The Power of Prayer XIII

Over and over again, God himself seeks for someone willing to put themselves on the line on behalf of others…those willing to walk through the fire if need be.


Isaiah 59:16 – "He saw that there was no one, and was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm brought him victory, and his righteousness upheld him."

Ezekiel 22:30 – "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none."

2 Chronicles 16:9 – "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him."

Jeremiah 5:1 – “If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive the city.”

Intercession (Paga, Sode) is mentioned over 80 times in Scripture. If we are to model ourselves after Christ, then we must be willing to give ourselves to prayer and fasting. The power of the relationship with come through concentrated devotion to others and for their well being.

Intercessory Prayer is more than simply praying a single word on behalf of another and then moving on to another thought never to revisit that request again. Intercession is pouring out your heart for another…taking on the burden of those going through the trial.

“Pray without ceasing.” I Thessalonians 5:17

Christ gave us some great examples of this.

In the same conversation in which Jesus is teaching his disciples to pray, he states the following in Luke 11:5-9:
“Suppose one of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight, and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and from inside he shall answer and say, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. And I say to you, ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.”

Luke 18:1-8:
“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: ‘In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea. ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’ And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Matthew 15:21-28:
“Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.’ Jesus did not answer a word. So, his disciples came to him and urged him, ‘Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.’ He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.’ The woman came and knelt before him. ‘Lord, help me!’ she said. He replied, ‘It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ she said, ‘but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’ Then Jesus answered, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed from that very hour.”

In the second passage I referenced, there is a lot going on in this example. But what I want you to notice in both of these passages is that there was perseverance. The individuals who had the burden did not give up. They petitioned with great passion and expectation for results. They had faith and were willing to go the distance.