Prayer is vital. Often, it is the bridge between us, and God. It draws us closer to him, and helps us to have a real, authentic relationship with him. It is so important, that Jesus even gives us a blueprint prayer to teach us and make it simple. This is called the Lord’s prayer. But there is one key aspect of prayer that I think is particularly important, especially in the times that we are living in. That is intercession.

Throughout our prayer lives, we will find many different ways to pray, but one of the most effective ways to prayer is intercession. Intercession, or intercessory prayer, is a very important aspect or type of prayer that is very effective. It is simply interceding on behalf of other people. This can be as simple as praying for someone’s salvation or as big as praying for the whole world to fall in line with scripture. It can be very effective in helping all those around us come to know God.

It is one of the most powerful and important things that a Christian can do. With it, miracles can happen. Without it, many will be lost forever.

We have the luxury also, of seeing intercession modeled by a few famous Bible heroes. Through their stories, I believe that we can all see intercession played out and know of its effectiveness.

God Hears Intercession

One of the most powerful and famous stories of intercessory prayer can be found in the book of Genesis. Here, we find a pleading Abraham, interceding on behalf of an evil city, Sodom. Sodom is the residence of Abraham’s nephew, Lot, and also, a city that the Lord plans to burn to the ground, for its wickedness.

“So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” (Genesis 18:22-25).

Abraham is asking God a good question here. Is it really like God to kill a bunch of righteous people? Not at all. If there were a great number of righteous people in this evil city then the Lord ought not to burn it to the ground, as that would go against his character. That is why Abraham intercedes for this city.

He ends up dropping the number down to forty-five, then forty, then thirty, then twenty. He eventually asks the Lord to spare the city for a possible ten righteous people that may live there. While Sodom is off sinning, Abraham attempts to save them. He does this repeatedly, until he gets the number down to ten, thinking that there has to be at least ten righteous people living in Sodom.

All while Abraham is begging, God is responding.

God Responds to Intercession

With each request of Abraham, God responds. He responds to each pleading with a similar response.

““If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”” (Genesis 18:26).

Each request from Abraham, gets the same response. “I will spare the place”. Even when Abraham gets all the way down to ten, God has the same response:

““For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”” (Genesis 18:32).

This is a wonderful depiction of what happens when we intercede for others. When we request and ask for something for others, the Lord often does it. It may take time, but He is faithful to his word, and even tells us in the book of John, that He will do whatever we ask, in Jesus’ name.

“”Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.””(John 14:13-14).

Now, this doesn’t mean that we’re going to immediately get a new house once we ask for it, though I do believe that God loves to give gifts to his children (James 1:17). What this means is that if we ask God to do something in Jesus’ name, that He may be glorified, it will be done. One of the ways that God is glorified is through people coming to know him, and this often gets done, through intercession. So, when we pray and intercede for others, as much as God can do without impeding on someone’s free will, it will be done. That’s powerful.

Although there weren’t ten righteous people, and God did destroy the city, I’m confident that God would’ve spared the city if Abraham asked for one righteous person.

Intercede for the World

The world has changed a lot in recent years, with more ungodly practices taken place every year. With the darkening of the rest of the world, the Church needs to take a step forward and start interceding. I believe that interceding for the world is one of the most important things that we do right now. We have worship, which is great. There are countless teachings in the world, and that’s an amazing thing. But we don’t see enough prayer, and we don’t see enough intercession.

As Christians, we can’t just intercede for each other, and pray for ourselves. Intercession isn’t just for Christians; it is for everyone.

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

It is God’s desire that all come to know him and experience him. So, we should be praying for everyone, even if we hate their ideas or disagree with them completely. Interceding for them could change their entire lives.

Not only that, but there should also be more than one person praying for others. Praying and interceding for others, with other Christians is so incredible! When we band together as Christians and begin interceding for the world and for those around us, God answers our prayers, and powerful things begin to happen (Matthew 18:19).

Practical Applications

Now you may be asking, how do I intercede? Who do I intercede for or with? While there are answers to those questions, I find it best to include practical ways to practice intercession in our lives. Here are just a few ways that we can practice intercession today.

• Start with someone close to you. We all have family members or friends that don’t know the Lord. Start praying for them that they may come to the Lord in some way!

• Pray for your leaders. School leaders, government officials, or even your parents all need prayer at some point. Pray for them, that they may have help or may come to find God.

• Intercede for specific issues. There are many issues in the world. Poverty, injustice, crime, and more that we could all be praying for. God wants to see those issues resolved as well. Pray that He may help solve those issues that limit and hurt the world.

• Pray regularly. Abraham drew near to God; he didn’t just magically intercede. He prayed and talked to God regularly, and we can too! Through regular prayer times, we come into relationship with God ourselves and this is bound to help our intercessory time.

• Pray in tongues. Sometimes, we don’t know what we ought to pray, and the Holy Spirit can intercede for us himself by praying for us. When we submit ourselves unto the Lord and allow him to speak through us, powerful things happen. It may seem weird at first but pray that God may give you the gift of tongues, and he will!

• Intercede together. Find another Christian, or perhaps a church group to pray with. See if your church or a surrounding church has prayer meetings. Find some way to pray and intercede for others with other Christians. This is a powerful way to prayer for people!

There are many ways that we can intercede for others, and there are many other ways that aren’t even on that list! It’s one of the most powerful and effective ways that a Christian brings others to Christ, and without it, many wouldn’t be in the faith today.

I heard a story about a man that had an intercessory list. He prayed for the same 100 people every day or so, and eventually they practically all gave their lives to Christ. At the time of his death, there was a very small portion of that list that hadn’t given their lives to the Lord, around ten or so. Later, at his funeral, the remaining amount did. Through this one man’s obedience in intercession, 100 people are now walking with the Lord. If that doesn’t encourage you, I don’t know what will.

Have a great week and intercede for someone!