 
Harvesting Souls For Jesus Church Prayer Study Resource Room
Intercession: Unleashing God's Power on Earth
By Dave Butts
There are many types of prayer. Prayers of confession, praise, petition, spiritual warfare, and thanksgiving are just a few examples. But if there is one type of prayer that God seems to be bringing to the forefront in the current movement of prayer it is the prayer of intercession or intercessory prayer. Intercessory prayer is very simple. It’s someone asking God to do something in a person’s life, in the church, or in a certain situation. It is coming to God on behalf of someone else. It is, in some ways, the most selfless, giving sort of prayer. It is ultimately one of the greatest acts of love. A good picture of intercession in Scripture is the parable that Jesus tells of the friend who came at midnight (Luke 11:5-8). A friend had been on a long trip and he comes at midnight to his friend’s house. The traveler is very hungry, but his friend has no bread to give him. Being concerned for his hungry friend, the man goes next door at midnight and begins to shout and pound at the door for his neighbor to get up and give him some bread. The worst imaginable thing happens. His next door neighbor doesn’t even come to the door, but just shouts out from his bed something like this: "Go away! I’m in bed, and my children are in bed. Go away and come back in the morning!" Instead of giving up, the man keeps on pounding and shouting until his next door neighbor gets up, grumbling I’m sure, and gives him the bread that he needs to feed his hungry friend. Now I know Jesus tells that parable to teach us the power of persistence in prayer; to pray and never give up. But I want to suggest to you that this parable is also a perfect picture of intercession. I had a friend who preached a sermon on this and he called it: The Friend in the Middle, in the Middle of the Night. There are three friends. One has a need…he is hungry. Another friend has the ability to meet that need…he has the bread. And then there is the friend in the middle who brings the two together. He goes to one on behalf of the other. It is a perfect picture of intercession. This is where God has placed every one of us. We are surrounded by a needy world…spiritual needs, emotional needs, physical needs… every kind of need. They are needs that you and I do not have the means to meet. But we know the One who does. And in prayer we are called to go to God on behalf of those around us. We are called to be intercessors. It is a powerful ministry to pray for others, and an awesome blessing to see God work in their lives. I believe that God is calling the Church today to a whole new level of intercession. We are seeing God do amazing things around the world because we are learning to intercede for the lost. We are learning to intercede for whole nations. God has shown us clearly that prayer is the frontline strategy for reaching unreached people groups, for breaking down barriers to presenting the Gospel, and for planting churches. It is astonishing what God is doing as we obediently pray His will into the lives of others. We need to understand that the importance of intercessory prayer can best be understood as the only ministry you can do today that is the current ministry of Jesus. Intercessory prayer is what Jesus is doing today: "…because He always lives to intercede for them" (Hebrews 7:25). It is astonishing to realize that Jesus is interceding for us…Jesus is praying for us. There are a lot of things that Jesus used to do. Likely He used to build houses with His step-father, Joseph and to fish on the sea of Galilee. He died on a cross to save mankind. But the one ministry He is doing today is what He is asking us to do with Him… intercession. To cry out for others, to share God’s love in a way that releases God’s power into people’s lives. One of the most difficult things for us to grab ahold of in intercessory prayer is the fact that it doesn’t appear to be doing anything. If you bake a pie and take it to the neighbors, you are doing something. If you stand at the church door and pass out bulletins you are doing something. The hardest thing to get past when trying to understand intercessory prayer is that it somehow seems we aren’t doing anything. Most of us want to do something for God. The Scriptures teach us something amazing about the activity of intercessory prayer. Let’s go back to Exodus 17:8-13, where the children of Israel had been released from their bondage in Egypt. They had crossed the Red Sea. They are on their way to Mt. Sinai… a huge group of one to three million people moving south through the wilderness. On the way they are attacked by the warlike tribe of the Amalekites. The Amalekites were smaller in number, but they were experienced raiders. The Israelites were brickmakers who didn’t have any bricks. They did, however, have a promising new general by the name of Joshua who pulled together some of the men, got them equipped with weapons, and trained them to ward off some of the raids of the Amalekites. Finally, the time comes for a major battle. In the valley, the army of the Amalekites and the army of the Israelites go into battle with Joshua leading the way. But Joshua wasn’t really the leader of the nation. Who was the leader of Israel? It was Moses. And Moses was nowhere to be seen in the valley. Instead, Moses was up on top of a mountain. He had the rod of God, a symbol of God’s power, in his hands. And he took that rod and lifted it up to God. Upraised arms are always a symbol of prayer. That is literally what Paul wrote to Timothy: "I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing" (1 Timothy 2:8). With Moses’ arms outstretched to God in prayer, an amazing thing happened. The Israelites, a group of untrained soldiers, begin to defeat the Amalekites – but only as long as Moses’ arms are in the air. As soon as his arms get tired (remember that Moses is 80), and they come down, an astonishing thing happens – the battle begins to turn against Israel. Now the Amalekites are winning. What an old man does with his arms on top of the mountain shouldn’t have any effect on the battle in the valley below. But it does in the kingdom of God. And what you and I do sitting in our homes and churches while praying for a village in India or China shouldn’t seem to have any effect logically, but it does in the kingdom of God. Let’s go back to Moses for a minute. His arms are tired, and Israel is losing in the valley. What should the Israelites do? Should they get a new pastor? No. They bring in two other older men who lift up Moses’ arms. Now, as Aaron and Hur stood around Moses and lifted up his arms, their arms are also lifted up! We have a prayer meeting going on! There are three men up on the mountain with lifted arms, praying together, and the battle is won for Israel. We need to understand the truth of God’s Word that is clearly apparent from the Old Testament through the New Testament, where Jesus is spending His time as an intercessor: there is nothing more powerful in the kingdom of God than intercessory prayer. God is calling His people to pray. All Christians are exhorted to pray for others and to watch God work in astonishing, astounding ways. Some people are better at it than others. There are some people whose main spiritual gift is intercession. But we are all called to be intercessors and to make a difference in the world through intercessory prayer. Most of us do not look at ourselves as "world-changers." We do not see ourselves as having the power or influence to change the direction of nations. As Christians, however, we affirm the power of God to impact the nations. That power is released through the prayers of people just like you and me. Would you make a commitment today to change your world? Take a step in prayer. Begin to pray more for the people around you, as well as for world leaders and the flow of world events. Bring the amazing power of God to bear upon this world and see what our awesome God will do!
Greetings and blessings in the name of the Lord!
We are blessed to have you visit our Prayer Bible Study Resource Room.
Our purpose here is to provide you,our guest,the opportunity to learn and further your prayer walk by the use of these various Bible Studies we have found to be great and worth the study.
As a child of God or as a servant in God's service,prayer is the backbone to our walk with Him.It is this communication with God that, besides salvation, walks hand in hand with everything we do.
Pull your chair up,sit back,grab your Bible and notepad and study God's Word on prayer with us provided here.The studies are linked to the site that will allow you to go and study at your own pace.The copyrights and permission are granted and are that of the authors you read and study from.
God bless and thanks for visiting!
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Breaking Through the Local Church Prayer Barrier
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Change Your Focus
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Confessing our Sins Together
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A New Call For Extraordinary Prayer
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Praying For Revival
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When God Shows Up For Church
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Revival Praying
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Prayer Strategy For Ministry
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Practical Prayer For the Church
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Not By Programs . . . But By a Spirit of Prayer
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From Playing to Praying: How to Involve Children in Church Prayer
Family Prayer
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Prayers of Praise (Scriptural Prayers to Enhance Your Worship)
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Unleashing The Power Of Prayer
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Praying Men Can Make A Difference
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Praying God's Character Into Your Children
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From Playing to Praying: How to Involve Children in Church Prayer
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Guarding The Minds of Our Children (Doing Battle on Our Knees)
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Restoring Revival Fire in the Family
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The Family Fast
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Jesus Prayed for You and Your Family
Praying the Word of God
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Prayers of Praise (Scriptural Prayers to Enhance Your Worship)
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Unleashing The Power Of Prayer
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Praying God's Character Into Your Children
The Lord's Prayer Series-Another Example
Matthew 6:5-6 "Don't Babble"
Prayer is a central aspect of Christian devotion. Many have intellectual
problems with it and others treat it as a magical wand. Our relationship
with God is critical.
Matthew 6:9 "Hallowing Our Heavenly Father"
What it means to have God as our Father, what "heaven" and
"hallowing" means. We need to learn to honor God.
Matthew 24:22-33 "The Coming Kingdom"
The topic of prophecy is feast-or-famine in Evangelical churches.
Jesus gave the future kingdom a lot of attention. Sermon discusses
excesses and benefits of understanding Biblical prophecies.
Luke 4:14-21 "Heaven on Earth"
Looks at the concept of Millennium and how it has been handled by
Christians. Pre-millennial view is adopted but with an emphasis on
a positive commitment to social needs right now.
Matthew 6:31-34 "Our Daily Bread"
Most Americans don't fret over the possibility of starvation, but we
still need to trust in God for daily provision for our needs. Different
meanings of bread are looked at.
Matthew 6:12 "No Trespassing"
All humans are sinners in need of forgiveness. God will forgive us
on the future Judgment Day, the day we believe, and on a continual
basis. God does not want us shackled by guilt.
Matthew 6:12,14-15 "Forgive - or Else"
Forgiveness is unnatural, unfair, and illogical. It is also one of the surest
marks of a real Christian. Looks at the concept of Millennium and how it
has been handled by a positive commitment to social needs right now.
Matthew 6:13 "Don't Tempt Me"
Temptation is not a joke. God's role in temptation and why he allows it to
happen to us. No one is so strong they cannot fall.
The Practicality of Prayer
Tim Temple
Elements of an Effective
Prayer Ministry:
If you are going to have an effective prayer ministry, whether it be personal, with a prayer partner(s), or corporately in the church, you need the following:
When you understand and practice the above elements in prayer, then you are ready to:
It is then that you will begin to see participation increase and passion to meet with God through prayer develop within others resulting in praise to our Lord.
Effectiveness in Prayer Requires Personal Relationship
If prayer is going to be real and meaningful to people, then you must help them understand that prayer is . . . .
more than attending a meeting.
-- It is connecting with their heavenly Father.
more than a programmed event or activity.
-- It is coming into the presence of the almighty God.
more than a Christian discipline.
-- It is communicating with a living and personal God.
Remember in Luke 11:1-4 when one of the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, He said to them, "When you pray, say: 'Our Father ...'." Jesus was teaching the personal and intimate nature of prayer.
Make your prayer meetings or prayer efforts about relationship, not merely praying requests. Words are shallow and meaningless when there is no sense of connection. When God Himself is the main attraction, you won't need gimmicks or arm-twisting to keep people coming.
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In developing a prayer ministry you need to ask what you are hoping to accomplish through it. Maybe you are hoping to see God take care of a list of requests. You probably want to see Him do great and mighty things in your midst or to bring revival. Perhaps you simply want to be obedient to His command to pray. Or, you may be trying to emulate the early church of the New Testament of whom it was said that they devoted themselves to prayer (Acts 2:42).
While all that and much more can happen as people meet together to pray, you will undoubtedly find a greater level of effectiveness when your purposes are centered more on God than on you. When prayer is about Him and not you, you tend to come to Him with the right heart attitudes. Your role, though important, isn't primary.
Emphasize the following purposes and watch the difference it makes in your prayer ministry:
- 1) Use prayer as a means of keeping focused on God.
- Heart Attitude: You come to Him from a position of impotence realizing that your prayers are not the power source but rather God is.
Why is it that prayers we think have lined up with how they should be don't always 'appear' to get answered? The way prayer works is one of those things that isn't always easy to figure out for a reason. We humans, Christian humans, can get more hung up on the activity of prayer than on God Himself. We think, if we just pray hard enough, or effectively enough, or long enough, or persistently enough, then things will happen. Our prayers don't bring revival. God does. Our prayers don't change things. God does. Prayer is not a way to arm-twist God into doing what we think He should do, regardless of the form of that prayer.
- Your Role: What about the need to have faith when we pray? ..... sure, faith in GOD, not in your prayers
- 2) Use prayer as a means of acknowledging His grace in your life.
- Heart Attitude: You come to Him from a position of dependence realizing that if anything is going to happen, it has to be because of His grace.
God doesn't owe us a thing!!!! Our prayers should acknowledge this. If our good deeds were good enough to move Him, Jesus wouldn't have had to die for us. We approach the throne of grace solely on the basis of what Jesus has done for us. Therein is our confidence.
- Your Role: Isn't a pure life important? ..... sure, but even that is because of God's grace so it still doesn't give us the edge in praying (See Titus 2:11-12.)
- 3) Use prayer as a means of keeping His sovereignty in place in your life.
- Heart Attitude: You come to Him from a position of humility and submission realizing it needs to be His will and not your will that must be done.
How easy it is to get disappointed when our prayers don't get answered the way we think they should. We somehow forget that His ways are higher than our ways (Isa. 55:9).
- Your Role: Doesn't God promise to answer when we pray in His will? ..... sure, but let Him be the judge of what is His will
- 4) Use prayer as a means of maintaining your relationship with Him.
- Heart Attitude: Come to Him from a position of sonship realizing that He greatly delights in the fact that you've come to Him.
We should come to Him in prayer not primarily because we have an agenda to take up with Him but because we want to be with Him, to be in His presence. Let's tell Him how wonderful He is. Let's talk things over with Him. Let's listen to what He has to say as well.
- Your Role: Isn't it important to have the right motivations when praying? .... sure, and like Paul, put "knowing Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings" on the top of the list
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Prayers of Praise (Scriptural Prayers to Enhance Your Worship)
Compiled by Kim Butts Do you ever run out of words to describe our powerful, amazing Lord as you pray? The Bible has a well that never runs dry. We can dip into this wondrous source of praise and lift our voices individually, or together as a family to glorify God. Here are 16 days of prayers that offer praise to Him in a multitude of ways. As you begin to praise Him in prayer about His character and attributes, you will begin to see how Scripture becomes a vital part of your prayer vocabulary. Each day you can experience fresh, exciting prayers with which to worship Christ the King. Read each Scripture out loud as a proclamation. If you are praying as a family, take turns each day. Then, pray from your hearts what you have proclaimed, or use the example we have written for you. You may even wish to sing a hymn or chorus of praise. May He be praised as we focus our attention on the One Who is worthy!
DAY ONE:
PRAISE HIM FOR HE IS OUR SALVATION! “The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him” (Exodus 15:2).
Prayer: Lord, You are our strength and our song! We praise You because You have become our salvation! You are our God and we will praise and exalt You!
DAY TWO:
PRAISE HIM BECAUSE HE IS ONE! “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the Lord is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:4).
Prayer: Gracious God, You are the Lord our God! You are ONE! We will love You with all of our hearts and all of our souls and with all of our strength! Teach us how to love You more and more! DAY THREE:
PRAISE HIM BECAUSE HE IS FAITHFUL TO ALL HIS PROMISES! “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made” (Psalm 145:13).
Prayer: Powerful Jesus, Your kingdom will last forever and ever, through all generations. We give You praise today because You are always faithful to every promise and because You are loving toward everything You have made. Help us to be faithful to all of our promises too! DAY FOUR:
PRAISE HIM BECAUSE THERE IS NO OTHER! “You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other…Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other” (Deuteronomy 4:35, 39).
Prayer: O Lord God in heaven--only You are God! Besides You there is no other! We acknowledge this wonderful fact and take it to heart today! DAY FIVE:
PRAISE HIM BECAUSE WE ARE FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE! “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Ps. 139:14).“Come let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care” (Psalm 95:6-7).
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we praise You today because Your works are wonderful. Some of Your works live right in our home. We bow down in worship before You, our Lord and Maker, because You are our God! Help us to treat the bodies You have made with respect and care. DAY SIX:
PRAISE HIM BECAUSE HE HAS COMPASSION ON ALL HE HAS MADE! “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love” (Psalm 145:8)."Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion…” (Isaiah 30:18).
Prayer: Gracious God, we give You praise today because You are slow to anger and rich in love. You show us compassion because You have made us, and because You love us. Help us to show compassion to others in the same way. DAY SEVEN:
PRAISE HIM BECAUSE HE IS PEACE! “So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD is Peace” (Judges 6:24). "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).
Prayer: God of peace, You do not give as the world gives. Because You guard our hearts from trouble and fear, we praise Your name. Slow us down and quiet our hearts so that we can live lives that please You. DAY EIGHT:
PRAISE HIM BECAUSE HE IS OUR ROCK AND OUR FORTRESS! “He said: ‘The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior…’” (2 Samuel 22:2-3). “The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God, the Rock, my Savior” (2 Samuel 22:47)!
Prayer: We give You praise today, O Lord, because You are our Rock, our Fortress and our Deliverer! You will shield us from harm because You are our Refuge and our wonderful Savior! Help us to trust in Your ability to care for us always!
DAY NINE:
PRAISE HIM BECAUSE HE IS GOOD! “Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant” (Psalm 135:3).“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him” (Psalm 34:8).“For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100:5).
Prayer: Father, we praise You because of Your goodness to us! It is a pleasant thing to sing praise to You because Your love goes on forever.
DAY TEN:
PRAISE HIM BECAUSE HE IS OUR STRENGTH! “…Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).“The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation” (Psalm 118:14).“O my Strength, I sing praise to you; you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God” (Psalm 59:17).
Prayer: O Lord our Strength, we sing praise to You! Thank You that Your joy is our strength, and that You are our song and our salvation!
DAY ELEVEN:
PRAISE HIM BECAUSE HE IS FAITHFUL! “For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does” (Psalm 33:4).“The living, the living--they praise you, as I am doing today; fathers tell their children about your faithfulness” (Isaiah 38:19).
Prayer: Faithful Father, Your Word is right and true. We praise You because Your faithfulness continues through all generations. May we tell those in the generations to come that Your love and faithfulness endures forever! DAY TWELVE:
PRAISE HIM BECAUSE HE PROTECTS US FROM THE EVIL ONE! “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:3).“So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:6).
Prayer: Faithful Father, we give You praise because You are our protector. Thank You that You strengthen us and give us confidence so that we do not need to be afraid. Help us to stand firm against evil men and against our enemy, the devil! DAY THIRTEEN:
PRAISE HIM BECAUSE HE IS MIGHTY! “Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength; we will sing and praise your might” (Psalm 21:13).“Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: ‘The LORD’s right hand has done mighty things’” (Psalm 118:15)!“Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness” (Psalm 150:1-2).
Prayer: With shouts of joy we exalt You, heavenly Father, because You have done mighty things! We praise You in Your sanctuary and in Your mighty heavens. We will sing and praise Your might as You work in our lives! DAY FOURTEEN:
PRAISE HIM BECAUSE HIS WAY IS PERFECT AND HIS WORD IS FLAWLESS! “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him” (2 Samuel 22:31).
Prayer: Lord Jesus, Your way is always perfect, and You never make a mistake! We give You praise because You allow people like us to do Your work on this earth! Guide us, Lord, as we take refuge in You, our strength and shield! May we honor Your flawless Word and be obedient to it always! DAY FIFTEEN:
PRAISE HIM BECAUSE HE DAILY BEARS OUR BURDENS! “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens” (Psalm 68:19).“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:29).
Prayer: Holy Lord, our God and Savior, thank You that You make the heavy burdens in our lives easier to carry. Sometimes You even carry them Yourself so we don’t have to. We praise You for Your gentle, humble heart! DAY SIXTEEN:
PRAISE HIM BECAUSE HE IS HOLY! “Let them praise your great and awesome name—he is holy” (Psalm 99:3).“Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness” (Psalm 29:2).
Prayer: Holy Lord God, we worship You because of Your great and awesome name. We praise You because of the splendor of Your holiness.
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