THE IMPORTANT WORK OF INTERCESSION

Standing in the Gap from Our Knees

One of the most amazing privileges we have with God is to help make a difference in our world and in the lives of other people through our prayers. Don't you find that intriguing? Why would God who is, after all, God, need our prayers to accomplish His purposes? And, if He doesn't necessarily need them, why does He want them? Have you ever thought about that? If I have, I'll bet you have. It's one of those, well, "God questions."

This phenomenon of God incorporating my prayers into His doings is just one more Wondrous Way He never fails to astonish me with... well... absolutely Wondrous Wonder!

My first thought is, how mysterious He is! Just think of it! He knows all things, is the Master Chess Player (I mean no disrespect, of course!), has everything figured out and all set on schedule to continue throughout the rest of earthly events and on into eternity. I mean, it will go down exactly as He has planned no matter what, right?

Follow that thought, and now, to my very finite mind, all I can think is that He must have planned for things to work out using our prayer-warrior involvement. In the prayer Jesus taught His disciples to pray, known as The Lord's Prayer, we are told to pray,

"Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

There has to be quite a bit to this, since it is the very first part of the prayer after we bless His glorious name in "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name."

To pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven; well, won't His will be done, whether we pray or we don't?

And, He invites us to do things in life, such as pray, and we have the choice to pray or not to pray, so it's not like we are programmed robots.

Hmm.... How does He manage everything so perfectly?

And if we are in a spiritual battle, although we know He will be - no, already is - ultimately victorious, what is going on when it comes to the war between good and bad angels, principalities and powers - and what does any of it have to do with us?

I think THIS is an excellent time to get out our shovels, don't you?

Let's see what insights we can gain by taking a deep dig inside The Living Word!

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FIRST, what Is Intercession?

A preliminary Dictionary Dig!

Intercession (noun)

in·ter·ces·sion | \ ˌin-tər-ˈse-shən \

1. The act of intervening or mediating between two parties, especially for the purpose of reconciliation, relief, or advocacy.

   
   

2. The act of pleading or praying on behalf of another.

   
   

To Intercede (verb)

in·ter·cede | \ ˌin-tər-ˈsēd \

1. To intervene on behalf of another, especially in order to prevent harm or secure favor.

2. To plead or pray in favor of another person; to act as a mediator.

Intercession from a Biblical Perspective

The Apostle Paul writes to young Timothy:

“I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people.”(1 Timothy 2:1)

And intercession - praying for others - is built into the responsibility of every believer:

“Far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you.” (1 Samuel 12:23)

It is so interesting that he didn't say, "far be it from me that I should sin against YOU by ceasing to pray for you," but "far be it from me that I should sin against GOD by ceasing to pray for you!"

Failing to intercede is framed not as mere neglect—but actually as sin. Wow. That tells us right there how important it is to God that we pray for each other. And James goes on to say this about how powerful the prayers of a righteous person are:

“The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” (James 5:16)

Hmm.... what does it take to be "a righteous man?"

If you have received Jesus Christ as your Savior by putting your faith in his death as payment for your sins, and you are not living in a state of known discord (stubborn sin) with God, then you are "a righteous man."

It doesn't mean if you are an "especially exemplery" believer in the upper echelons of the Christian ranks. All of us who confess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are made righteous in Christ; it is HIS righteousness that makes us righteous and, therefore, makes our prayers effective. IF we are made righteous - completely clean - in God's sight yet have moved to a state of living in known sin, then we are still righteous in God's sight because of Jesus Christ, BUT our praying power will be hindered due to disobedience. (For more on that topic, see my post

PRAYER — Keeping the Communication Lines with God Open and Clear)

This is so awesome when you really think about it! I think "getting that" is, alone, more motivation than we need to get on our knees with gusto, don't you?

(When I say "get on our knees" I am speaking proverbially - while you can get on your knees physically, being "on our knees" is more about our spiritual than our physical posture!)

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Back to the question: If God Is Sovereign, Why Does He Want Us to Pray?

Some have made a compelling case that, throughout Scripture, God often chooses to accomplish His purposes on the earth through human participation—and frequently through intercession.

From the beginning, God entrusted the stewardship of the earth to humanity, inviting partnership.

He brought the animals to Adam to be named, establishing human involvement in creation’s order. He called Abraham and declared that through him all the families of the earth would be blessed, unfolding redemption through covenant relationship.

Ultimately, salvation itself came not apart from humanity, but through it, as Jesus Christ took on flesh and stood as the final and perfect intercessor on our behalf.

At the same time, Scripture makes clear that God is never constrained by lack of human cooperation. When no one was available to stand in the gap - or intercede - He acted by His own arm.

“He saw that there was no man, and was astonished that there was no one to intercede; then His own arm brought Him salvation, and His righteousness upheld Him.” (Isaiah 59:16)

That's a pretty astonishing verse! God was Himself "astonished" that not one person was available to pray to Him concerning this situation. Here's the historical background:

Isaiah 59 is spoken into a time of deep moral and spiritual collapse in Israel. Though the nation remained outwardly religious, it was marked by injustice, violence, dishonesty, and the suppression of truth in public life.

God makes clear that His power to save had not failed; rather, sin had created a breach between Him and His people. What is most striking is not only the depth of the corruption, but the absence of anyone willing to step forward in repentance or intercession.

In that setting, God looked for someone to stand in the gap—and finding none, He is described as being astonished. Not one single person! He then acts by His own arm, bringing salvation Himself, revealing both His grief over the lack of intercessors and His unwavering sovereignty and power.

Similarly, from the book of the prophet Ezekiel:

“And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.”   (Ezekiel 22:30)

From here I think it is safe to say that God - when dealing with matters of the earth - prefers to work in a partnership with humans, but if the humans don't step up to the plate, He will use His own exclusive power.

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That our participation in prayer is of great importance to God is clear:

“You do not have, because you do not ask.”(James 4:2)

“Call to Me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” (Jeremiah 33:3)

And, again, Jesus instructed His disciples (and, therefore, us!) to pray...

“...Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)

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Examples of God Working Through Intercessors

Moses

Here, the LORD is fed up with the petulance of the Israelites; their constant complaining and failure to trust Him. He even tells Moses NOT to pray for them!

“The LORD said, ‘I have seen this people… Now therefore let Me alone…’” (Exodus 32:9–10)

But Moses does not “let Him alone:"

“But Moses implored the LORD his God…”(Exodus 32:11)

“If You will forgive their sin—but if not, blot me out of Your book…” (Exodus 32:32)

The result?

“And the LORD relented from the disaster…”(Exodus 32:14)

Moses begged God to forgive the sins of the stubborn Israelites, even to the point of giving up his own good standing with God in exchange. God did not take Him up on that or destroy the Israelites, but this gives us a glimpse into how a mere man - albeit Moses, himself - interacted with God in a conversational, intercessory manner.

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Abraham

“Then Abraham drew near and said…” (Genesis 18:23)

This is when Abraham "negotiated" through intercession and held back God's hand in destroying Sodom & Gomorrah. Well, He did eventually end up destroying it, but He held back for a period of time due to Abraham's intercession.

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Hannah

“She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly.” (1 Samuel 1:10)

Although Hannah was praying primarly for herself - to conceive a child - God used her prayers to bring forth a mighty prophet and judge of Israel. Think about this one. God knew He wanted Samuel to be born, and He knew He wanted Hannah to be his mother, but He prompted the conception of Samuel through Hannah's sadness over her infertility and subsequent passionate prayers to Him!

All I can say, again, is: "Mysterious!"

And then there's:

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Job

“And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends.”(Job 42:10)

This is a really interesting and awesome account. Job was plagued with terrible misfortune, from the loss of his livelihood, children, and terrible, excruciatingly painful illness, and then he had these so-called friends who came to sit with him to "cheer him up." Just the opposite. They had all kinds of advice to give as wise counsel coming from God, only it wasn't. Eventually, God visits them and sets the record straight, but then He wants Job to pray for them. And when Job does that, the LORD restores all that he had lost and then some.

What can I say?

Mysterious!

Just think about it for a second. They were wrong, and God let them know that Himself, but God honored Job's forgiveness of them as evidenced by his praying for them.

God is so real, isn't He? He isn't a robot.

He isn't a heavenly vending machine you put your prayer coins into and pull a lever and He does this, or you pull another lever and He does that.

Though he never violates his perfect moral code whatever He decides to do in any given situation, He isn't a righteous robot; He exudes personality, mood, and even a wrestling with His own thoughts and decisions.

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Daniel

Daniel was one of the first captives from Jerusalem in the 70-year Babylonian captivity. This captivity was a judgement of God against His chosen people because of their refusal to repent of their rebellion against Him, despite being given many chances and warned by many prophets. Daniel, mind you, was NOT of the ilk that had rebelled against God, yet He intercedes for the people who were rebellious in this way:

“I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking Him by prayer and pleas for mercy…”(Daniel 9:3)

You really should read the entire chapter 9 of Daniel (much of history and what is yet to come is captured here!), but here is a highlight demonstrating well what intercession is all about:

“So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary.  O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion.  O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.” (Daniel 9:18-19)

"O, LORD, hear! O, LORD, forgive! O, LORD, listen and take action!"

You can just feel Daniel's deep passion and sense of great urgency in these desperate, humble pleadings.

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Then, introducing...The Ultimate Intercessor - Jesus Christ!

All intercession finds its fulfillment in Christ, the Ultimate Intercessor.

“Therefore He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”(Hebrews 7:25)

And astonishingly—

“The Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” (Romans 8:26)

I really love that verse in Romans, because it acknowledges that when we are praying we really don't see the entire picture and know how to pray about a situation, for example, just right.

So. This is pretty wild!

The Holy Spirit takes OUR prayers which aren't able to take into account the whole picture and translates them to the Father in an intercessory manner! What? This is going on in the background as we pray. We have the intention, we have in our minds what we think might be what should "happen," but the Spirit of God knows the entire situation and translates our prayers as they are lifted to the Father with God's own understanding. So, that means, in short, God is involved personally both in our praying as well as in His answering!

Picture this. God the Father sitting on His throne in heaven. People on earth are praying. (Can you imagine how many prayers that is at any given time? Wow!) Now. When we say that we pray in Jesus name, it means we are pleading His sinless sacrifice for ourselves. When it says that Jesus Christ Himself intercedes for us, it means that He is our High Priest - our means of reaching the Father with our prayers - His sinless sacrifice and resurrection from the dead means that my prayers are continually heard by and responded to by the Father as they move through Jesus Christ, our High Priest. We don't see this happening, but it is.

Here, again, we have the full involvement of the three persons of the Trinity involved in our prayer activity:

• The Holy Spirit knows our heart, knows all things, knows what the Father's will for us is and interprets and embellishes our weak prayers as they fly heavenward

• The Son, Jesus Christ, sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven, serves as our High Priest through His sinless death and resurrection, ushering the prayers of those who have accepted His sacrifice as payment for their own sins - who are born again, as it were - into the "Holy of Holies," presenting them Himself to...

• The Father, who hears and answers our prayers!

(For more on the mysteries of the Holy Trinity - Father, Son & Holy Spirit, see: The Holy Trinity 'n Me!

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Okay. NEXT: For who and for what should we be interceding?

This, of course, is the question! If intercession is so important, where do we start?

1. Interceding for People

This is the most intuitive and the most frequent form of intercession in Scripture. We can pray for other people for:

a) For Spiritual Breakthrough

Including:

• Salvation for the lost

• Repentance and restoration of a believer who has wandered off course

• Freedom from bondage and enslavement to sin

“Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.”(Romans 10:1)

“The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, lest the glorious light of the gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)

The salvation of an individual itself is a spiritual battleground.

“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”(John 8:36)

b) For Healing and Human Need

Physical, emotional, mental, relational—all of it.

“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray…”(James 5:14–16)

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2. Interceding for Situations, Issues, and Nations

This moves the reader beyond prayer for individuals into corporate responsibility.

a) Moral, Cultural, and National Issues

What concerns God should concern His people.

“Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you…”(Jeremiah 29:7)

“Righteousness exalts a nation…” (Proverbs 14:34)

“If My people… humble themselves and pray…” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

This gives biblical motivation to pray about:

• government and leadership

• injustice

• immorality

• the spiritual climate of a culture

b) Leadership and Authority

So that we might lead and enjoy a peaceable life, says the Apostle Paul.

“I urge that… intercessions be made… for kings and all who are in high positions.” (1 Timothy 2:1–2)

The prinicipalities and powers of darkness are intimately tied to governmental entities. A clear example of this is when Daniel was praying, the archangel Michael was sent to come to his aid, but the demon helping the government of Persia - called "The Prince of Persia" - attempted to stop Michael as he sped to Daniel's aid and caused a delay. Think about that! There are actual spiritual enemies attempting to delay God's answers to our prayers! This leads us to...

3. Intercession as Spiritual Warfare

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood…”(Ephesians 6:12)

Prayer is not passive—it is combat, though not against people.

“Praying at all times in the Spirit… making supplication for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:18)

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Obstacles to Intercession

Spiritual Resistance

The devil does not want us to get down to the earnest and effectual work of intercession. Have you ever wanted to pray for someone or some concerning issue and just found yourself feeling resistant to doing it? Or... having a very hard time keeping your eyes open?

That reminds me of Jesus' question to His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane: "Could you not watch with me one hour?" (Matthew 26:40)

OR... finding a bazillion worthy things to do instead? The enemy messes with our heads to prevent us from waging spiritual warfare against him and his battalions. Again, the Bible is clear on this:

“We do not wrestle against flesh and blood…” (Ephesians 6:12)

Self-Preoccupation

It can be very easy to be self-focused in prayer, and it isn't at all wrong to pray for our own needs and personal concerns. And perhaps many times rather than self-centeredness, our anxieties about our own problems can keep us talking to God about ourselves and neglecting others. However...

The Apostle Paul reminds us:

“Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others…”(Philippians 2:4)

I have been especially blessed in this way recently, as my husband Dale has for long weeks been in a very serious health situation in the hospital. The outpouring of expressions of love and concern and assurances of prayers by fellow believers has been amazing. And during this same time, of course, those believing friends also have their own problems - some extremely pressing and serious - and I am able to lift THEM and their needs up before the Lord. It is a wondrous arrangement, and not only is it how our glorious God accomplishes His work, but it draws us closer to each other, which is another one of His key goals for us as His children! He is so, so smart, now isn't He?!

What Else Can Get In the Way of Effectively Praying? Unbelief

By "unbelief" I mean not believing my prayer for someone or something will really make a difference.

"Oh, that problem is WAY too big; it won't make any difference

whether little 'ole me prays or not."

“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord.” (James 1:6–7)

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24)

Then... Assuming someone else will pray

“I looked… but there was no one.” (Ezekiel 22:30)

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The Role of Praise and Worship in Intercession

Praise does not replace intercession—it fuels it.

“Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.” (Psalm 100:4)

One of the most striking examples of praise functioning as intercession comes from the Old Testament account of King Jehoshaphat. When Judah faced a vast and threatening enemy, the king sought the LORD, proclaimed a fast, and led the people in prayer. As the answer came, the battle strategy God gave was unexpected: singers were appointed to go ahead of the army, praising the LORD as they advanced. As they lifted their voices in worship, God Himself set ambushes against the enemy forces, and the battle was won without Judah ever having to fight. Praise did not merely follow the victory—it ushered it in.

“When they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes…”(2 Chronicles 20:22)

“Let the high praises of God be in their throats… to execute vengeance…”(Psalm 149:6–9)

Praise reorients the heart, silences fear, and restores confidence in who God is before we ask Him to act.

“Yet You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.” (Psalm 22:3)

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Final Reflection: Standing in the Gap is Both Hard Work & Holy Privilege

The important work of intercession is tough work. To be an effective partner in the work God is doing in this world takes committment, perseverance, and faith to know what you are doing matters whether you see it or you don't.

We didn't even get into the aspect of fasting (ah! now maybe that's the NEXT prayer topic we should tackle!). Jesus said there were cases that would only respond to fasting and prayer. Hmm...

So, when we intercede, we are not persuading a reluctant God, but aligning ourselves with His revealed desire—that His kingdom would come and His will would be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Intercession Isn't for the Faint of Heart, but Don't Let That Stop You

Scripture presents intercession as a high calling, entrusted to those willing to stand between heaven and earth, carrying the concerns of God into the world and the needs of the world before God.

“We are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us; be ye reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20)

For we are God’s fellow workers.” (1 Corinthians 3:9) Wow. 🤗

To stand in the gap is to be invited into God’s redemptive activity in real time. It matters—not because of who we are, but because of who He is, and because He has chosen to work through the prayers of His people.

“The prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16)

Intercession is an honor beyond measure—a ministry of faith, courage, and joy—where finite people are welcomed into the unfolding purposes of an infinite God.

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Interested in knowing how to enter into a personal relationship with God through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? Say a Salvation Prayer and Receive Jesus Christ Today.

Of course, the saying of a prayer is the reflection of a monumental and life-changing heart decision, but this is a good guide.