We all know of the different gifts that the Holy Spirit
have given us. One of which is the gift of intercession. Believe it or not,
there are people within the Body of Christ who have the desire to pray for
other people, to pray for a nation, to pray for government, to pray for the
lost and so much more. Mind you, but this is not just your regular
round-of-the-mill prayers, these prayers take several minutes and even an hour to
finish.
The Art of
Intercession
Christians are called to make prayer a part of their daily
routine, a lifestyle. But many failed to grasp the full essence of prayer. A
lot of people only view it as a means to speak of their never ending wish list
to the Heavenly Provider, to ask healing from the Heavenly Healer, to ask
protection from the Heavenly Guard and to ask comfort to their Heavenly Butler.
But prayer is far more than that. We commune to the Lord every time we pray. It
is a two-way communication. The One who created sound is not mute, He always
speaks to you. It is your own special way of intimacy with Him. Embrace His
presence with an obedient heart.
Ephesians 6:18
“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 Lord’s people.”
Colossians 4:2
“Devote yourselves to
prayer, being watchful and thankful.”
1 Timothy 2:1
“I urge, then, first
of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all
people”
But intercession is more complicated than a simple prayer
for one’s self. Intercession is a prayer on behalf of others. It is a selfless
act on which an intercessor cries out to your Heavenly Father the woes of
others. They engage on a spiritual warfare only equipped with the full armor of
God.
Colossians 4:12
“Epaphras, who is one
of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling
in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and
fully assured.“
We made it clear that intercession is a gift. Others may receive
it, others may not. So do not worry yourself if you’re not an intercessor. Instead, find for someone to pray for you, to
pray with you. This is what the apostles did, they asked the people to
intercede and pray for them. For if two of you on earth agree about anything
they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
2 Thessalonians 3:1
“As for other matters,
brothers and sisters, pray for us
that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was
with you.”
1 Thessalonians 5:25
“Brothers and sisters,
pray for us.”
Ephesians 6:19
“Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given
me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,”
Colossians 4:3
“ And pray for us, too, that God may
open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for
which I am in chains.”
The Pitfall of the
Intercessors
Nobody is perfect and so are the intercessors. And often
times than not, they tend to be tripped-off by their own gifting. So if you are
an intercessor, always pray for a clean heart and be cautious about these
pitfalls.
The most common of which is the “hollier-than-thou”
attitude. Because of their intimacy with the Lord, they think that they are a
cut above all else, that they are more holy than other members of the body of
Christ. They tend to be proud of themselves and eventually become a show-off.
2 Chronicles 7:14
"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and
seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and
I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
Sometimes, when intercessors are praying, God just drop
something in to them. It may be a secret of other person or it may be the
struggle of the person you are interceding with. It can also be in the form of
a vision or a dream. With these, intercessors tend to be mystical. They lean
more on the supernatural side, completely neglecting the spiritual side of it.
I know an intercessor who experience this pitfall – me. I
was so hyped up when I received this gift that every time I received a
revelation to the Lord, I go out and do a prophetic prayer over that someone. I
totally neglected to fact that it may be a personal revelation, something to
keep only to myself. When I see a vision,
I’ll go and share it to anyone without
interpreting it. So take me for my word. Do not try to be mystical. I was
rebuked by the Lord and clearly hearing how upset I made the Lord I am serving
was the worst feeling I have ever felt.
Intercessors have the strong desire to pray. Sometimes a 20
minute prayer is not enough. It is ok to conduct a prayer marathon if you are
in the presence of your co-intercessors. But if you are not with them, please
try to restrain yourself.
I have friend whose intercessory anointing is so
powerful that a prayer for blessing of food took a solid 15 minutes to finish.
I can’t help myself but to squirm because I am hearing the rumbling stomachs of
our friends. He had covered it all; the food that we are eating, the
cleanliness of the fast food chain that we are in, the unsaved souls of people
around us and he even prayed for our leaders. The moral lesson is, restrain
yourself to pray a long prayer in the presence of non-intercessors. Furthermore,
newly birthed Christians might have the wrong notion that your prayer full of Lords,
Oh God, Heavenly Father, Divine Father, is the anointed way of praying.
There is also the pitfall of insecurity. It is the exact
opposite of mystical intercessors. They tend to undermine their gifting. They
think of it as “uncool” compared to other gifting. They have the mindset, “She
has the gift of healing. He has the Gift of prophecy. And I am just left with a
gift of praying.” Be secured with your faith. Intercession is the backbone of
the church.
There is a church in the United States that welcomes
thousands of people in their church every worship service and their population
is still growing. So a guest asked the pastor the secret of this church. Then
the pastor showed him a room full of eight hundred intercessors praying at the
same time. You prayer can do a lot so do not underestimate it.
The last thing that I am going to share is the pitfall of
boundaries. Some prophetic intercessors were anointed by God to perceive attacks
from the enemies. So they see an attack before it even strikes. The pitfall is
when, the intercessor tried to face or resolve that task alone. Always remember
your boundaries. You as a prophetic intercessor only functions as a watcher,
the final decision still lie on the hands of the apostolic team. Your job is
only to discern and decipher the attacks.
The Reward of
Intercession
The reward for the
intercessors is very simple. It is the satisfaction that we feel in our hearts
as we become a witness at the works of His hand. Every answered prayer becomes
a trophy for us. It keeps us thriving to intercede for more.
But what matters most is the joy that engulfs our hearts
because of the intimacy and communion with the Lord. Because at the end of the
day, everything comes from Him and we are nothing but a humble servants who
glorify His mighty name.
I hope I have given you a glimpse inside the world of
intercessors. This is just a broad introduction on prayer and intercession.
There are still so many topics left untouched. This is ME, unexpectedly
preaching.
