
him.” Notice itwasthe whole churchthat prayedfor him, notjust the preachers withagiftof
intercession. We canalsoread where Paul exhortsthe Ephesianbelievers—all of themwhowere onthe
fundamentalsof the Christianlife,includesintercession“onall occasionswithall kindsof prayersand
requests.”We can learnthisfrom Ephesians 6:16-18, “Inadditiontoall this,take up the shieldof faith,
with whichyou can extinguishall the flamingarrowsofthe evil one. 17
Take the helmet ofsalvation
and the sword ofthe Spirit,whichis the word of God.” Clearly,intercessoryprayerispartof the
Christianlife forall believers.
Further,Paul soughtprayeron hisbehalf fromall the Romanbelievers aswe canread inRomans 15:30,
“I urge you,brothers and sisters,by our Lord Jesus Christand by the love of the Spirit,to joinme inmy
struggleby prayingto God forme.” He alsourgedthe Colossianstointercede forhim aswe can read
inColossians 4:2-3, “Devote yourselvesto prayer, being watchful andthankful. 3
Andpray for us, too,
that Godmay open a doorfor our message, sothat we may proclaimthe mystery of Christ,for whichI
am in chains.” Asstatedearlier, the bible doesnottell usthatintercessionislimitedtoa certaingroup
of people whocouldintercede. Onthe contrary, the bible statesinanumberof occasionswhere those
whoseekotherstointercede forthemcan use all the helptheycanget! The ideathat intercessionisthe
privilegeandcallingof onlysome Christiansiswithoutbiblical basis.Worse,itisadestructive ideathat
oftenleadstopride anda sense of superiority.
As believerswe needtobearinmindthat God callsall Christianstobe intercessors.ItisGod’sdesire
that everybelieverbe active inintercessoryprayer.Whata wonderful andexaltedprivilege we have in
beingable tocome boldlybefore the throne of AlmightyGodwithourprayersand requests! We can
learnfromJames 5:16, “Therefore confess your sinsto each other and pray foreach other so that you
may be healed. The prayer of a righteousperson is powerful andeffective.”