Have you ever had a person in need suddenly come to mind? Or perhaps you’ve seen a need beyond your ability to meet, and compassion has stirred up in your heart for that person.
In those moments, the Spirit of God is inviting you into intercessory prayer.
Intercessory prayer occurs when you serve as the “go-between” for God and someone else’s need or request.
But how might we go about it? What does it look like to make our intercessions to God?
A Mother’s Intercession
Allow me to offer an illustration for you. During this series, many have invoked the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary in their teachings. Let’s look to her again.
There was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." (John 2:1-5)
This is how the story of Jesus’ first miracle begins in John 2. It begins not with Jesus, but with his Blessed Mother. She, her Son, and his disciples were at a wedding in Cana, before his formal ministry began. And suddenly, there was a problem. The celebration of a wedding was in full-swing, but the wine had run out — a source of incredible shame and embarrassment for a first-century bridal family. It meant that they could not adequately provide for their guests.
We don’t know who all had noticed the great debacle, but the Blessed Mother had caught on. She saw a need, and she knew precisely who could do something about it. So, she went to her Son, and by doing so, she quite literally interceded on behalf of the newlywed couple and their family.
And what was the result? A miracle. In fact, it was Jesus’s first miracle, one he was willing to perform far before the time of ‘his time’ because of the intercession of his Mother. She had seen a need, she took it to the One she knew could do something about it, and the rest is history.
No Eloquence Required
That is a blessedly succinct illustration of intercession. Seeing a need, taking it to the Lord, and leaving it with him. We often are intimidated because our prayers aren’t eloquent, or we don’t know what to pray for, and the like. But the strength of our intercessions doesn’t lie in our eloquence — it lies in the power of the God who hears.
“Lord, their situation is so painful — would you intervene?”
“Father, she’s strayed far from you. Would you send your Spirit to draw her back?”
“Lord Jesus, I don’t even know what to pray for, but he needs your help. Please meet him in his weakness.”
These are all simple, honest, and powerful prayers — prayers that do not fall on deaf ears.
Entering the Divine Conversation
And the Spirit helps us in these moments. The Apostle Paul teaches us:
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Sprit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)
And we are told that Jesus, our Great High Priest, who is seated in heaven at the right hand of the Father, “always lives to intercede for [those who come to God through him]” (Hebrews 7:25).
Indeed, in times when we are moved to intercessory prayer, we are being invited to add our voices to the divine conversation already happening in heaven!
If God is who he says he is, and if we truly lay hold to who we’re called to be, then the only logical conclusion is that we would be a people who offer bold intercessory prayers to God.
So let’s start there, with simplicity and honesty. When you see a need, take it to the Lord, trust in the Spirit’s guidance, then leave it in the Father's hands. And as you grow in the discipline, I have no doubt that you will begin to see the Lord move in surprising ways.
From Last Sunday
