“Intercession! Would one not say that this is the very holiest exercise of our boldness as God’s children? It is the highest privilege and enjoyment connected to our communion with God. It is the power of being used by God as instruments for His great work of making men His habitation and showing forth His glory.” - Andrew Murray
Dear intercessors,
You may not realize it, but God loves your intercession. You may be right now in the thick of the battle in prayer and may not see any answer or way through. But know this! When you come to God in prayer, it moves His heart deeply. He is seeking for intercessors and for those who will give themselves to prayer. Jesus is the greatest intercessor. He knows what it is to sweat great drops of blood for others. He spent whole nights and long seasons in prayer. And there are others – Daniel, David, and Paul.
Today Jesus looks across the whole earth, seeking for intercessors. Are there others who will stand in the gap on behalf of the land? Are there some who will raise their hands and say, “Jesus, let me be your intercessor for such a time as this? I want to be your man or woman of prayer.” If this is the cry of your heart, God is seeking you out. His eye is upon you. We read in Ezekiel 22:30:
“So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”
Intercession and prayer is so important to God. It is the primary way that God governs the universe. Through intercession He release His (government) power through Jesus and with His people. This requires cooperation on our part with Him. This is an expression of His desire for intimate partnership with us. He will not do our part and we cannot do His part. If we do not do our part, then God withholds some of the help and blessing He would have given us. We need a deep revelation of the majesty and mystery of intercession. I pray for you:
"that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power" - (Ephesians 1:17-19).
I have been involved in prayer for decades in many nations and cities. I know the ups and downs, the perseverance, and the attacks that intercessors face. But I also know of the power and glory of prayer if we will persevere and not give up.
Why God Loves our Intercession
“You will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you, and you will pay your vows. You will also declare a thing, and it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways” (Job 22:27-28).
God wants us to ask in order to receive (James 4:2). He will answer if we pray and ask (Isaiah 30:18-19). He loves when we verbalize our prayers. I will mention a few reasons why God loves our intercession to help you realize the beauty and power of partnering with Him in prayer:
- God passionately desires that we partner with Him in prayer and intercession - Prayer draws us into intimacy with God, and at the same time, it humbles and transforms us. When we bring the needs of others to God in prayer, we interact in partnership with His heart.
- We are in governmental partnership with Him - The governmental center of the universe is in the prayer ministry. We partner with Him or we will not see these blessings. Intercession is God’s brilliant strategy for including the saints in ruling with Him in power. God seeks for those who will stand in the gap in intercession.
- He opens doors of blessing when we intercede - We have a dynamic role in determining the measure of the quality of our life. It’s marvelous! Charles Finney was a lawyer from New York in the 1800’s whom the Lord used greatly to bring about revival. These amazing results were because of two strong intercessors who prayed earnestly for every meeting.
- He changes us on the inside as His Word abides in us - The mystery of intercession is in its “weakness”, simplicity, humility, and accessibility to all. We are filled with God's heart as we pray, and our effectiveness in intercession increases. God’s mind then dominates and saturates ours, renewing us as we pursue Him in prayer.
- He initiates prayer by declaring His will in His Word - We respond by praying His Word. Then He answers us by releasing His blessing because of our prayers. Prayer and intercession cause us to internalize God’s Word because when we speak His ideas back to Him. His Word builds us up in our heart and delivers us (1 Thessalonians 2:13, Acts 20:32, Hebrews 4:12, James 1:21). We then decree God’s decrees with power from on high.
- Jesus releases God’s justice in response to intercession - Justice is God making wrong things right. He requires night and day prayer as the condition to release justice. Wrong things are made right, the sick are healed, those bound in sin are freed, and revival is released in geographical areas.
“Shall God not avenge (bring about justice for) His elect who cry out day and night to Him? I tell you that He will avenge (bring about justice) them speedily - (Luke 18:7-8).
General Robert E. Lee was a United States Army officer for thirty-two years and among the greatest generals in American history. He is best known for fighting in the American Civil War on behalf of the Confederate Army. General Lee saw that prayer and intercession was a mighty weapon in taking back land from the enemy and winning battles. He was one who not only fought for the nation of America, but he also pleaded earnestly that people would pray everywhere. We must likewise fight for nations on our knees in intercession. This is what Robert E. Lee said:
“Knowing that intercessory prayer is our mightiest weapon and the supreme call for all Christians today, I pleadingly urge our people everywhere to pray. Believing that prayer is the greatest contribution that our people can make in this critical hour, I humbly urge that we take time to pray - to really pray. Let there be prayer at sunup, at noonday, at sundown, at midnight - all through the day. Let us all pray for our children, our youth, our aged, our pastors, our homes. Let us pray for our churches... Let us pray for our nation. Let us pray for those who have never known Jesus Christ and redeeming love, for moral forces everywhere, for our national leaders. Let prayer be our passion. Let prayer be our practice.”
Together in the Harvest,
Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
International House of Prayer Kansas City (IHOPKC)
deb@intercessorsarise.org
www.intercessorsarise.org