Intercessory Prayer

What is intercessory prayer?

1 Timothy 2:5 (New International Version)

For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

Quite simply, intercessory prayer is the act of praying on behalf of others. The role of mediator in prayer was prevalent in the Old Testament, in the cases of Abraham, Moses, David, Samuel, Hezekiah, Elijah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.

Christ is pictured in the New Testament as the ultimate intercessor, and because of this, all Christian prayer becomes intercession since it is offered to God through and by Christ. Jesus closed the gap between God and us when He died on the cross.

Because of Jesus’ mediation, we can now intercede in prayer on behalf of other Christians or for the lost, asking God to grant their requests according to His will.

Daniel 9:2-5 (New International Version)

In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that
the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in
sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed: O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love
him and obey his commands, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws.

A wonderful model of intercessory prayer is found in Daniel 9:1-19. It has all the elements of true intercessory prayer.

• It is in response to the Word (v. 2);
• Characterized by fervency and self-denial (v. 3-4);
• Identified unselfishly with God’s people (v. 5);
• Strengthened by confession (v. 5-15);
• Dependent on God’s character (vv. 4, 7, 9, 15);
• Has God’s glory as its goal (vv. 16-19).

Like Daniel, Christians are to come to God on behalf of others in a heartbroken and repentant attitude, with a sense of self-denial. Daniel does not say, “I have a right to demand this out of You, God, because I am one of your special, chosen intercessors.” He says, “I’m a sinner,” and, in effect, “I do not have a right to demand anything.”

True Intercessory Prayer

True intercessory prayer seeks not only to know God’s will and see it fulfilled, but to see it fulfilled whether or not it benefits us and regardless of what it costs us. True intercessory prayer seeks God’s glory, not our own.

The following is only a partial list of those for whom we are to offer intercessory prayers:

• All in authority (1Timothy 2:2);
• Ministers (Philippians 1:19);
• The church (Psalm 122:6);
• Friends (Job 42:8);
• Fellow countrymen (Romans 10:1);
• The sick (James 5:14);
• Enemies (Jeremiah 29:7);
• Those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44);
• Those who forsake us (2 Timothy 4:16);
• All men (1Timothy 2:1).

There is an erroneous idea in contemporary Christianity that those who offer up intercessory prayers are a special class of “super-Christians,” called by God to a specific ministry of intercession.

The Bible is clear that ALL Christians are called to be intercessors. All Christians have the Holy Spirit in their hearts and, just as He intercedes for us in accordance with God’s will (Romans 8:26-27), we are to intercede for one another. This is not a privilege limited to an exclusive Christian elite; this is the command to all. In fact, not to intercede for others is sin.

1 Samuel 12:23 (New International Version)

As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.

God calls all Christians to be intercessors. It is God’s desire that every believer be active in intercessory prayer. What a wonderful and exalted privilege we have in being able to come boldly before the throne of Almighty God with our prayers and requests!