Effective Prayer - Part Seven

Intercession

For many years, Christians referred to prayer as being only intercession. It’s easy to think that because intercession is often done in tongues, since we don’t know what to pray for as we ought, and any prayer can and should end in tongues. They also spoke about having a call to be an Intercessor. Unfortunately, they said that out of ignorance; they simply didn’t know their Bible. There are only two Intercessors mentioned in the Bible, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. However, all of us are called to intercede.
 
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered (Romans 8:26).

Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us (Romans 8:34).
 
From time to time, all of us invoke intercessory prayers because they are prayers where we stand between a person, or many people, who have done wrong, or are doing wrong, and we stand between them and the judgment they deserve. To be effective, intercessory prayer must be made when the Holy Spirit prompts us to pray. We don’t know the kind of details that are involved, like all the elements of what they did, the precise judgment that is called for, nor the all-encompassing mercy of God in His forgiveness.
 
Abraham’s prayer for Sodom and Gomorrah is a good example of the prayer of intercession. Abraham didn’t try to delineate the number of sins to be found in these two cities. He based his prayer on only one thing: the number of righteous men to be found there. We can certainly pray that way today for the country God has put on our heart. Smith Wigglesworth is noted to have said, “There is something about God that makes Him jump over one million people to get to one person who is in faith.” Sin provokes God, but faith invokes His blessing.
 
God sent Jesus to be our intercessor. He became our mediator. He joins God and man by standing in the gap, at the right hand of God, forever making intercession for us. But not only for us—for all men.
 
Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25).
 
For 2000 years, Jesus has been interceding for the lost. It’s time for Him to have a great harvest. Let’s get in there and work the harvest with Him, praying for and witnessing to those He tells us to pray for and speak to. Let’s not make up any programs of our own; just ask Him for whom we should intercede, pray fervently, and when He gives us the signal that the way has been prepared, we will go speak to them. Nothing is more wonderful than to see the face of one we have just led to the Lord.