The Importance of Intercession

The word "intercession" comes from the Latin root which means "to come in between". The Greek word for "intercession" is "entunchono" which also means "to come in between" or "to meet with" or "to stand before". Therefore an intercessor is someone who comes and stands between God and God's just wrath and judgment. The intercessor stands before God and positions himself between God and those who deserve God's wrath and judgment. The intercessor, in effect, says to God, "Lord, You have every right to smite these people, but if You smite them You are going to smite me first, because I am standing between You and them!"


Intercession is the act of earnest appeal of a believer to God on behalf of others, believers or non-believers. One of the most important ministries of the Christian life is the ministry of intercession. It is God's method for involving His people more completely in the totality of His plan. In no other way can the believer becomes as fully involved with God's work as in intercessory prayer - and in fact all forms of prayer.


Paul said, "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercession, and giving of thanks be made for all men, ..." (1 Timothy 2:1, NKJV, emphasis added).


The prayer life for a local Church, local assembly or a group of Christians, begins with the ministry intercession (and all prayers). The phrase "first of all" indicates that there can be no highter priority for Christians who assemble together, except to make intercession for all men.


It is said that, no man is greater than his prayer life. It is also said that, behind the pulpit a man preaches and reveals his knowledge of the Word of God. In prayer, he reveals his knowledge of the God of the Word! That is why prayer and intercession are so important.


Jesus, the great Intercessor


Jesus not only taught His disciples the Lord's Prayer when they asked Him to teach them how to pray, He also taught them by examples for being the great intercessor Himself.


The most beautiful and touching prayer ever prayed by Jesus is in John 17. In this chapter, Jesus prayed for Himself (John 17:1 - 5), He prayed for His disciples (John 17:6 - 19), and He prayed for all believers (John 17:20 - 26). In my opinion this prayer should be called the Lord's Prayer. But the commonly known "The Lord's Prayer" should be called the disciples prayer. The reason being, Jesus wound not pray the Lord's Prayer and the disciples could not pray what Jesus prayed in John 17.


Prophet Isaiah painted a glorious picture of Jesus, the great intercessor in Isaiah Chapter 53. This chapter, commonly known as the Atonement Chapter, gives a glorious description of the atoning work of Jesus. Let us look at the last verse of the Chapter:


"Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because 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, emphasis added).


The four things accomplished by Jesus as recorded by the above verse are:


1. He poured out His soul unto death. Leviticus 17:11 says, "The life (or soul) of the flesh is in the blood". That means Jesus poured out every drop of His Blood for you and me.


2. He was numbered with the transgressors. Jesus was crucified with two thieves.


3. He bore the sin of many. He became the perfect Sin Offering for you and me.


4. He made intercession for the transgressors. He started this intercession from the Cross! He said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34, KJV). What Jesus meant was this, "The judgment that is due to them let it come upon Me!" And it did!


Hebrew Chapter 7 says, Jesus, after His death, resurrection, and ascension, became our Great High Priest sitting at the right hand of God (Hebrews 7:24, 25). He ever lives to make intercession for all of us! If we study the life and Ministry of Jesus, we"ll arrive at some rather interesting time comparison. He spent 30 years in obscurity living a perfect family life, 3 and a half years in dramatic and powerful Ministry, and more than 2000 years in intercession! This is telling us How God thinks about the importance of intercession!


The Prayer Life of Jesus


Jesus had a meaningful and effective prayer life during His time with His disciples. The gospel according to Luke gives us some details of Jesus' prayer life. Here are some incidences:


1. Matthew, Mark and Luke recorded the baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan. But only Luke said while Jesus was praying the Holy Spirit discended upon Him.


"When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed the heaven was opened" (Luke 3:21, NKJV, emphasis added).


2. Only Luke recorded that Jesus was praying when He was hanging on the Cross.


"Then Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.' And they divided His garments and cast lots"(Luke 23:34).


3. Only Luke recorded that Jesus spent the whole night in prayer before He chose His apostles from among His disciples.


"Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, He called his disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles" (Luke 6:12, 13, emphasis added).


Notice that Jesus did not call for a nomination committee meeting, or obtain a consensus by the casting of votes among the disciples. Why? His group of apostles (leaders) must be the choice of God and not the choice of men! All he did was pray and wait upon the Father. Jesus Knows His Father always hears Him and tells Him what to do (John 11:42).


Surely the Church of Jesus Christ can learn something from what Jesus did. It is God's will that the appointment of leadership positions (Bishops, Elders, Pastors and deacons and so on) must be a choice of God and never the choice of men.


4. Only Luke recorded that Jesus was praying when He was transfigured.


"Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening" (Luke 9:28, 29, emphasis added).


5. Prayed for God's will at the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36 - 46; Mark 14:32 - 42; Luke 22:39 - 46).


All three gospel writers, except John, recorded this prayer burden of Jesus at the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus found the perfect will of God - His crucifixion!


Jesus took Peter, John and James to the Garden to watch with Him for one hour, but not to pray with Him (Mark 14:32). The word rendered "watch" means, literally, to be vigilant and to abstain from sleep. In the context, it menas unite with Jesus in seeking divine strength and support. But three times Jesus went away to pray and three times He found them sleeping. Some Bible teachers said that disciples' grief and sorrow were so great that they naturally fell asleep. But for whatever the reason, Jesus said, "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak".


Does our flesh prevent us from watching and praying?


Situations where there was no intercessor


Both Isaiah and Ezekiel painted a vivid but grim picture of a situation where God's people were backslidden (separated from God) and where the Lord could not find a single intercessor.


According to Isaiah (Isaiah 59:1 - 16)


Isaiah Chapter 59 contains a terrible list of the sins of God's backslidden people. I believe this chapter was written to backsliders, to people who had known God but subsequently turned from Him; to people who were religious but in rebellion against God. What amazes me is that these backsliders acknowledged and confessed their own sinful condition and yet repentance was never found!

"For our transgressions are multiplied before You, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and as for our iniquities we know them (Isaiah 59:12).


Read this Chapter carefully and see for yourself whether the description fits the condition in some of our local Churches - backslidden believers, from the highest leadership to the "least important" members of the congregation.


Let us look at just three verses that describe how the Lord assessed this backsliding condition of His people:


"Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. So truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice, He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor; ..." (Isaiah 59:14 - 16, emphasis added).


Here are some statements of truth:


1. There is no justice and righteousness among God's people.


2. They have rejected the truth and failed to do right.


3. Anyone who chooses to do right and departs from evil becomes a prey (victim) in such a backsliding congregation.


4. The Lord saw the situation and was not pleased that there was no intercessor. Notice that the fearful list of transgression and failure of God's people come to its climax with the statement - "There was no intercessor". God was looking for just one and not many intercessors.


According to Ezekiel (Ezekiel 22:23 - 29)


A similar situation that was appalling to God can be found in Chapter 22, Ezekiel. This time God listed the wickedness and wrongdoings of all categories of His people. Amazingly all start with the letter "P" - prophets, priests, princes and people. Read the entire chapter and you will realize that God laid the blame, primarily, at the doors of the spiritual leaders - prophets and priests. The wickedness of the princes (the secular rulers) and the people are the reflections of the failures and wickedness of the spiritual leaders.


In Old Testament time, the prophets were responsible to declare the counsel of God to God's people and the priests were responsible to take care of the daily life of the congregation of God's people. Elders and Pastors, deacons and leaders, respectively, have similar duties in the local Church. All sections of the entire nation of Israel in the days of Ezekiel were held guilty before God because of the failures and wickedness of the spiritual leaders. Similarly, it is reasonably to suggest that all the people of God in every nation of the world at present are held guilty before God because of the failures and wickedness of the spiritual leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ.


The general characteristic of guilt before God is - The ruthless pursue of selfish end. Everyone was putting his own selfish gain before the interest of the fellowmen and before the interest of God. The spiritual leaders were also found to be lacking spiritual knowledge and very often deceive God's people with man-centered and man-pleasing doctrines.


God's response to this desperate situation of wickedness is:


"So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads" (Ezekiel 22:30, 31, emphasis added).


The intersting thing is that in this deperate situation God did not look for a large group of people to organize a prayer vigil of praying and fasting. He did not ask them to seek the Lord for direction! All these activities were good but that was not His primary concern. What He looked for was just one man, a man who would lay down his life, build up the wall and stand in the gap before Him for the Church, the land, the city and the nation. The man He looked for was the intercessor!