It is a well known fact that I am a complicated soul. Those closest to me literally have “the patience of Job.” I am a not-so-perfect mix of both introvert and extrovert. As 2014 begins I am beginning to grasp why I am the way I am, I am an intercessor. In the past I would reject that title because I don’t pray enough to be an intercessor. I have recently had the revelation that I am and that I do.
What is Intercession?
INTERCESSION, n. [L. intercessio, from intercedo.]
The act of interceding; mediation; interposition between parties at variance, with a view to reconciliation; prayer or solicitation to one party in favor of another, sometimes against another.
I have been told most of my life that intercession was essentially praying intensely for someone or a group of people. I am not arguing this definition nor am I limiting intercession to it. The last several years God has been teaching to look beyond the simple definitions I have learned. For instance, worship is “singing love songs” to the Father, but worship is also every act of obedience to the will of God. I have learned that that worship in the New Testament Greek is “proskuneo” and prayer is “proseuchomai. “Pros “ is a preposition of direction (suggests that our prayers must be directed towards a specific person). It also suggests a nearness to God, or being in access to His presence. Both words are closely connected. If worship has transcended its definition, then can prayer be bigger than I have previously defined.
Keith Green once wrote a song, “Make my Life a Prayer.” Scripture tells me to “pray without ceasing.” In the Old Testament Hebrew the word “intercession” means to intervene. Can we intervene with our actions? In other words, can God use as the answer to the prayer we are praying for someone? If my neighbor injured his back, should I pray “Oh God in heaven above, my neighbor has hurt his back and his grass is getting high, please send someone to cut his grass.” Or should I pray for his back and then cut his grass. While I do pray for people I enjoy blessing them. I love it when God uses me as the answer to the prayer. Whatever activity is then required is as much intercession as the prayer itself.
Traditional intercession is hard. You spend yourself praying intensely for someone. Your prayers often go unnoticed. I have found this expanded view of intercession to even be more difficult. Not only are you praying intensely but you are visibly investing yourself into someone during their crisis. Just as Christ experienced the investment is often forgotten as soon as the crisis is over or the crisis is there but no longer recognized. Only one leper returned to thank Christ, the other nine never returned. When Christ wanted company in the Garden to pray, they wanted to sleep. A lifestyle of intercession expects to give and give and give and give. Often the gifts are soon forgotten or taken for granted.
I am now full circle. I love people. God has placed some on my “prayer list.” I must pray for them. I love when God uses me to answer their prayers. I feel that emotional and spiritual connection to them, and when I need to be interceded for I must trust that God has someone praying for me and possibly being the answer for me. I must also realize that it may not be those that I have invested in their life. Regardless, God is my comfort, the source of all that I need.
