Intercession is to place oneself between God and man; it is prayer for others.
The first reference to this term is found in the Old Testament, where Abraham, because of his nephew Lot, asks God to reverse His decision to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. In Genesis 18:16-33, Abraham gives an excellent example of intercessory prayer. He will base it on the very nature of God, without fear but with great reverence. His prayer was even bold, since he constantly changed the conditions, gradually going from fifty to ten righteous.
Also in the Old Testament and several times, Moses stood on the breach to intercede for the people of Israel, whose idolatry and sins had provoked the anger of God
Exodus 32: 11-14 « 11And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? 12Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. 14And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people. » KJV
Psalm 106 : 23 « 23Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them. » KJV
Intercession is the prayer that withholds judgment from God. The most wonderful example of intercession is without doubt that of our Lord Jesus Christ, who stood on the breach for us and who, even today, continues to intercede for us at the right hand of the Father.
Romans 8: 33-34 « 33Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. 34Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. » KJV
Through His sacrifice at the Cross, Jesus became the only Intercessor for humanity.
True intercession has a double action: to ask God for His intervention and destroy the works of the devil. The intercessor must both stand before God and learn to rise up against Satan.
The six ingredients for successful intercession are:
1/ Love. This is not about natural love, but about the “agape” love of God. It is impossible to intercede for someone who you do not love.
2/ Compassion. Jesus felt compassion for people and He asks us to share this same compassion, praying for others. Let us intercede with the compassion and heart of God.
3/ Identification with the person for whom one intercedes, even if one does not know him. Jesus Christ, the Great Intercessor who had always existed in the form of God, identified Himself with the human being by stripping away all His attributes and taking the form of a servant (Philippians 2:7-8).
Philippians 2: 5-7 « 5Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men » KJV
4/ Boldness. We are supposed to approach the throne of God with assurance, but with reverence.
Hebrews 4: 16 « 16Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. » KJV
5/ Fervour. We need to be fervent in spirit, for fervent prayer of the righteous is highly effective.
James 5:16 « 16Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. » KJV
6/ Perseverance.
Ephesians 6:18 « 18Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. » KJV
Praise and worship are very important for entering into intercession; both should be offered to God before and after any intercession.
We must always enter into intercession in victory, so as to call things that are not as if they were.
Hell intercedes intensely against those who stand in the front line for God. As long as we do nothing for God, we are no danger to Satan!
The intercession must be based on the promises of God. He has His will and acts only in accordance with the advice of His will. All who want to intercede must, first of all, discover the promise of God that is attached to their prayer.
To intercede is not to pray in a general way, but on the basis of a revelation from the Lord. God shows the intercessor what He has on His heart or what He is about to do; and from there arises a burden which can be removed only by intercession.
Intercession takes its origin in the heart of God, for only His heart knows the depths of true compassion. It is then poured into the heart of man who goes to pray to God; and God will hear it.
The intercessor
Ezekiel 22:30 « 30And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. » KJV
The first responsibility of the intercessor is to raise a wall of protection against any enemy, for himself and for those for whom he intercedes.
The second is to stand on the breach, close to God, in order to know His heart about the subjects that He has entrusted to him, and then speak to the hearts of people or even a nation. His ultimate responsibility is to interpose himself, by divine power, between light and darkness to avoid destruction, death, theft; or between the decision of God and a person (or nation), to make him escape from the wrath of God.
Every intercessor should first establish a wall for himself, then discover the possible failures in his wall to repair them. What could damage his wall? Sin, the works of the flesh (jealousy, quarrels, etc.), unhealed wounds, lack of forgiveness…
It is vital for the intercessor to maintain his wall, in other words to strengthen his attachment to Jesus Christ by saving time of intimacy with Him, time of praise, prayer and adoration, and finally reading and meditating on the Word of God. The intercessor must not give the opportunity to the enemy to infiltrate through a fault line in order to dominate him in an area of his life.
One of the common vulnerabilities the enemy uses is in our thoughts. But how do we protect them? By holding close to Jesus so that He may protect and establish a wall around our thoughts; by asking Him to teach us to take authority over our way of thinking and to shut our ears to the lies and other accusations that the enemy of our souls whispers.
An intercessor must stand before God and dwell in His presence. This presupposes that he knows God and has learned to live in His presence. Standing in the presence of God means that one has recognized, confessed and abandoned sin (Psalm 24:3-4), but also that one has renounced oneself and taken up his cross every day to follow Christ. The ministry of intercession requires a life free from sin and “self”; and the power of intercession will always be proportional to the quality of the relationship between the intercessor and God.
Psalm 24: 3-4 « 3Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? 4He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. » KJV
An intercessor must know how to listen to God. He must not only ask God, but after asking, wait in the presence of the Lord to listen to what He has to say. The intercessor must be able to wait until God speaks, without worrying about the time spent. Intercession is the art of “waiting for God” and “waiting before God”.
The intercessor must also be able to remember clearly and correctly the instructions he has received from God. It is a very serious thing to forget what God has given as an answer to an intercession prayer.
Paul was always interceding for the churches, always mentioning them in his prayers and bending his knees before the Father for them. He was working to see that the will of God for these churches be fulfilled. Paul also knew the plans of the Enemy against them, including preventing the saints from growing spiritually, and the apostle worked tirelessly in prayer for the destruction of these plans. He built walls of protection in prayer, around every saint and church. It is also the responsibility of every intercessor.
During the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus, one day the devil asked permission to sift the apostle Peter as wheat, and the Lord interceded for Peter. If He had not prayed for him, no doubt Peter would have been lost forever. The fact that the Lord Jesus Christ continues to intercede in heaven for His saints shows how absolutely indispensable intercession is. Jesus Christ is our heavenly Sentinel.
If the Lord is engaged in intercession, He has also committed Himself to the intercessor by giving him help for his moments of weakness. The intercessor must remember that he has an Aid. This Aid is the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit helps the intercessor by strengthening him, renewing his strength, but more than that, the Holy Spirit also intercedes for him! He prays to the Father for the intercessor, tells the Father what the intercessor has in his heart but fails to express through prayer. The Holy Spirit, who probes the depths of the Father, also prays according to His will; a will that the Holy Spirit knows but the intercessor does not, so that what is lacking for his intercession is provided.
The intercessor is therefore a person renewed in Christ, whose inner being is firm because strengthened in Jesus Christ. If he stands on the breach and his own flaws have been restored, then the Lord will make him a “breach-mender”.
These breaches are called: addictions, depression, hurt hearts, drugs, diseases, trials, sufferings, loneliness, sadness…These breaches must be repaired so that men and women can be released, comforted and healed.
The Lord is still seeking intercessors, men and women who will stand on the breach and become repairers.
