The Power of Intercession

By:  Dale Weckbacher

James 5:16

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

(ESV)

James concludes his one and only epistle by encouraging us to pray (James 5:13-20).  While at times it may appear that our prayers do little, James 5:16 reminds that the prayers of a righteous person, and since all of us who have confessed Jesus Christ as Lord are declared righteous in the sight of God (Romans 3:21-26), are powerful.  We therefore must begin to continually offer prayers of intercession for both the lost and believers in our world.  Unfortunately, one of the tools of deception used by Satan is to cause those declared righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ to believe they are weak and powerless.

Scripture, however, is full of seemingly small and powerless people achieving great things for God.

1)      Moses – Moses, raised in the household of Pharaoh had serious anger issues that resulted in him leaving his people in Egypt and fleeing to Midian (Exodus 2:11-22).  Fortunately for Moses this separation resulted in his encounter with God at the burning bush resulting in Moses receiving his mission from God as the one to lead his people out of their Egyptian slavery not through military force but by the power of God.  While Moses’ anger issues remained resulting in God forbidding him from setting foot in the Promised Land, God was able to use him mightily.

2)      David (1 Samuel 16:1-13) – Samuel grieves the fact that Saul is king of Israel but God is not about to allow him to wallow in his grief.  Instead God commands Samuel to fill his horn with oil and go to Jesse in Bethlehem in order to anoint the next King of Israel.  After God rejects the seven strong warrior sons of Jesse, Samuel asks Jesse if he has another son.  Enter David the shepherd boy and Jesse’s youngest son.  Samuel and Jesse believed the future King of Israel must be someone strong and powerful physically but God chose the shepherd to lead His people.  God is more interested in finding leaders that will lead according to godly principles and leave the power and might to Him. 

3)      Peter – In our PC age, the Apostle Peter would definitely not fit in.  A gruff rough fisherman from the poor section of Galilee would hardly be one that anyone, especially the Son of God would pick to lead His people (Luke 22:31-32).  However, after repenting of His sin, encountering the risen Lord, and receiving the filling of the Holy Spirit, Peter had all he needed to lead the early Church for he had power from God.

We who have been declared righteous through the blood of Christ also have access to great power and strength from God.  We therefore must make a concerted effort to set aside time each day, even if it is just a few minutes, to intercede in prayer.  We must intercede for,

1)      The safety of our President and other leaders (1Timothy 2:1-2) – Recent breaches of White House security (1) (2) coupled with the theft of a Secret Service laptop and credentials (3) have many concerned about the safety of President Trump and his family.  While most of us, unless we serve the President in the Secret Service, can do little to protect our President, our prayers of intercession, like the prayer of Hezekiah that resulted in the striking down of the much more powerful Assyrian army are powerful (2 Kings19:14-37).  Therefore, God’s people must continue to pray for the safety of those God has placed in authority over us.

2)      Safety and strength for the military and law enforcement – Military serves an important role in the safety and security of any nation.  However, history has demonstrated that even the most powerful army in the world can be defeated.  I live in the United States, a nation that was able to defeat the most powerful military and become a nation.  We therefore must not become lax in our prayers for the military and law enforcement who swear to protect the citizens of our nations by believing they have all the power them need to do the Job.  Instead we must remember they need our prayers of support in order to defeat the spiritual forces behind the visible evil they face (Ephesians 6:12,18).

3)      Safety and peace for our families – In my neighborhood we have an issue with street racers racing down our streets.  There have been deadly crashes and even instances of cars crashing through people’s yards.  This has served as a reminder to me of the need to pray for the safety of my family and myself, along with friends, co-workers, and neighbors.  I therefore urge everyone to pray daily, and even more frequently if necessary for God’s umbrella of protection around those close to us.

4)      Revival for our nation – In Deuteronomy11:26-28, God sets forth both a curse and a blessing on His people.  Whether the people receive the curse or blessing is contingent upon obedience to the commandments of God.  Scripture goes on to promise blessing upon any nation whose God is the Lord (Psalm 33:12).  It grieves my heart and the hearts of many of God’s people to see the abandonment of Godly principles in our world and nations.  This has led to many becoming deceived due to a lack of understanding of the truth that would set them free (John 8:32).  No politician, government program, or legislation will reverse this downward slide.  It is only the transformational power of the Blood of Jesus Christ and God’s people directing others to Jesus that will reverse this death spiral for our nations and culture.  However, the power of the intercessory prayers of God’s people unleashes the power of the Holy Spirit and defeats the powerful forces of Satan that is currently deceiving our world.  Therefore, do not cease praying for revival for our nations and world.

Intercessory prayer is a powerful tool in the toolbox of God’s people but like any tool, if it is left in the toolbox, it is useless.  I therefore urge those reading this to open the toolbox of prayer and begin using this powerful tool.  

1. Jeff Zeleny, Eugene Scott, and Peter Morris. Intruder breaches White House grounds, arrested near residence entrance. www.cnn.com. [Online] CNN Politics, March 12, 2017. [Cited: March 19, 2017.] http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/11/politics/man-breeches-white-house/.

2. Bohn, Peter Morris and Kevin. Car and bomb claim at White House sets off security alert. www.cnn.com. [Online] CNN Politics, March 19, 2017. [Cited: March 19, 2017] http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/19/politics/white-house-security-situation/.

3. Matt Dean, Malia Zimmerman, and Ed Henry. Secret Service laptop stolen in New York. www.fixnews.com. [Online] Fos News, March 17, 2017. [Cited: March 19, 2017.] http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/03/17/secret-service-laptop-stolen-in-new-york.html.