Intercessory Prayer in the Bible
There are many instances in the Bible where Yah’s people prayed and sought after Him on behalf of others.
When you think of intercessors in the Bible, who comes to mind?
You may be familiar with the story of Abraham who considered his nephew Lot as he reasoned with Yah when He declared that He would bring destruction upon Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:20-33).
There’s the account of Esther who led a fast with her people, the Jews, and with her maidservants where she prayed to Yah before she went unto her husband, the king, to spare her people from death (Esther 4).
Another commonly known story is of Moses praying on behalf of the Israelites who often had hardened hearts and disobeyed Yah. (Numbers 14:11-24).
And no doubt our Messiah, Yeshua, and the Holy Spirit make intercession for those who believe in Him (Romans 8:26-27).
How to Pray an Intercessory Prayer
What is Intercessory Prayer?
Above are some examples of intercessory prayer in the Bible, but there are many others throughout the Old and New Testaments. A common theme you’ll notice when studying intercessory prayer is that it involves a person “standing in the gap” by praying for someone else.
Intercession is defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as: “the act of interceding” or “prayer, petition, or entreaty in favor of another”. When you look at the Scriptures, the word “intercession” is mentioned 9 times in the King James Version. Romans 8 tells us that the Holy Spirit and our Messiah Yeshua intercede for those who believe in Him.
“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
Romans 8:26-27
“Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”
Romans 8:34
The phrase “makes intercession” in Romans 8 verses 27 and 34 is Strong’s #1793 which is defined in the New Testament Greek Lexicon as “to go to or meet a person, esp. for the purpose of conversation, consultation, or supplication; to pray, entreat.”
Now let’s go to an instance in the Scriptures where Yeshua prays an intercessory prayer to the Father on behalf of His disciples and those who believe in Him. We can pull many things from Yeshua’s example and apply them to our prayer lives when we intercede for others.
Yeshua’s Intercessory Prayer
In John 17 you’ll find Yeshua’s prayer to Yah the Father. I encourage you to read, study, and meditate on this passage. Yeshua prayed for you during His time on Earth before you even knew who He was and before you made the decision to believe in Him. That’s amazing. Yeshua is truly our brother and high priest. All glory is due to the Father who sent Yeshua!
We can learn from Yeshua’s example by understanding some of the aspects that are present in His intercessory prayer. I share three simple Scripture-led prayers and expand on three aspects I found in Yeshua’s prayer: humility, intimacy, and testimony.
Humility
“Father Yah, I pray that Your sons and daughters humble themselves as a little child unto You. For it is a humble one who You will hear, lift up, show grace upon.”
Yeshua is indeed our mediator. There’s no way to the Father except through Yeshua, our Messiah. During His time on Earth, Yeshua always pointed people and His disciples back to Yah, the Father. In the same way, we must have the same posture.
“Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You…I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.”
John 17:1,4
In Mark 10, Yeshua explains that to enter into the kingdom of Yah one must be like a little child and be willing to give up their possessions and follow Yeshua. When you think more about it, a child owns little to nothing and they expect their needs and desires to come from their parents.
To be honest, it may be tough at times to be dependent on Yah just as a child is dependent on their parent. Increasing your dependence and submission to someone especially as an adult seems to be a different kind of struggle. Even more than that, we are all one bad day away from losing what may be the closest things to us.
Will we still choose to follow Yah even if we lose all that we thought we had? Yah is unlike any human being. Yah is a spirit and He is everlasting and faithful. Yah is trustworthy. We all have to do the heart work to become more submitted to Yah so that we can fulfill His purpose for our lives on Earth.
Intimacy/Relationship with Yah
“Father Yah, I pray that Your sons and daughters grow in the wisdom and knowledge of You, the one true God, and of Your Son Yeshua the Messiah. I pray that your sons and daughters be sanctified through Your truth, for Your word is truth.”
John 17 goes into a lot of depth about intimacy with Yah. In this chapter, you’ll see verses on oneness, sanctification, and love.
“I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”
John 17:23
It’s important to understand that growing your relationship with Yah is a process that is strengthened over time. More than what you may do for Him, Yah wants your heart. Scripture tells us many times how central our hearts are to our motives and actions.
“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”
Proverbs 23:7
“Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.”
Proverbs 4:23
“Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”
2 Corinthians 1:21-22
Matthew 22:37-40
“Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
When you reflect on your relationship with Yah, you may conclude that your love for Him grows as you continue to trust, submit, and obey. It is difficult to submit to someone when you don’t trust that they have your best interest in mind. And it’s hard to love someone when you don’t know them.
“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.”
1 John 5:2
I believe that we first must be intentional about cultivating and growing our love for Yah. Then out of that love is where our obedience to Yah will flow. We will face challenges in this life where it may seem hard for us to obey. One way to soften our hearts is to be humble first and then focus on Yah’s love for us. This is something we have to cultivate daily.
Building Up Their Testimony
“Father Yah, I pray for Your sons and daughters to be encouraged by Your Spirit to share their testimony with others. It is through their testimonies of Your faithfulness that others will come to believe in Your name.”
Yeshua prayed for His disciples and for all those who will believe in Him through His disciples’ word.
“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.”
John 17:20-21
As we continually abide in the Messiah and grow in our relationship with Yah through humility and submission, we build up our testimony of how our lives are being eternally transformed. We should be encouraged to share our testimony with others so that they may come to know Yah more intimately.
”And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.“
Revelation 12:11
We have victory over Satan by the sacrifice of Yeshua through His crucifixion and the word of our testimony. Hearing the testimony of others will feed our faith. Hebrews 11 is a great passage that shows this by retelling various faith accounts and testimonies. The testimony of others lets us know there are a multitude of witnesses who know of Yah’s faithfulness. Because of these witnesses, we are to be encouraged to finish the race set before us and endure until the end.
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:1-2
Praying for Others is Necessary
We all go through challenging times in our lives. As the writer of Ecclesiastes expresses: to everything there is a season (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). At times, you don’t know what people are going through, even those who are the closest to you. Although you may know a little of what could be going on in someone’s life, you likely don’t know the whole story or the magnitude of what someone endures.
Interceding for others by praying to Yah is not only effective, it is also necessary. I hope the prayers I shared will help you when you aren’t sure of what to pray. Praying for others to grow in humility, their relationship with Yah, and share their testimony are three significant things you can focus on during intercessory prayer.
When you pray Scripture-led prayers, you remind Yah of His word which cannot return void but it must accomplish what it was sent out to do (Isaiah 55:10-11). So have faith when you pray to Yah on the behalf of others and remember that Yah’s word will come to pass according to His timing and His will.
Continually, Abiding. 
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