Prayer Coach
Today we will be dealing with What does the bible says about Intercessory prayers
What Does Intercessory Prayer Mean?
According to Mariam Webster dictionary intercessory prayer or intercession means the act of interceding, prayer, petition, or entreaty in favor of another person.
As Christians we intercede on behalf of the unbelievers so that God can win their hearts, we pray on behalf of our friends, neighbours, fellowship, churches, families to mention a few. When Paul and Silas were imprisoned, we saw that the intervention of the church in prayers for the two brothers reached God’s ears and they were freed. There are many instances in the bible where we read that the great prophets interceded about the people God has placed under them.
In Numbers Chapter 1:1-20, we read there that the Israelites became rebellious towards God and they were going against God’s will, God was so angry with them that if not for Prophet Moses that interceded on behalf of them, they would have perished. We saw that in Numbers 14:20 “And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word”, God saved the Israelites from perishing due to Moses intervention. Interceding on behalf of others has many great benefits. Even Jesus is called our advocate as He talks to God on our behalf so that our sins can be forgiven and we can be blessed by God. 1 John 2:1″My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous”. In Romans 8:34 “Who is he that condemned? 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).
It’s also important to note that our Lord Jesus Christ sent the holy spirit to us to Intercede on our behalf. The holy spirit gives us directions and help us to know God’s plan for us ,that’s why we read in Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered”.(KJV).
Interceding on behalf of people around us is one of the best things we can do as Christians, it shows that our religion is “love” and we actually practice what we preach. We need the guiding of the holy spirit as we mentioned earlier, the holy spirit can lay it in our heart that we should pray on behalf of a someone in the fellowship, our prayer can save a soul , and remember there’s joy in heaven when we save a soul from perishing. There are many benefits of interceding for others as Christians.
BENEFITS OF INTERCESSION
- Interceding on behalf of others can bring about a positive transformation in the life of an intercessor. In Job 42:10 we saw that after Job interceded for his friends despite the fact that they mocked him God brought positive changes to his life and God freed him from his captivity
- “And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends, also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before”. We should also note that Job prayed for his friends while he was still in distress and under intense attack from the enemy. This tells us that God wants us to still intercede for people around us regardless of the situation we may be faced with. Even if we are not in good terms with them , we should still intercede for them as Jesus does the same thing for us His children even with the way we sin and go against His words. God will reward our labour of love.
- One of the benefits of intercessory prayers is that we can pray for unbelievers to become believers and when this goal is achieved we make God happy and He rewards us greatly. When we pray for sinners that they may be saved, we are fulfilling the gospel which says in Matthew 28:19-20 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world”.
- When you intercede for someone, it will be as if that very person is the one praying to God. Remember when Moses interceded on behalf of the Israelites. God heard Him and told him how he can go about the Israelites freedom
- When we intercede for someone God will take action, save the person’s life, the will of God will be done in both the intercessor and the person been prayed for lives.
- There’s a reward from God for intercessors. As Christians the word of advice in today’s topic is that we should make sure we intercede for people, by doing this we are also doing God’s will and we should trust God to answer our prayers and give us our rewards. By Interceding God’s kingdom is advanced and many people are saved from the devil and hell.
QUALITIES OF AN INTERCESSOR
- An intercessor must be a believer.
- Just as Apostle Paul, an intercessor must be courageous, prayerful, a believer.
- Self sacrifice is one of the main qualities of an intercessor
- An intercessor must possess the fruits and gifts of the holy spirit to make communication easy with God.
Interceding for others is a good quality of a good Christian as it shows that you’re not self-centred and also want other people around you to enjoy Gods love and grace. Prayer is important in everything we do. Prayer is the hall mark of a true believer. In Ephesians 5:16 “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil” we are to redeem the days and time with prayers , prayer is the key just as Jesus Christ told us himself. Let’s endeavour to intercede for some one today. We pray the holy spirit direct and guide us on what to say and what to pray for. Amen
