Prophetic Intercession

There are a variety of roles in the Body of Believers. He has a customized role for each of His children (1 Corinthians 12:12-27). Whatever your role, great glory has been written into it.  

When it comes to prayer, God wants every Believer to have an intimate and effective prayer life. But not everyone is called to have the same prayer style. There are many good books about growing an effective prayer life. I'm not trying to outdo those. In this episode, I'm simply hoping to supplement those teachings.

Some Believers are called to a specific type of prayer referred to as Prophetic Intercession. Simply put, it's praying with revelation received from the Holy Spirit. Even within that broad definition, there are variations.

Being a Prophetic Intercessor doesn't make someone more important in Jesus' Kingdom. It's simply a different kind of gifting and calling.

As one type of prayer warrior, Prophetic Intercessors often feel the Lord's emotions. They are praying what's already on His heart back to Him, feeling His heart and yearning with Him, at times grieving with Him. I see it almost as a loop, praying from His heart back to His heart. That's how it feels. It's really an operation of the Holy Spirit, an assignment from the Holy Spirit.

In various seasons, that's how the Holy Spirit's moved in my life. The timing isn't up to me. I can't make it happen, I can't force it. I can only pray to stay ready and sensitive to the flow of the Holy Spirit.

Though every Believer may at times experience prophetic prayer, only some are called to a life of Prophetic Intercession. Prophetic Intercession is often solitary, performed alone in front of the Throne of God. It's a very rewarding calling, though it can also be misunderstood. 

Prophetic Intercessors don't twist God's arm or push Him to do something He doesn't already want to do. Prophetic Intercessors are simply being allowed to participate in what's already on His heart. 

Wherever you are in your walk with God and whatever your role is in the Body of Christ and, you should learn your Bible and take these steps:

• From Ephesians 1:17-19, pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.
• Love Him with all you've got; ask Him to take you where He wants to take you and change whatever He wants to change. 
• Choose to put your body on His altar as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1).

Just as a Broadway play will change scenes and move from Act 1 to Act 2 and so on, He's telling me that the Scene and Act we're in now is changing.

The Lord is turning the page, moving this present story line into something new. I only have a glimpse of what that will be, but I know it's big and good and life-changing. I know it includes a great harvest of souls into His kingdom, for His heart's satisfaction.

As intercessors, we must remember that He's sometimes sharing the travail of His heart. I've experienced intense moments when He flooded my spirit and soul with His emotions, sharing what He was feeling.

More than once, the sorrow in God's heart was so overwhelming that I cried out for Him to stop the flood. It felt like the intensity of His emotions was going to kill my physical body. That sounds strange and unreal, I know, but it happened.

Was I wrong to ask Him to stop? Did I cut short and stifle what He was trying to do? I don't have the answer to those questions. All I know is that's the way it happened.

It makes me think of the intense travail Jesus felt in the Garden of Gethsemane just before he was arrested. Read about it in Matthew 26:36-46. You may not agree with how I understand these verses, but I'm hoping you'll at least consider what I'm saying.

Jesus' intercessory travail was so intense that He was sweating drops of blood. That tells us that He was close to death right there in the Garden. Angels came to help His physical body stay alive. 

I don't think He was grieving for Himself or over the things He was about to suffer. He knew that the crucifixion would end in glorious victory. I believe He was experiencing the extreme grieving of the Father's heart over the fallen state of God's creation.

When Jesus prayed for "this cup" to be taken from Him, I think the "cup" He was talking about was the cup of intense travail He was experiencing at that very moment.

He wasn't asking the Father to stop the upcoming crucifixion. That had long ago been decided. Jesus intentionally came to earth to be crucified; He wasn't going to chicken out at the last minute.

He knew that His physical body had to remain alive through the extreme travail and intercession in the Garden in order for Him to die a few hours later on the Cross.

Jesus looked for His closest disciples to help Him walk through that intense intercession, but they were sleeping. In their place, Angels came to strengthen Him, helping Him to remain alive long enough to die on the Cross. That's heavy stuff to contemplate.

In Scripture, another prophetic intercessor is the prophet Jeremiah, known as The Weeping Prophet. Along with what is recorded in the Book of Jeremiah, much of his intercessory life is shared in the Old Testament book of Lamentations. In fact, many Old Testament prophets experienced that kind of Intercession.

In those moments, we are privileged to walk with Him in His heart's burden. The burden we feel is really His burden. We are simply being allowed to share and pray into what He already feels. It's as though we're helping Him carry His burden, as wild as that sounds.

There are some very good teachings on the Internet about prophetic intercession. I feel comfortable recommending articles by Helen Calder on her Enliven Blog. Search for Helen Calder on the Internet. I particularly recommend her teaching "17 Signs You May Be a Prophetic Intercessor (The Intercessory Prayer Gift)".

One more thought.

Prophetic people can become convinced that they're hearing from God more clearly than anyone else. At times, they may actually BE hearing more clearly, but that's something that should be carefully weighed and managed. It could be that they're hearing clearly about things that aren't for now. Maybe they're hearing about things that are meant for prayer and not meant to be shared. 

And maybe, just maybe, they're not hearing from God as clearly as they think they are. It happens. Read Ezekiel 13:6-7. There are many other Scriptural references like that. In 1 Corinthians 14:29, the obvious implication is that prophets sometimes get it wrong. 

That's why prophetic Believers need to be connected to wise, mature, trusted Christian friends and Pastors.

Over the years, I've watched several intercessors bring disruption to the flock by undermining church leaders. You should be very careful not to become a disruptive influence in your local church.

Take these things to God in prayer. It's okay to ask Him questions. Let Him guide you through Scripture and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Correctly understood, the Holy Spirit and Scripture will never be in conflict.