Lesson 13. “Effective Prayer” School. Mary Alice Isley shared how to engage in intercessory prayer.
“Greater love has no one than this,” the Bible says, “that someone lay down his life for his friends.” In the Kingdom of God, there are many ways to lay down your life for others. One of them is prayer; and when we pray for others, it is called intercessory prayer.
Intercession is born in the heart of God, and it is born out of love. Through this prayer, we offer a sacrifice with our whole being—our life, time, and energy. We have been given the gift of praying for other people, for the will of God, and for His plans and purposes to be fulfilled on earth.
The Lord eagerly awaits people who care enough to pray—people who love so deeply that they are willing to give themselves to Him for the needs of others through intercessory prayer.
Let us learn intercessory prayer by looking at Jesus, whose life is the best example of intercession in action. Scripture says about Jesus:
But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood, 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 7:24–25
Jesus, as the eternal High Priest, continues to serve before the Father, interceding for us. Jesus prays for us!
Jesus is not the only one who serves as a priest; the Bible says that we do as well. Revelation 1:6 says that you and I have become kings and priests to God through the new birth. In our service as kings, we go forth and exercise the authority given by God; as priests, we serve God by offering sacrifices of praise and worship, the fruit of our lips, which pleases Him. As priests, like Jesus, we must intercede. The Lord has called us to be intercessors. Jesus is the Intercessor in heaven; with the help of the Holy Spirit, we are intercessors on earth. Jesus’ prayers resound in heaven; ours resound on earth. Through intercession, we align ourselves with His will and plan.
Advocate before the throne of God
Let us turn to Job 9:32–33. Job was looking for someone to stand up for him. Let us see what Job says:
For He is not a man, as I am, that I could answer Him and go with Him to court! There is no mediator between us who could lay his hand on us both.
These are prophetic verses pointing to Jesus. At the same time, we see how Job’s heart cries out in search of someone who would stand before the Lord in court and plead his case. He himself does not know how to do this, so he cries out in his heart: “Is there someone who would stand up for me? Is there someone who would lay his hand on both of us?”
Job is looking for someone who knows the Lord’s will and His law, someone who could stand before Him and present Job’s case. He wants the one who knows the highest law to present his case in the spiritual realm on his behalf.
What Job desired is what we do in intercessory prayer. We declare the Word of God, directing it straight into a difficult situation, and help God change that situation on earth. The highest and best thing for God is to cooperate with men and women on earth. If they base their prayers on His Word, He will hear and honor His Word.
Thus, to intercede means to plead a case on behalf of another. It means being an advocate in a courtroom and defending or justifying others, even if they are guilty. Do you know that you and I are GUILTY of breaking God’s law? Yes, we were guilty, but Jesus stood up for us despite our transgression, and the mercy of God was poured out upon us. Praise God that Jesus stood up for us, reconciled us to the Father, and pleaded our case!
Today, many Christians and non-Christians are alike in that they create accusations against themselves; they break God’s laws. It seems they do not want to have anything to do with God. Yet the power released upon them through intercession can completely change the situation.
Of course, this will take some time, but if you and I stand firmly on God’s promises and plead the cases of others before God, the situation will change. I often think of those who have departed from the faith, but if there are people who will stand for them in prayer, refusing to turn from the path of righteousness, they will thereby bring the backslider back to God.
Hold on to the thread of life
When we begin praying for someone or something, the Lord does not want us to weaken our prayer or stop interceding before we see the results. I have heard this compared to the work of astronauts in space. They work together doing what they are supposed to do, but one of them decides to go out into space. He puts on a special suit and an oxygen tank and goes outside.
He tells everyone: “I’ll be back soon. I just want to see what’s going on around me.” “All right,” his partner says, “just don’t go too far. Remember, we have limits on how far we can go.” “Don’t worry, everything will be fine.” And he goes out. It is so interesting all around him! He has such a great time there! Then he goes quite far, forgets about the time, and crosses beyond the permitted area. And problems rain down on the traveler who was joyful only moments before.
Sometimes our friends, relatives, or acquaintances find themselves in a similar situation in life here on earth. They go where they should not be.
When this happens, temptation comes. If you were in space, the temptation would be to take large scissors, open the hatch into space, and cut the tether binding the rebellious astronaut—let him drift away. “Away from this problem! He’s strange anyway. He deserves it. We warned him!”
That tether is essential for a person’s survival, even if they have gone beyond the safe area. In the spiritual sense, we must hold on to people who move into dangerous territory; we must hold on to this connecting thread until the Holy Spirit begins working with them and brings them back to the right path.
What should we do instead of cutting the lifeline? Open the door and use all our strength to pull the tether back to the ship and save the traveler. It is not God’s will to cut a person’s lifeline.
The Lord is full of mercy and patience. He is patient with people, and we must be the same through the power of the Holy Spirit. We must refuse to cut the line! We must hold people in prayer until we see the Lord’s victory in their lives. Led by the Holy Spirit, truth, and the higher law, we must continue to pray, persist, and represent their interests so that the Word of God may prevail in this situation. The Holy Spirit will tell us when to stop praying, but until then we must pray fervently.
Pray Until Victory
Intercession is not a one-time prayer. It is not the prayer of faith, when we pray once, believe that we have received, and remain in faith until victory is manifested.
There are times when a prayer rises within you just once: you pray, and that matter no longer requires prayer. In other cases, you must carry what you are praying about in your spirit or heart for a long time, until you feel that you have “prayed through to victory” or see the results.
Every prayer should end on a note of victory, but praying through to victory often takes a great deal of time, and we must continue praying for weeks, months, and even years until we see a breakthrough.
I remember a situation when the Lord prompted me to prophesy to someone. Remember this: when you have a word from the Lord for someone, the Lord usually gives you the responsibility to pray that word through to the end!
Many want to be prophets, but they do not understand the responsibility required to carry out such a ministry.
When we recommend something to people not as prophets, but simply as believers, we must pray that the Lord will work not only through our advice, but also through the Holy Spirit working with them as we intercede for them.
I gave that person advice from the Lord, and four days later a spirit of prayer came upon me concerning that situation. Each time I was about to pray, I could hardly pray about anything else. During prayer I groaned, cried, and struggled because the Holy Spirit had given me responsibility for that person.
Of course, when speaking about intercession, it is important to know how to align spiritual matters with wisdom and God's commands. That is why I lived an ordinary life and did what I was supposed to do—that is, my everyday tasks. But the spirit of prayer was with me, so whenever I had free time, I would kneel down and pray and pray until I had to return to work.
I continued praying about that situation for four days. At night I would wake up, cry and pray, cry and pray, and then fall asleep again. I could wake up in the morning, and it would all begin again. It seemed as though I prayed all day. After four days, the Holy Spirit released me, and I knew that I had prayed through. The Lord had done what was necessary in that situation.
In intercession, we continue praying until we sense victory, until a breakthrough comes, or until the Holy Spirit releases us.
Intercession Begins in the Heart of the Lord
The need for intercession begins in the heart of the Lord. Sometimes someone falls into sin or transgression; someone is attacked by Satan, while someone else simply needs our help in prayer. It does not matter what the circumstances are: God loves people and cares for them. He has a plan for their lives. And our prayer helps God fulfill His plan for these people.
We pray not only because it is a good thing to do; we pray because God lives in our hearts. Why do we pray for nations? Because God has a plan for them; He thinks about them. Why do we pray for our families? Because the Lord loves us and has His own plan.
As an intercessor, it is important for you to understand that all intercession begins in the heart of the Lord. We simply cooperate with Him. We may be persistent in declaring His will, but we must remember that intercession begins and ends in His heart. We receive no glory for our prayers: they begin in His heart, and He gives us His heart. The Lord wants us to have His heart, caring for the nations, cities, and people around us. We must be sensitive to how the Holy Spirit leads us to pray about these things.
God does not want us to be guided in our intercession by religious works or selfish desires. God wants the motive to be the compassion in your heart, so that His sympathy, will, and desires, which He places within you, find a response in your heart.
The Holy Spirit wants to work with you, transforming your motives and desires into prayer until your heart begins to beat in unison with His heart. He wants to change you until you want what He wants, until you are moved by what moves Him, until you seek what He seeks—until you truly have one heart with Him!
The Lord is looking for sensitive and tenderhearted people—those who want to know His heart, desire what He desires, and feel what He feels. He is looking for those who will work with Him, praying with His heart for His will on earth, praying fervently, with the love and fire that flow from the depths of our being that bind us to our loving God. Will you be one of these people?
Meeting the Lord Happens Unexpectedly!
It is written that Jacob found a place to spend the night. He was not expecting anything special there; it was simply a good place to rest. That night, however, heaven came down to earth, and the ordinary place was transformed by God.
How often do you think about how wonderful it would be if someone or something had not left you? You continue thinking about that person without any reason to do so. Often, the Holy Spirit comes to you with simple thoughts. These thoughts must be weighed by your spirit and align with Scripture; you must learn to distinguish your thoughts from the thoughts of God.
If you take an ordinary thought and begin praying about it, the Holy Spirit will hold your attention and prompt you that it is not a coincidence. God wants you to discover His will through intercession. He wants to use you to help in a particular situation or help someone through intercessory prayer.
Your encounter with God will be a coincidence, but it will happen! How amazing it is when the Holy Spirit shows you whom or what to pray for, because He knows.
Paul urges us to pray always, with all kinds of prayer, which includes intercession. Become an intercessor easily! The Lord is looking for those who will engage in spiritual warfare, praying for God's will to be established on earth as it is in heaven.
Do you want to accept such a challenge? Are you willing to pay the price through prayer? The Lord is waiting for you. He will pour out blessings through you and change this generation through the power of intercession.
I do not explain in this chapter the details of how to intercede. My goal is to provide a basic, simple understanding of this kind of prayer. The lesson is not finished, because intercessory prayer is close to my heart, and I have studied it extensively; I prayerfully desire for it to become the subject of a future book.
Ask God to make you an intercessor, and you will be amazed at how much the Holy Spirit will teach you and how He will help you become a strong intercessor for people, nations, and revival. Ask Him now and begin praying today!
End of lesson.
