What is intercessory prayer?

Have you ever had someone step in to help you or someone to act on your behalf? How great is it when someone else can do something for you that you can’t do for yourself?

I have a younger brother, and I can be protective of him. I want to make sure that no one hurts him, and that whatever he is doing, I help him be the best at. One day I took him to the park with his friends to play football. Him and his friends saw some other kids playing so they challenged them to a game. The game was quite rough and my brothers team was losing. Then one of his friends became tired and stop playing. All of a sudden his team was down a player. So I looked at my brother and said put me in! Let’s just say, we destroyed the other team.

Now I know that is a silly example, but that gives us a picture of what intercessory prayer is. In simple terms, intercessory prayer is the act of praying on the behalf of others. It is stepping into a gap that you see and praying into that gap.

As God’s watchmen, we are required to stand in the gap and make intercession for others. So what do you pray for? That is between you and God. As God’s watchmen, He will impart, He will give you people, situations or even topics that He wants you to intercede for. It is our role to respond to His call and pray into those areas. The prayers don’t have to be complicated prayers, but they have to be from a heart that wants to see God’s will be done.

A wonderful model of intercessory prayer is found in Daniel 9. It has all the elements of true intercessory prayer. Daniel responds to God’s Word, he is fervent (urgent) in His prayers, he recognises the sins of the people and recognises his dependency on God, and most importantly, He is praying for God’s glory to be revealed.

Like Daniel, when we intercede on the behalf of others, we are to come to God in a heartbroken and repentant attitude, recognizing our own unworthiness. 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 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.

So what is God asking you to intercede for? It could be a friend, it could be your school, it could be for a college, maybe even for this city and nation. When we come with a humble heart before God, He will reveal to us, what He is asking us to pray for.

And guess what, our prayers matter! When our prayers come in line with Gods will, Heaven comes down! I want to encourage you to keep praying, keep interceding on the behalf of others, and most importantly keep seeking for Gods will to be established here on this earth