Orthopraxy: Intercession
In the last post, we took a deep dive into corporate prayer — what it is and isn’t. We saw in that post that prayer is an essential practice for the Body of Christ to grow in. Just as God said, His household should be a “house of prayer” (Isaiah 56:7, Luke 19:46). In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul commanded that the culture of the church ought to be unceasing prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
As we continue to look at prayer as a church practice, however, there is another side we must explore. There is corporate prayer, which we discussed, and of course, there is the private life of prayer for the believer (which we will not discuss much in this series.) Then, there is a middle ground, where the private prayer life of an individual believer has significant, practical implications on the public body. I am referring to what most of us would call “intercession.” To be more specific, I am talking about what many modern charismatic believers refer to as “prophetic prayer.” I believe the biblical definition points to this wording, too, as we shall soon see.
Intercession in the Old Testament
In the Old Testament, there are generally two Hebrew words translated as “intercede.” They both carry the general idea of being an arbiter or mediator, seeking to bring two parties together in agreement or reconciliation, though they each come at this purpose with a different approach. (Unfortunately, both of these words are difficult to transliterate for English readers. One is פלל or pll, and the other is פגע or pg’.)
Intercession is Based on God’s Decree
The first of these two – פלל – is a judicial word. It emphasizes making an appeal based on an objective or legal truth. Biblically speaking, this would typically be the objective truth of God’s word or a decreed judgment of God. For example, we see this word used twice in 1 Samuel 2:25:
“If someone sins against a man, God will פלל (mediate) for him, but if someone sins against the Lord, who can פלל (intercede) for him?”
1 Samuel 2:25
The viability of each use of פלל in this verse is dependant on the target of a person’s sin – whether it be against man or against God. This means that the effectiveness of intercession is directly based on a preexisting determination in God’s law.
The point is that for intercession to be effective, it must rely on revealed decrees and judgments of the Lord. A person cannot simply “intercede” for anything they desire and expect to receive it. Intercession prayer must be according to His will (1 John 5:14).
Intercession is Based on Human Willingness
The second Old Testament word – פגע – emphasizes the process of meeting with a person and “pleading” with them or “entreating” them toward reconciliation. The effectiveness of this intercession has to do with a person’s willingness to be the arbiter or mediator for reconciliation. For example, Isaiah 59:16 speaks of the Lord’s wonder “that there was no one to intercede…”
In Jeremiah 27, we see a group of false prophets challenged due to their lack of intercession. God had already decreed that the Temple’s holy vessels would remain in Babylon for some time (27:22), yet these false prophets were prophesying that they would be returned shortly (27:16). Jeremiah calls them out:
“If they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, then let them intercede with the Lord of hosts, that the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon.”
Jeremiah 27:18
He says, if they are prophets and have received God’s decree, then let them show a willingness to do the work of intercession in the Lord’s presence. Unfortunately, their willingness wasn’t there.
These two words show us that effective intercession always seeks reconciliation between two parties and requires two things. First, it requires the declaration of the Lord. Then, it requires the willing involvement of man to agree with God’s decree through both prayer and action.
As we will see, this same idea carried over into the New Testament as well.
Intercession in the New Testament
There are various forms of the Greek word “entynchano,” translated as “intercede” in the New Testament. Specifically, “entynchano” and “hyperentynchano.” This word means “to appeal” or “plead,” with the pleading usually done before the Lord, on behalf of someone else.
Entynchano is not pleading with people to be reconciled to God. Instead, it is pleading with God to remember His promises toward a person. (Remember, Jesus saves. It is His work, not ours.)
This form of intercession, then, is a continuation of what we saw in the Old Testament language. “Entynchano” means that we have heard the decree of God over someone or something and have the willingness to come into His presence and plead for His declaration to come to pass.
While my sovereignty-minded friends will struggle with the idea that human pleas can impact the effectiveness of God’s will, it is a very biblical idea.
Abraham Shifted God’s Plans
For one example, look at God’s declaration of judgment on Sodom in Genesis 18. Before He sent His angels to bring about destruction, God decided to hear what Abraham would say!
“The Lord said, ‘Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.'”
Genesis 18:17–19
Abraham thinks through this judgment in light of the character and grace He has seen in the Lord, and He begins to bargain with Him. “God, if you find 50 righteous men in the city, will you spare it?” God relents. “40?” “30?” “20?” Again and again, God’s plans change according to the request of Abraham, until finally, they come to the final plea:
“Then he said, ‘Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.’ He answered, ‘For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.’ And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.”
Genesis 18:32–33
God had already decreed destruction, but Abraham’s intercession on behalf of the city gave an acceptable change of plans if only ten righteous might be found there. But, unfortunately, Abraham did not understand the depth of Sodom’s sinfulness before the Lord, the ten righteous were not found, and the angels destroyed the city anyways.
Moses Effectively Interceeded for Israel
We see another example of this intercession in the book of Exodus. Moses had led God’s people out of Egypt, with God working many signs and wonders along the way and giving Moses step-by-step instructions. Once the people reach Moun Sinai, God calls Moses up the mountain to receive the ten commandments. Meanwhile, the people of Israel backslide away from the Lord and begin worshipping a golden idol.
God gets very angry and decides that rather than delivering the people, He should destroy them where they stand:
“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.'”
Exodus 32:9–10
Moses quickly intercedes for the people, not requesting anything based on the people’s deservedness but on God’s revealed character and plans!
“But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, ‘O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.'”
Exodus 32:11–13
Look at how Moses calls on the Lord to remember His plans as far back as Abraham and see how far they had come in His goodness. If God were to destroy the people now, it would not reflect poorly on the people. They were clearly deserving of wrath. Instead, it would appear that God’s promises are invalid. He promised to rescue a people He already knew was sinful. Now, He must uphold His decrees!
“And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.”
Exodus 32:14
In the next chapter, we see Moses’ intercession continue. God agreed not to destroy the people but then decided to send them on their way without Him. Moses reminds God that their identity as God’s chosen people is wrapped up in His presence with them. Again, God relents and agrees to go with Moses as He had previously promised (Exodus 33:1-5; 12-16).
God Released Wrath When There Was No Intercessor
Recalling Moses’ prayer on behalf of the people in Exodus, there is one other example of the effectiveness of intercession given in the Old Testament, which seems appropriate.
In the book of Ezekiel, God gives a long list of the sins of His people, including false prophecies and injustice to the poor. Once again, God decides He is going to bring wrath on the people. However, there is a brief pause before He does. He speaks:
“And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.”
Ezekiel 22:30
God says before He brought destruction, He looked for a man who would put themselves into the gap between Him and the sinful nation to plead for grace.
The Hebrew phrase is intense. It literally means He wanted someone to “get in My face” on behalf of the land. It is the same Hebrew language used to describe Moses’ intercession in Psalm 106:23. Yet, in Ezekiel’s day, there is no one to intercede.
“Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned their way upon their heads, declares the Lord God.”
Ezekiel 22:31
God’s Decree and Human Action in Jesus
As a final example of a life of intercession, we must look at Jesus. It was prophesied in Isaiah 53 that to fulfill God’s decree, Jesus would offer not only His prayers but also his actions as “intercession” for the lost:
“Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”
Isaiah 53:12
The entirety of Jesus’ life would be about reconciling the lost back to God. He would be the promised Lamb of God, who would pay the price for sin and release those who would trust Him from God’s wrath. The fulfillment of God’s promise of salvation through His sinless death in their place would be the final objective truth by which reconciliation could take place.
Based on God’s judgment which would fall on Him on the cross, the purpose of His earthly ministry, teachings, and prayer life (John 17) would be about entreating people back to God. In all ways, Jesus would be the mediator pulling both sides back toward each other (1 Timothy 2:5). This was the life of intercession.
In the same way, intercessory prayer is about partnering with God on behalf of others — the church, the lost, and the world. Intercession is not meant to be a part of the church service. Rather, intercession should be a core practice in leading the church to take its place in the ministry of reconciliation between God and man. This is the heart of the gospel and the fundamental mission of the church.
Let’s get practical.
As we can see, intercession is something much different than what takes place in our usual corporate prayer times. In corporate prayer, we join together as a body to celebrate what God is doing among us and pray with expectation for His faithfulness toward us each day. That is NOT intercession.
Intercession is where members of the body engage with the Holy Spirit to hear what is on His heart and then pray with Him to see His will come to pass. This is key. This is why I believe the definition of “prophetic prayer” is applicable.
First You Need God’s Decree
For someone to intercede, biblically, they must first hear God’s will: be it a decree, a promise, or a judgment. While this can and does take place by spending time in His written word – the Bible – those with a calling toward intercession will go deeper into specific practical matters as the Lord speaks to them (John 10:17, John 16:12-15). They need to be able to hear God’s Holy Spirit clearly.
Since intercession depends on hearing God’s voice, I find it difficult for most congregations to truly have an effective time of intercessory prayer during a regular church service. Many of the people attending do not understand what they are being asked to do. Those who do may not have the maturity to take part in biblical intercession as a brief, passing moment in a broader worship service.
For this reason, I would encourage pastors to create intercessory teams who meet at specific times outside of the regular service. They should take time together to hear from the Lord, pray into His will, and inform the leadership of what God is speaking before the regular service takes place. For some events, such as crusades or revival services, having the intercessory team in place, praying quietly throughout the service is also quite effective and strategic.
Second You Need A Willing Intercessor
This process of sitting and hearing from the Lord takes diligence and patience. Intercession, while vital to the life of the body of Christ, is not a spiritual practice everyone will engage in. This is where the willingness comes into place.
Again, this is why I believe it is a mistake for a pastor to invite every church member onto an intercessory team. It takes maturity as a believer, specifically in the area of hearing the Lord speak. For people unwilling to take the time needed to hear and pray effectively, it will be a waste of time and energy with little benefit to the church. For this same reason, there may be people who go through seasons of life where they will step on and off your intercessory team. This is ok. Just make sure that those who are there are mature, able, and willing to stand in the gap for the body and ministry.
Third You Need To Release Them With Boldness
People willing to step into the intercessor role as part of their life in the body of Christ need to be released by their leadership to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading completely. While there will definitely be times church leadership will give guidance around a specific need to pray for (an upcoming event, a needy individual, or anything else), it will ultimately be up to the Spirit in how the need is covered.
They must have the freedom and the boldness to take what they hear from the Lord and go deeper into His presence (“in My face”) with the things He shares. While the leadership can guide how some ministers in the church do their work, the intercessor cannot be directed at all times. Instead, the leadership must be willing to flow with the intercessory team as the Lord guides them along.
If we do intercession well, the church will be fruitful in the mission of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18).
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