Four Main Duties of an Intercessor

In the Fall of 1998 I attended a workshop on Intercession that was held in my area. The leader of that workshop (a local pastor) spoke on the 4 main duties of an intercessor and that instruction has been a foundational piece to my understanding of how to interceed in prayer for others.

First, to clarify the term intercessor: an intercessor is one who stands between or works on behalf of another. For instance, a lawyer is an intercessor in that the lawyer argues points of law on behalf of their client before a judge. Another picture of an intercessor that of a parent protecting their child from danger. A parent will move between their child and the danger and do everything within their means to protect that child.

FOUR MAIN DUTIES OF AN INTERCESSOR

1. An Intercessor is one who reminds the Lord of His promises until they are fulfilled.
a. Isaiah 62:6 &7,

"I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their
peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent and
give Him no rest 'til He establishes and 'til He makes Jerusalem a praise in the
earth."

b. To remind the Lord of His promises there are a few things we must know and believe about the Lord.
i. We must know His promises, both the promises found in the scriptures and the promises that have been given in prayer & prophetic utterance that are in agreement with scripture.
ii. We need to continue to grow in our knowledge of and our faith in the character of the Lord as spoken of in the scriptures. This includes the belief that He desires to fulfill those promises and is capable of fulfilling them.
iii. Hebrews 11:6,

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."

2. An Intercessor is one who fights (or pleads) for Justice to prevail on behalf of another.
a. Isaiah 59:15 & 16,

"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; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him."

b. To plead to God for justice we must believe that God is just, but we must also understand
that in that place of justice the Lord is also merciful.
i. Zephaniah 3:5,

"The Lord is righteous in her midst, He will do no unrighteousness. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He never fails..."

ii. Deuteronomy 10:17 & 18,

"For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty
and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He administers justice
for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and
clothing."

iii. Hebrews 1:8,

"But God says about his Son, "You are God, and you will rule as King forever! Your royal power brings about justice." [CEV]

iv. James 2:13,

"For judgment is without mercy to the one who
has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment."

3. An intercessor is one who builds the wall (or hedge) of protection. In this situation we are standing inbetween some one to protect them from danger and helping build a spiritual wall so that eventually that person can stand in health and wholeness.
a. Ezekiel 13: 4 & 5,

"O Israel, Your prophets are like foxes in the deserts. You have not gone up
into the gaps (breaches) to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in
battle on the day of the Lord."

b. To build the wall of protection, we must believe we have the authority and the ability to
build. We must believe that, like Nehemiah, we are commissioned to rebuild. We also have
to be trained and equipped to build.
i. Isaiah 58:12,

"Those from among you shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the
foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the repairer of the
breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in."

ii. Ephesians 4:11 - 13,

"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and
some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of
ministry, for the [building up] of the body of Christ, till we all
come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a
perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."

iii. 2 Corinthians 13:10,

"Therefore I write these things while absent, lest being present I may not deal sharply with you according to the authority which the Lord gave me for building up, and not for pulling down."

iv. Ephesians 4:29,

"Let not any filthy word go out of your mouth, but if any is good to building up in respect of need, that it may give grace to the ones hearing."

v. 1 Corinthians 14:26,

"Then how is it, brothers? When you come together, each one
of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an
interpretation. Let all things be for building up."

vi. More Scriptures: (Romans 14:19),(Romans 15:2) ,(1 Corinthians 14:3) , (1 Corinthians 14:5), (2 Corinthians 10:8) (2 Corinthians 12:19)

4. An intercessor is one who stands betwen God's judgment and His people and pleads for mercy.
a. Ezekiel 22:29 & 30,

"The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated
the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger. So I sought for a
man amoung 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."

b. To stand between God's judgment and His people, we must know His LOVE for us and
believe He is merciful. And we must know that He will not act contrary to character of His
Good Name.
i. Ezekiel 20:43 & 44,

"Then you will remember your wicked sins, and you will hate yourselves for doing
such horrible things. They have made you unacceptable to me, so you deserve to
be punished. But I will treat you in a way that will bring honor to my name, and
you will know that I am the LORD God."

ii. Psalm 86:5,

"For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all
those who call upon You."

iii. John 3:17 & 18,

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the
world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned;
but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

In conclusion, to grow in our effectiveness as intercessors, we must continue to grow in our experiential knowledge of God - His love for us; we must continue to grow in our understanding of His Character so that we can rightly represent him; and we must continue to grow in our understanding of who we are and what our authority is in Christ Jesus when we stand before our God in intercession.

Hope this is helpful.