Defining True Intercession
“Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and THEY laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He HEALED them.” (Matt 15:30)
Have you ever noticed how many of the miracles of Jesus were assisted by the prayers of an intercessor? All through the Gospels we find groups of intercessors following Jesus everywhere He went. Day after day, they kept on coming and crying out for the needs of their suffering friends. They REFUSED to be SILENT, they wouldn’t STOP until they had laid ALL their burdens at Jesus feet. This is what true intercession looks like — To consistently carry broken people into the presence of God with our prayers, until an answer comes!
In fact, without these intercessors many of the greatest miracles in the Gospels would have never happened. A blind man suddenly begins to see because his friends refused to leave him behind in the darkness. The crippled man unable to stand or walk, now leaps and dances with joy because his neighbors picked him up and carried him to Jesus. The mute boy that couldn’t even utter his own prayers, now sings the praises of God because his parents cried out on his behalf. These intercessors helped their friends and family find the healing touch of Jesus, when they didn’t have the strength to get there by themselves.
Such examples help us see with the eyes of faith what our prayers are actually accomplishing. They affirm the fact that God has sovereignly ordained INTERCESSION as one of His favorite ways to bring Heaven down to Earth. They urge us to keep ASKING, SEEKING and KNOCKING, as long as God’s promises still invite us to BELIEVE and PRAY!
True Intercessors Don’t Quit
“Many gathered together, so that there was no longer ROOM to receive them, not even near the door. And (Jesus) preached the word to them.Then THEY came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when THEY could not come near Him because of the crowd, THEY uncovered the roof where He was.” (Mark 2:1–12)
True intercessors are called to overcome overwhelming obstacles — To ASK for the seemingly impossible! In fact, It’s these very obstacles that stretch us to learn how to BELIEVE and PRAY on a whole NEW level. True intercessors refuse to STOP until God either answers the request, or God says STOP praying! True intercessors are persistent but they are also PATIENT. True intercessors know how to WAIT on the timing of God. They don’t mistake a delayed answer for a denied request. True intercessors DON’T quit.
Mark 2 describes a time when four such intercessors came to Capernaum. Jesus was preaching and the house was totally FILLED with hungry seekers. This is what every pastor wants to see on Sunday —A full house, great preaching and the presence of Jesus. But there was something MORE that God wanted to do that day. There was a paralyzed man coming to the meeting, and he needed something much MORE than just good preaching.
Some people are physically paralyzed, others are spiritually or emotionally paralyzed. They have no power or ability to move by themselves. They need a friend who will pick them up and carry them into God’s presence. They need someone to help them in the healing process. They need an intercessor to lift them up and carry them to God in prayer, day after day until the answer finally comes!
The Need for Stubborn Intercession
God often calls intercessors to become part of the answer to their own prayers — To literally become an incarnation of their own intercession — To be forerunners and pioneers of restoration! True intercessors must be willing to be MORE than just PERSISTENT, they sometimes need to be downright STUBBORN and even DISRUPTIVE. Are you willing to interrupt a GOOD thing, to help make ROOM for God’s BEST thing?
When these four intercessors arrived at the meeting they encountered some unexpected obstacles. The crowd was so big they couldn’t get inside to make their need known. They tried the front door—they tried the back door, and I’m sure they checked all the windows. But every entrance was hopelessly blocked. They must have questioned themselves — “Did anyone else care about their friend?”— “Was Jesus really willing to heal him?” — “Should they just give-up and go back home?” No, they couldn’t QUIT—They wouldn’t STOP until Jesus Himself had told them to stop!
Sometimes the structure or wineskin is just too small for ALL that God wants to accomplish. So, at the risk of disrupting the meeting, offending the home owner, and wrecking the whole house, these fearless intercessors climbed UP and tore a God size whole in a perfectly good roof. They opened up the heavens for the healing power of God. They wanted to make sure that Jesus knew about their friend’s desperate condition. When necessary, God’s intercessors must be willing to disappoint and even offend the expectations of other believers! God’s intercessors must keep on believing and praying until God clearly says STOP. They kept pushing and praying until they broke through the ceiling. Because four friends refused to stop praying, a man’s life was totally RESTORED! Are you willing to be a stubborn intercessor — Has God told you to STOP praying yet?
Please join us on February 27th for the Collegiate Day of Prayer as thousands of other intercessors carry the needs of this broken generation to God in fervent prayer!
-David Smithers