22
Feb '18

Intercessory Prayer

Posted on Feb 22, 2018 in Devotions |

22
Feb '18
Intercession is defined as – the action of intervening on behalf of another; the action of saying a prayer on behalf of another person. 
 
Here at WCCC, we have a great intercessory prayer leader named Doris.  She has furnished a handout from Pastor Trevor Macpherson that gives a good visual description of intercessory prayer.  In this illustration, the #1 team are the prayer warriors and the #2 team in the back are the intercessors.
 

Bruce was a firefighter in the Navy.  They had a fire drill where a room was filled with JP5 fuel and set on flames.  The firefighters worked in two different teams consisting of 4 men each.  They stood in two rows as close together as possible.

 

The job of the #1 hose team was, as soon as they opened the door, to sweep back and forth from one side to the other, pushing the flames back from off the fuel.  A person from the #2 team stood right behind the #1 team front-man and sprayed a mist of water that basically created a “wall” of water right in front of them to keep them cool and protected.  

 

If the person from team #2 didn’t keep the #1 team front-man protected with spray, then the insurmountable heat from the fire would be too much for him to stand.  Because of the great heat, he would lose control of his mind and that would cause him to be unable to do his job correctly. 

 

The reason there are 4 men on a team is because the power of the hose is too much for one man to handle.  If the #1 team front-man tires, then the second man takes over and the original front-man goes to the back.

 

A good spiritual example of this is in the Old Testament (Exodus 17:8-13) – Moses, Aaron, and Hur are the intercessors on the mountain, and Joshua and his men are the front-line soldiers down in the valley. Together, they formed a combined warfare team, and both were vitally important.  We discover from this passage that when Moses lowered his arms the warriors would begin to lose and when he raised his arms they began to win.  So, the key to the victory was in the intercession.

 
From Kenneth Copeland’s website –
 
Intercessory prayer is not about getting God to follow our plan, but actively praying for the strongholds in other people’s lives to line up with God’s Word. It’s a battle against evil spiritual powers that requires courage and diligence. In fact, Paul reminded the church to “pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere” (Ephesians 6:18).
 
This type of persistent intercessory prayer opens the door to bring about deliverance and deeper growth. As you actively speak against the enemy’s designs, stand on the promises of God, and remind God of His Word, the enemy’s attacks are thwarted. Light flows into areas where there was previously darkness (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). So, don’t give up even when the answer is not yet visible. Follow the example of the Apostle Paul who said, “So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you” (Colossians 1:9).
 
If you would like to be part of our intercessory prayer team (or if you have more questions about intercessory prayer), please join us at 9:30am Sundays and 6:00pm Tuesdays.