Acts2Now - The Place of Intimacy and Intercession

Intercessory Prayer
By Kurt S. Steele

Many times the subject of intercession comes up in Christian conversation, but what is it? How do we do it? Why is it important? These are all subjects that I will attempt to answer in this short paper. I want to begin with a quote from Andrew Murray in his book, With Christ in the School of Prayer:

"Of all the promises connected with the command, ‘ABIDE IN ME,’ there is none higher, and none that sooner brings the confession, ‘Not that I have already attained, or am already made perfect,’ than this: ‘If ye abide in me, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you.’ Power with God is the highest attainment of the life of full abiding. And of all the traits of a life LIKE CHRIST there is none higher and more glorious than conformity to Him in the work that now engages Him without ceasing in the Father’s presence—His all-prevailing intercession. The more we abide in Him, and grow unto His likeness, will His priestly life work in us mightily, and our life become what His is, a life that ever pleads and prevails for men."

Intercession is where earth and heaven meet in prayer. Jesus lives always to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25). Jesus sets the example as the go between us and the Father. The illustration of how important prayer is to the Father is a scene in heaven. The Father actually stores all of the prayers of the saints in golden bowls in heaven (Revelation 5:8). Jesus is at the right hand of God which is a place of delegated authority from God the Father (I Peter 3:21-22). We are raised up with Him in the heavenlies (Colossians 2:12;3:1) This right hand position is a place of authority over all and Jesus commissions us with His authority (Matthew 28:18-20) to go and make disciples. Some other examples of Jesus delegating authority to us are found throughout the gospels:
Luke 9:1, 2 says, "Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick."

Luke 10:1-20 says:

Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no money belt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house. If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, The kingdom of God has come near to you. But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near. I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city. Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades! The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me. The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.

John 17:20 tells us, I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word.

Mark 13:34 tells us, for the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.

Mark 16:15, 17, 18.And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. … And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

When we pray in His name, do we really know what that means? Jesus is the AUTHORITY given by the sovereignty of the Father by which we go, pray, or live in victory. Intercessory prayer is based on the authority of Christ.

What is intercessory prayer?

Intercession is simply praying for others. The go between is seen in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Abrahams intercessory prayer is a powerful example (Genesis 18:23-33). One study bible defines intercession, “holy, believing, persevering prayer whereby someone pleads with God on behalf of another or others who desperately need God’s intervention.”

What is the biblical basis?

The Biblical basis for the New Testament believer’s ministry of intercessory prayer is our calling as priests for God. The Word of God reveals that we are a holy priesthood (1 Peter 2:5), a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9), and a kingdom of priests (Revelation 1:5). We are priests who are assigned by Christ to come before God on behalf of believers to cry out to God and beseech Him to work. This accents the mandate for community in the Body of Christ. God does not want isolation, He desires community. He desires fellowship and partnership. Praying on behalf of others is not an option it is a mandate. The heartbeat of God is seen in James 5:16-17 which says that we are to confess sin to one another and pray for each other. Elijah is used as an example of a righteous man who interceded and God answered with rain. This illustrates that the effective prayer of a righteous man accomplishes MUCH!The background for understanding this calling to priestly intercession is found in the Old Testament example of the Levitical priesthood. The priest’s responsibility and job was to stand before and between. He stood before God to minister to Him with sacrifices and offerings. The priests also stood between a righteous God and sinful man bringing them together at the place of the blood sacrifice. Hebrews 7:11-19 explains the difference between the Old and New Testament ministries of the priest. The Old Testament Levitical priesthood was passed on from generation to generation through the descendants of the tribe of Levi. “The Melchizedek priesthood” spoken of in this passage, is the “new order” of spiritual priests of whom the Lord Jesus is the High Priest. It is passed on to us through His blood and our spiritual birth as new creatures in Christ. Think of this significance in the Old Testament when the High Priest went in once a year to the Holy of Holies on behalf of the people who NEVER could approach the throne of God and His intimate presence or they would die and now based on Christ’s death, we can enter into God’s intimate and precious presence anytime and anywhere by His blood (Hebrews 10:19-25). Look at this passage…why do we have this privilege in the New Testament, because we have a High Priest over the House of God. We are His Royal Priesthood under His authority. What a privilege!

Our True Model of Intercession

Jesus Christ is our model for intercessory prayer. Jesus stands before God and between Him and sinful man, just as the Old Testament priests did: For there is one God, and one mediator (intercessor) between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5). Look at the context of I Timothy 2:5 as Paul challenges the believers, FIRST to pray for ALL MEN (intercession) even all the kings and all who are in authority (I Timothy2:1.2). Look further at verse 3 – 4 and see how this is good in the sight of God who desires all men to be saved. Intercession is praying the heart of God back to God. Jesus is our model for prayer in this passage. 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). 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). Jesus brings sinful man and a righteous God together at the place of the blood sacrifice for sin. No longer is the blood of animals necessary as it was in the Old Testament. We can now approach God on the basis of the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross of Calvary for the remission of sins. Because of the blood of Jesus, we can approach God boldly without timidity (Hebrews 4:14-16). Jesus was an intercessor while He was here on earth. He prayed for those who were sick and possessed by demons. He prayed for His disciples. He even prayed for you and me when He interceded for all those who would believe on Him. Jesus continued His ministry of intercession after His death and resurrection when He returned to Heaven. He now serves as our intercessor in Heaven.

How to Intercede Effectively

In intercessory prayer, we follow the Old Testament priestly function and the New Testament pattern of Jesus - standing before God and between a righteous God and sinful man. In order to be effective standing “between” we must first stand “before” God to develop the intimacy necessary to fulfill this role. Numbers 14 is one of the greatest accounts of intercessory prayer recorded in the Bible. Moses was able to stand between God and sinful man because he had stood “before” Him and had developed intimacy of communication. Numbers 12:8 records that God spoke with Moses as friend to friend and not through visions and dreams as He did with other prophets.
As New Testament believers, we no longer sacrifice animals as in Old Testament times. We stand before the Lord to offer up spiritual sacrifices of praise (Hebrews 13:15) and the sacrifice of our own lives (Romans 12:1). It is on the basis of this intimate relationship with God that we can then stand “between” Him and others, serving as an advocate and intercessor in their behalf. Peter uses two words to describe this priestly ministry: “Holy” and “royal.” Holiness is required to stand before the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). We are able to do this only on the basis of the righteousness of Christ, not our own righteousness. Royalty is descriptive of the kingly authority that is delegated to us as members of the “royal family,” so to speak, with legitimate access to the throne room of God.
There is no higher call than intimacy with Jesus. Look at this familiar passage:
Martha and Mary Luke 10:38-42:
Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone?" Then tell her to help me. But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Here are some questions for intercessors: