21 Days of Prayer ChallengeSample

Day 11: What is intercessory prayer?

From Pastor Mark Zehnder

Simply put, intercessory prayer is when you pray for someone else. When I think of intercessory prayers, my heart gets thankful very fast. For all the years of my life, I have had people praying for me. My mom and my dad in the early years. My wife for the last 45 years. And some genuinely faithful people at all the congregations I have served have interceded on my behalf.

You might find it interesting to see who else shows up on the list of those who were intercessory prayers. Take Jesus, for example! Paul tells us in Romans 8:34, "Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."

Wow! And not just Jesus, but the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.

Just a few verses before this, Paul tells us this: "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words." Romans 8:26-27

Paul referenced how he interceded for his fellow believers in many of his Epistles. For example, in Romans 1:9: "God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching this gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times."

Many churches have begun a ministry of intercession called GAP. These are people who know that God Answers Prayer. This GAP ministry flows from a heart that knows there are times when you just can't handle everything on your own. You need someone to stand where you can't.

Ezekiel 22:30 says, "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."

How sad that no one was found at that time and place. How thankful I am that so many of God's people are willing to step up and stand in the gap for me! Will you stand in the gap for others today?

Day 11 Challenge: Make a list of 10 people you can commit to interceding for. Pray today for each of those people by name.

Prayer Prompt: For the teenagers/youth in our life