Intercessors vs Prayer Contractors - Praise & Pray (for others) November 1, 2022

Intercession is a mighty weapon for God's children. One need only look at the Bible to see how men and women changed the trajectory of entire nations by getting on their knees to stand in the gap. In our modern times, intercession remains an important weapon for transforming individuals, families, businesses, countries and all manner of situations.

When we bow before the Lord as intercessors, we place ourselves in striking distance, ready to take the punishment that would have been meted out to somebody else. We plead with God to have mercy on that person as He would have on us. After all, the word states in James 5:16 - ... The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Thank God for Jesus, the Great Intercessor and Most Righteous One, who remains at the right hand of God, advocating on behalf of each of us against the accusations of satan. He remains the model we must emulate.

Although God has made room for the ministry of intercession, He expects each of His children to have a relationship with Him. This means, the prayers of an intercessor are not a replacement for an individual building intimacy with the Lord. We cannot primarily depend on the prayers of our Big Mama, the intercession team at church, or anyone else. God doesn't want His children to think they can contract out their personal prayer needs to people with a presumed "direct line" to Him. That attitude causes some to believe they don't need to put in the work and time to draw closer to God, whereby they themselves become powerful intercessors.

God has called his children to be intercessors but not prayer contractors.

Some of us don't want to obey God's instructions and rather have a prayer contractor tarry on our behalf instead. That, brothers and sisters, is wrong, no matter how convenient it seems. God expects all of us to follow His commandments and live godly lives. Failure to do so can limit not just our prayers but those of intercessors praying on our behalf. Consider the stern warning contained in Ezekiel 14:16, 18 and 20. The Lord stated that even if Noah, Daniel and Job pleaded on behalf of their nation, they would only be able to save themselves and no one else. Keep in mind that these men were beloved by the Lord. Noah was chosen as the only man to survive the flood and repopulate the world. Daniel was so loved that God sent angels through heavenly battle lines to personally give him answers. And Job was described as blameless in the Bible. A man who held on to God despite his painful trial and came out of it with double for his trouble.

So, why did God say He wouldn't hear the intercessions from these men? Because God's people, at that time, had turned away from Him to serve false gods. They no longer believed He was all they needed and in their pride, they practiced a mix and match type of religion. They bowed to the gods of the peoples around them and went to God's Temple to worship Him as well. God was not pleased.

If God said He wouldn't listen to intercession lifted on their behalf, then we must be careful to not repeat the mistakes that created that situation. We must strive for a close relationship with the Lord, knowing that we join intercessors in prayer not seek prayer contractors to do the hard work.

Please, let us not be confused. This message is not telling people not to pray for others or intercede. No. The lesson here is that each of us needs to build ourselves up in the Lord so that we are not deprived of the blessing of intercession. Each of us has a direct line to God's ear and He wants us to use it at all times. For that to happen, we need to take steps - no matter how small - to build our intimacy with Him. Reading our Bible a little more, shedding ourselves of the sin habits that create distance from Him, and praying for others, not just our personal needs.

May the Lord help us as we grow in Him. All by His grace and to His glory, IJMN, Amen.