To intercede means to come between, or to intervene on behalf of someone else. One way to visualize what intercession represents is when someone steps in front of another person to personally shield them from a danger they face. Intercessory prayer is when we pray on someone else’s behalf, coming between them and the danger that they face, whether spiritual or physical. In the Bible, Aaron interceded for the people of Israel who rebelled against God when He brought the incense between the living and the dead. “And he stood between the dead and the living; so the plague was stopped” (Numbers 16:48). The incense represented prayers of repentance that are mingled together with Jesus’ sacrifice.
Jesus sets the example for us because He is our Intercessor. “…He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12). He came between sinners and the penalty for sin by giving His life. Now Jesus is in Heaven interceding for us as our true High Priest in the Most Holy Place of God’s Sanctuary in Heaven. “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25). “It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us” (Romans 8:34). When Jesus, our High Priest, leaves the Most Holy Place, there will be no intercession for sin. He will then return to this world to rescue His people.
The greatest prayer of intercession was spoken by Jesus on the Cross, “‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do’” (Luke 23:34). Some other Bible examples of intercessory prayer are:
- Abraham interceding for Sodom – Genesis 18:16-32
- Moses interceding for Israel – Exodus 32:11-14
- Moses interceding for his sister Miriam – Numbers 12:11-14
- Isaac interceding for his wife Rebekah – Genesis 25:21
- Job interceding for his children and for his friends – Job 1:5, 40:8
- Paul intercedes for Christian believers – Ephesians 3:14-19, Philippians 1:9-11, Colossians 1:3-12
- Paul asking Christians to intercede for Him – Ephesians 6:18-20
- The church interceding for Peter in prison – Acts 12:5
God expects every believer to intercede for others when we pray. “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority…” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Praying for others should be a consistent part of our prayers. Church members are to pray for each other, and God has placed leaders in the church who are given the privilege of praying for the needs of members: “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven” (James 5:14-15).
Here are three steps we should follow when we intercede for others in prayer.
- To know how to intercede for someone, we need to understand their needs. Rather than praying a vague or one-size-fits-all prayer, we want to seek out the specific need of the person we are praying for. Paul tells the church leaders of Ephesus to “…take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers…” (Acts 20:28). In other words, they should pay careful attention to the needs of their members to pray for them and to care for them both physically and spiritually.
- We need to be right with God ourselves. We can’t help rescue a person sinking in the water when we are floundering in the same waves. If there is unconfessed sin in our lives, we need to get it out through confession and repentance. James 5:16 says that “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” The NIV says it this way, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” In other words, we must have our lives cleansed from sin by Jesus and be living a righteous life by His grace so our prayers will be effective.
- We need to pray specifically. Get right to the point and pray for what they need. Don’t beat around the bush or engage in long speeches. Claim God’s specific promises that address their situation. Remember that all of God’s commands are promises. In Matthew 30:32, Jesus addresses the blind man who was calling out to Him with these words, “‘What do you want Me to do for you?’” It wasn’t enough to just say he needed help. He needed to articulate what he desired.
Finally, when you pray for someone, be ready to help them yourself as God prompts you to do. In Matthew 25:31-46, professed Christians are gathered before the judgment seat and are separated based on what they did to help the needy. These are believers who said prayers for the needy. But only those who followed their prayer by loving Christian service were truly God’s friends. Praying for others is one way we can fulfill the command written in Galatians 6:2, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
There are a few times when God forbids intercession. These specific situations include praying that God will withhold the consequence that comes as a natural result of willful sin. For example, God told Jeremiah not to pray for Israel during a time when they intentionally rebelled against His Law, and they had no attitude of repentance or confession. They didn’t need to be forgiven or spared from the consequence of their rebellion. They needed to repent and return to obedience. God said to Jeremiah, “‘Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me; for I will not hear you’” (Jeremiah 7:16). We can pray that they will repent and share God’s messages from the Bible, but we are not to ask God to ask God to allow them to continue their path of sin.