April 1, 2026

The Prayer of Intercession

Today I want to help you understand the prayer of intercession…the sixth and last of the kinds of prayer we have been covering over the last week of devotionals.

1 Timothy 2:1 points us to this type of prayer,

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.

Intercession, as we find it here, is a technical term for approaching a king on behalf of another. In a general sense, related to prayer, intercession is seeking God on the behalf of others. But, more specifically, it is coming to God for one who has no standing with Him.

A number of years ago, I was ministering in Nigeria, speaking at a large conference in the city of Onitsha. While there, we were invited to go meet the king of Onitsha.

It was pretty exciting driving in a motorcade with little flags on all the cars. I felt like a big shot! But when we got to the palace, we had to have someone go on our behalf in order to meet with the king. I had no standing with the king, and neither did anyone else in our party.

The person who brought us to the king of Onitsha was an intercessor. And that is the idea of this word intercession. You are coming to the King of kings on the behalf of someone who presently has no standing with Him.

Do you remember when Abraham went before God for the city of Sodom—desiring that God would spare Sodom? What was Abraham doing? He was acting as an intercessor. He was coming between God and someone who had no standing with God.

We all should be praying prayers of intercession. You and I are to make intercession for the lost.

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