Intercession is a unique kind of prayer. As an intercessor, I am called to go to God in prayer, lifting up the needs of another person. I am asked to pray for their concerns. I am asked to pray God’s will for them. I am not asked to pray for my will for them.
Praying on behalf of someone else involves a level of trust. They are trusting me as an intercessor to listen well, to hear the need they have and to go to God in prayer on their behalf. I silently seek God’s will before I begin to pray and intercede for someone.
If you have ever experienced having someone pray something over you that you did not ask them to pray nor would you want God to answer, you will understand what I am about to share. I remember meeting with a small prayer group once and when it was my turn to receive prayer, I asked the woman praying for me to pray for God’s provisions in an area where I had a real need. However, when the person prayed, she prayed that God would not give me the provisions I had asked for and would make me satisfied without them! I left feeling saddened that she chose to judge what was best in her opinion rather than to simply pray for my need.
As God’s intercessors, we are not called to pray our will over someone else’s will. We are not to assume we know best and pray something that they may not actually want us to pray. This is not our calling. We are not sent to judge the needs of another, but to pray for them. God knows their situation better than we do. He sees their heart and he sees our heart. I know I want my Spirit to operate in a Christ like love and not as a critical spirit.
Before you enter into a time of intercession for someone else, I encourage you to be sure that you are listening well to the needs of the one you are about to lift up in prayer. If you’ve listened and you really don’t know what to pray for in that situation, I encourage you to begin by praying for God’s will, for God’s best in their lives and not just for what you may feel is the best solution. Do not allow the enemy to tempt you into praying for what you want to happen or to pray in a way that is not Biblical.
Remember, if you really don’t know what or how to pray in a situation, God promises us in Romans 8:26-28 that the Holy Spirit will pray for us; that the Holy Spirit pleads for us in harmony with God’s own will. So, let us set our will aside. Listen well. Seek God. Then intercede in prayer.
By Jacqui - One of God's Intercessors
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