THE HEART OF INTERCESSION

The Heart of Intercession

By Mary Ann Wray

So much as been taught and written about the “art” of intercession over the past century to the point where most of us have at least 3-5 books about prayer in our personal libraries. While all of these teachings are helpful there is something that must be addressed if any type of prayer is to be successful and that is the “heart” of intercession. You see, prayer cannot be defined by a style or technique but a state of the heart. Having faith in the One who makes all things possible is more than a mental assent of His existence. The God kind of faith that moves mountains through prayers of intercession is birthed from the Father’s deep love for His children and forged into our hearts by the crucible of trials and afflictions. In turn, this produces the calm and restful assurance of joy within the soul. 

Prayer goes much deeper than petitioning God or intercession for others although those forms of prayer can come forth out of the deepest needs of our soul and the direst needs of others. The deepest, thus the foundational level of prayer is communion with the Godhead. Out of that sweet communion Holy Spirit will lead you into the deeper mysteries of faith and prayer. Without deep communion with the Father and knowing His heart, much of our praying is in vain. Vain – kenos - empty, vain, devoid of truth.

The modern church has come up with several titles or functions that are not found in scripture as a particular ‘gift’. As a result there is ignorance and confusion regarding the same. One of them is the title of “intercessor”. I get asked often if I am an intercessor. I would hope so in that I am available for the Holy Spirit to intercede through me whenever He wills or I feel an unction or burden. I hope each of us are! All of us are called to pray and intercession is one form of prayer along with supplications, petitions and giving of thanks. 

However, a person who spends long hours in intercession as a ministry to the Body of Christ is most likely a prophet.  A prophet is a seer watchman who is alerted by the Holy Spirit to either sound the alarm and pray/ preach or prays in secret with great results. Elijah was a prophet who had a powerful intercessory prayer life. There were times when he preached and challenged the prophets of Baal, and there were times when he prayed in secret and the sun stopped shining. Their prayers are fervent and effectual (James 5: 16-18). Anna was a prophetess who spent her days in the temple praying, fasting and ministering to the Lord. She had no pulpit ministry (Luke 2: 36-38)

Prophetic Intercession is different than petitioning God. Intercession is standing in the gap between a person, ministry, city, nation or region to implore God for mercy and deliverance.  Intercession is birthed from the compassion and heart of God and is usually marked by militant declarations, sometimes tears, travail and groanings (Romans 6: 26). Jesus makes daily intercession for the church. Jesus is God but on the earth he functioned as a prophet and all the fivefold gifts. Intercession  is one function of a prophet but you don’t have to be a prophet to intercede. Not all prophets are called to pulpit ministry, but all prophets are called to pray just like all of us are!

 Here is what Jesus said about praying in vain:

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Matthew 6: 7.

Vain kenos defined in the Greek Lexicon:

1. of places, vessels, etc. which contain nothing
2. of men
1. empty handed
2. without a gift
3. metaph. destitute of spiritual wealth, of one who boasts of his faith as a transcendent possession, yet is without the fruits of faith
4. metaph. of endeavours, labours, acts, which result in nothing, vain, fruitless, without effect
1. vain of no purpose

Another Greek word used for vain is Battalogeō-  which means to stammer…to repeat the same things over and over, to use many idle words, to babble, prate. Some suppose the word derived from Battus, a king of Cyrene, who is said to have stuttered; others from Battus, an author of tedious and wordy poems. (Vines expository dictionary of Green New Testament Words).

Jesus went on to teach the disciples that prayer begins with communion with the Father “Our Father”. Out of this communion follows Kingdom principles for living and serving the living God. There has been much teaching and books written about the Lord’s prayer and I don’t wish to expound on it here. Rather refer to His prayer as a model for living. Jesus’ prayer should become our lifestyle!

We all have the propensity to become like the Pharisee. These were men of disciplined prayer but they didn’t know the heart of the Father. Their praying was in vain and for show. They were play acting hypocrites in their prayer lives which carried over into their ministry.

In Hebrews 5,  Jesus our Great High Priest, offered supplication and intercession through tears and loud cries. But the most important verse in this entire chapter is found in verse 7 where it says Jesus prayers were heard by God because of his humble submission to the Father. The next verse goes on to say that he learned obedience to the Father's will through the things He suffered....He was touched by every feeling of infirmity known to man yet remained lovingly obedient. Therefore He was able to identify with the trials and afflictions of humanity. Great prayer warriors are those who have learned to obey, trust and love God even when it hurts. Through submission to God in those dark and distressing times, our hearts get purified and prayers become powerful!

Realizing our frailties, failures and faults while being able to honestly confess them to God and to other trusted friends, acts as iron sharpening iron. This empowers and enables us to become transparent, truthful and pure in our prayers. We will never be totally perfect until we are absent from this temporal body and unregenerated soul, but having a perfect heart before God postures us for powerful intercession.

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” James 5: 16

“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.” Romans 14: 17-19

 “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.” Psalms 66: 18-20

 “These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.” Proverbs 6: 16-19

 “Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people.” Joel 2: 17-18  

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attend unto the prayer that is made in this place.”    2 Chronicles 7: 14-15

THE FATHER HEART OF GOD TRANSFORMS OUR HEARTS

The heart of intercessory prayer possesses certain characteristics. These characteristics should also be evident in every believer:

1.       Contrite-: Hebrew ‘dakka’: very much crushed; broken very small, dust. David was as human as much as he was anointed by God to be King. Yet when he failed, he was quick to repent and plead with God to cleanse him from hidden sins and iniquity. David’s son Solomon displayed the same characteristic when he dedicated the temple to God by acknowledging this was the place God chose to place His name, not man’s. After his vow of dedication he acknowledged what shuts the heavens up against us and what opens them. Solomon repented for the sins of God’s people through identification and humbly placed himself in the same position. Both men understood the key to releasing God’s power…repentance, obedience and humility!

“Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day.” 1 Kings 8: 28 & 35-40

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51: 10 

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” Psalms 51: 17 

“The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” Psalms 34: 18 

2.       Humble expectation: Greek tapeinoō-metaph. to bring into a humble condition, reduce to meaner circumstances, to reduce to a plain; to be ranked below others who are honoured or rewarded; to lower, depress of one's soul bring down one's pride, to have a modest opinion of one's self, to behave in an unassuming manner, devoid of all haughtiness.

In 1 Samuel 1, Hannah had enough of her adversary’s taunting and reached a peak of despair. In her moment of desperation, she acted in a very unconventional way within the temple. Barren women were considered cursed and were not well thought of. While bringing her yearly sacrifice to Shiloh, she began to cry out directly to God in the temple. Eli mistook her tears and quivering lips for drunken foolishness. (This is what happened to the 120 on the day of Pentecost as well!) Hannah was committed to God so much so that what she asked for (a son) she gave back to God immediately in her heart. God granted her humble request and she birthed the beginning of the age of the prophets in Israel. She asked for a seed but God gave her a harvest. She petitioned God for deliverance and He gave her a deliverer. She became foolish only to birth wisdom! That’s how God works: he gives us exceeding abundantly above all we could ask or think.

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” James 4: 10

 “ Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”  1 Peter 5: 6-9

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” Ephesians 3: 20-21

3.       Compassionate:  To be a great intercessor requires great compassion. When Jesus looked over the multitude and their spiritual condition He wept. To have a judgemental attitude towards others spiritual condition quenches the passion and spiritual fervor required in intercession and results in a Pharisee attitude. Our motivation for ministering to others no matter what capacity should be that of compassion. When we consider the fact that we are human and but for the mercy and grace of God, so go we, our perspective changes and we realize how frail humanity is. When our hearts are pure of Pharisee-acle attitudes and purged of impure motives, the Holy Spirit is able to move through us with a spirit of compassion for the hurts, needs and sins of others, individually, regionally and nationally.

“But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” Matthew 9: 36-38                               

Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get. But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner. I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18: 10-14

4.       Separated from the world & yielded to the Spirit of God.

During a time of great persecution in the early church, Peter, the Apostle and leader of the church in Jerusalem, was shut up in prison. Rhoda and a group of prayer warriors separated themselves to pray for him realizing that their prayers were as much for the church as they were for Peter. As a result, an angel of the Lord released Peter from prison and God’s work was able to continue as God  wanted during this time. Our prayers can affect God’s Kingdom in powerful ways when we determine to sacrifice ourselves in prayer during troubling times. (Acts 12: 13)

             “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4: 7

“Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;  though he were a son, yet he learned obedience by the things which he suffered”. Hebrews 5: 7-8

       
“Strangers shall submit themselves unto me: as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient unto me.” 2 Samuel 22: 45 & Psalms 18: 44

 “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed but let him glorify God on this behalf.” 1 Peter 4: 12-16  

5.       Praise God in adversity and worship Him in the beauty of Holiness:                               Our prayers, when done with the right heart attitude are seen by God as an act of worship. Worship is directed towards God. Praise is directed towards man and God. Worship takes place in the secret place where only God sees. We worship Him for his greatness and who He is. It is directed only to Him. Praise is usually done publically  in a group or congregation. Praise declares God’s greatness and is a reflection of the joy of the Lord in our souls for the work of redemption procured for us through the cross of Jesus Christ and His shed blood and glorious resurrection!   “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Habakkuk 3: 18 However, there are times when the Glory of God appears and no one can stand to minister in the temple! This is a supernatural thing that we cannot manufacture, produce or hype up in the people of God. It was a result of purity in holiness, obedience and sacrifice. “And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims. And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.” 1 Kings 8: 6-11 In Acts 16: 25-34 Paul and Silas did not let their circumstances steal their joy or praise. Their joy was not dependent upon what was going on around them but rather what had taken place within them!  While in chains they began to sing praises to the Lord. The Bible says that that the prisoners heard Paul and Silas praising God. So does the enemy! Praising God is actually a form of spiritual wafare. The enemy hears and flees. “Let God arise and His enemies be scattered!”  They began to praise the Lord while seated in chains but before long the earth shook and their their praises stood them up tall in their circumstances. They left that dark dank place, taking souls with them! The Rock rocked the jailhouse as a result of their praises! “And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were   shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.”   Acts 16: 26 “Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.” Psalms 141: 2

“But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy and in thy fear will I  worship toward thy holy temple.”  Psalms 5: 7

6.       Sacrificial:
Are you willing to go the extra mile? Wake up when the Holy Spirit awakens us? Stop what you’re doing in order to obey the still small voice warning or calling you to pray and stand in the gap for someone else? Push the plate back to go pray if the Spirit bids you?

“And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Matthew 26: 39

"And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.” Matthew 5: 41

7.       Careful with our words:

This is the area where the enemy can trip us up the most. Sweet and bitter water can’t come from the same fountain. If on one hand we gossip and tear others down with our words, how can we pray effectually for them? Our personal opinion of others does not affect their relationship with God any more than other’s opinions of us do. God is no respecter of persons. We are all in the process of growth and sanctification. Our Heavenly Father remains so no matter how we behave or don’t. Our relationship with Him is based on grace; not performance or the opinions of man. We can’t judge others based on what we see because no one knows what is the heart of man but God Himself. You don’t know what that person is walking through or has walked through. Be still and know that He is God! If your heart is right and you know for a fact that someone is in sin, it will make you weep and mourn: not point the finger and judge.

“Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor?” Job 30: 25

 “Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.” Psalms 141: 3

“I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.: Psalms 39: 1

“For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.” James 3: 2

“Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter ? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.” James 3: 5-12

If we want the enemy to obey the voice of our commands as we stand in the gap for others, we must first submit to God in all areas of our lives. Effectual prayer has more to do with character than it does style, decibels or being seen/ heard publically. While much of our intercession takes place corporately and there is power in agreement, our motivation should never be to ‘out pray’ someone else or impress other’s with our eloquence. We can expect the earth to shake, kingdoms of darkness crumble and demons flee as we follow the Biblical pattern and model of powerful prayer…possessing the Father’ Heart!