“Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you.” – 1 Samuel 12:23
In this week’s 40-Day Prayer devotions, we’re going to focus on an essential form of prayer called ‘intercession’. Prayer as communion with God is prayer at the mountaintop. This prayer is a joy to the soul once it is discovered.
With intercession, we come to prayer as combat, as we take our stand on the valley floor to battle for the Lord’s kingdom to come and will to be done in people’s lives around us.
To “intercede” means to make an appeal for someone who needs help. It’s more than just putting in a good word for them. There’s passion in intercession. You’re pleading and petitioning on their behalf. Maybe “combat” strikes you as an odd word to use. But there’s definitely a wrestling and warring dimension to this type of prayer which is why the Bible summons us to armor up when it come to prayer (e.g. Ephesians 6:10-12, Colossians 4:12).
The Intercession Of Abraham And Moses
The first example of biblical intercession takes place when Abraham intercedes for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah once he learns it is God’s intent to punish them for their wickedness (Genesis 18:22-33). His boldness is striking as he repeatedly asks God to “move the goalposts” of judgment for the sake of any righteous people who might be found there. (No doubt he is thinking of his nephew Lot who lives there with his family, so Abraham has some skin in the game.)
Moses shows the same qualities when he intercedes for Israel after its great sin of idolatry with the golden calf (Exodus 32:7-14). As God did with Abraham, the Lord informs Moses that he will destroy the nation for its rebellion. As Abraham did with God, Moses “stands in the gap” for Israel, and pleads God’s mercy for them. On this occasion, the Lord spares Israel.
We see a vivid metaphor of intercession in Exodus 17. Infant Israel, miraculously rescued from Egypt at the Red Sea, immediately faces a series of tests in the wilderness, including open warfare, as the nation of Amalek attacks them. Moses draws not one, but two lines of battle. First, he sends his general Joshua into battle with handpicked soldiers to fight Amalek. Then he climbs a nearby hill to superintend the fight from above. The story reads:
“Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’s hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side…And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.” (Exodus 17:8-13)
Though prayer is not mentioned in the story, this imagery attaches itself unmistakably to intercession, where one person or group lifts up hands and voices to heaven on behalf of another who needs God’s help.
Other Examples In The Old Testament
As the Old Testament unfolds, we see the fingerprints of intercession everywhere we look. The people of Israel beg Samuel, the prophet and judge, to continue in prayer for them. He responds by saying, “Far be in for me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you.” (1 Samuel 12:23). Don’t miss what Samuel says: To fail to practice intercession is a sin against God.
We see David in the psalms often praying for God’s blessing upon Jerusalem and his people, even the entire earth (e.g. Psalm 3:8, 22:27-28, 57:11).
As the judgment of exile approached, God expressed grief that he could find no one in Israel to intercede. “I searched for a man among them who would build up a wall and stand in the gap before me for the land, so that I would not destroy it. But I found no one.” (Ezekiel 22:30)
As you survey these stories, it should be understandable why Mark Batterson in Draw The Circle says, “Intercession is spiritual warfare. It’s not for the faint or the feeble. By definition, praying hard is hard. There will be times when our hearts are breaking because of a prayer burden.”
Tomorrow we’ll look at intercession as Jesus modeled it, and the apostles taught it. For now, look around you today and see the parts of your world where people are hurting and struggling. Take some time in your praying today to begin to lift them up before our Heavenly Father.
Here’s a song that points to the battle of prayer.