Saturday, March 30, 2013

Intercession: The Gift, The Pitfall and The Reward


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.

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