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WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN

PRAYER AND INTERCESSION?
Intercession is yielding, it is surrendering to God in prayer to such an extent that the Holy Spirit
takes over and prays FOR us. We may be burdened in prayer and seem as if we have exhausted
our word supply. But when we enter into that Spirit realm…

Now in the same way also, the Spirit is conjointly helping our weaknesses because we do not
fully understand what we should pray for, according as it is necessary, but the Spirit itself makes
intercession for us with groanings that cannot be expressed by us. – Romans 8:26

The Spirit itself makes intercession for us! We know something powerful is happening, we know
God is taking over, we know victory is being won; because we interceded.

There are many examples of intercessory prayers in the Bible. These people were determined to
change their world and sometimes that determination changed the heart of God.

3 Biblical Intercessory Prayer Examples

1. Abraham's Intercessory Prayer
2. Moses's Intercessory Prayer
3. Jesus's Intercessory Prayer

A
Abraham's Intercessory Prayer
Genesis 18:16-33

Abraham Pleads for Sodom

16 When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along
with them to see them on their way. 17 Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am
about to do? 18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on
earth will be blessed through him.[a] 19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his
children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and
just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”

20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so
grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has
reached me. If not, I will know.”

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 22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before
the Lord.[b] 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous
with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it
away and not spare[c] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from
you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the
wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place
for their sake.”

27 Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord,
though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than
fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?”

“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”

29 Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?”

He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”

30 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found
there?”

He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

31 Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can
be found there?”

He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”

32 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten
can be found there?”

He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”

33 When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

Abraham's prayer for Sodom -- really for Lot and his family -- is an amazing revelation of the faith
of one man in the justice of Almighty God and an incredible boldness of a mere human before

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the Creator of the Universe. Abraham seems to stand before God alone yet wields significant
influence over God's actions.

Perhaps for Jewish readers, Abraham is the classic example of both Jewish chutzpah as well as
a gift for bargaining. But I think he is much, much more. He has learned to pray. Let's consider
the passage together.

Will Not the Judge of All the Earth Do Right? (18:22-25)

Now we see a most amazing, bold, audacious appeal from Abraham to Yahweh.

"The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the
LORD. Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the
wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not
spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a
thing -- to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it
from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do, right?" -Genesis 18:22-25

Abraham's name for God -- "The Judge of All the Earth" -- is another indication of Abraham's
monotheism and very high view of God's righteousness. The gods in the Mesopotamian
pantheon were not known for their righteousness, but for their capriciousness and sins. On the
contrary, Yahweh is the righteous and holy God! He can be trusted to do what is right. Abraham
is sure of it.

God has just spoken about Abraham's destiny to raise up his family in "doing what is right and
just (mishpāt)" (18:19). Now Abraham demands righteousness of God: "Will not the Judge
(shāpat) of all the Earth do right (mishpāt)?" (18:25). The term "judge" is shāpat, "judge, govern,
act as ruler," is from the same word group as mishpāt, "judgment, justice" in verse 18.2How can
God destroy a city that has 50 righteous residents? He asks. It would be wrong "to kill the
righteous with the wicked," Abraham contends. If God expects justice of Abraham, surely he
himself must be just, Abraham argues. Abraham maintains from God's own character that God
must treat the righteous justly.

Q1: What is the basis of Abraham's

argument that God should spare Sodom?
How does it relate to God's character?

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Abraham's motive in this appeal, of course, is to save his nephew Lot from destruction along with
Sodom. This is the second time Abraham has risked himself to rescue Lot. Now he comes before
the Lord himself with incredible nerve and chutzpah!

Was God upset with Abraham's boldness? No. I think God had set up Abraham for this very act
of intercession by revealing to Abraham his intentions for Sodom.

Boldness Mixed with Humility

Over the course of the next few minutes, Abraham boldly bargains God down from 50 to 10
righteous people that would prevent God from destroying Sodom -- and the Lord agrees.
Abraham dares go no lower.

Throughout this bold prayer, Abraham asks for the Lord's indulgence, repeatedly acknowledging
his own humble place before Almighty God:

 "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the LORD, though I am nothing but dust
and ashes...." (18:27)
 "May the LORD not be angry but let me speak...." (18:30)
 "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the LORD...." (18:31)
 "May the LORD not be angry but let me speak just once more...." (18:32)

Here is a fine balance of humility, knowing our place, and yet boldness, taking the opportunity
that God has given by inviting us to intimacy with him, the King of Heaven. This is praying with
two factors in mind: (1) the joy of having God as our Father and (2) maintaining the realization of
God's awesomeness ("who art in heaven") and holiness ("hallowed by thy name").

Q2: How did Abraham demonstrate his

humility before God? Why must boldness
be tempered with humility?

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Why Does God Bargain with Abraham?
Why does God bargain with Abraham? God could have said, "What I plan is just -- because I say
so!" Certainly, God is the Judge of All the Earth. He would have been justified in destroying that
wicked city and all who chose to live in it. Or he could have said, "Abraham, frankly there aren't
even ten just people in Sodom. Don't waste your breath." Be he didn't.

Instead, he engages in dialog with Abraham to see how far Abraham's faith will take him.

Was the Lord angry with Abraham? Oh, no. Not at all. Abraham is the apple of his eye. He is
delighted that his servant Abraham believes in him enough and understands him enough to ask
this. Genesis 15:6 explains, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him as
righteousness." The faith of this pre-Christian human is wonderful to God. Here is a man who
actually trusts him enough to pray this kind of prayer. Wow!

God loves you when you pray to him. When you call out, "Abba, Father," he hears your prayers
and longs to answer them. After all, you are his child. He has chosen to adopt you into his family
and bless you -- because of Jesus.

Notice, however, about this bargaining session, that Abraham is not offering to do something in
return for God's favour -- trying to buy God's response. Instead, he is appealing again and again
to God's own gracious and righteous character. This is the kind of bargaining that doesn't
demean God by cheapening his response into a transaction, but exalts God by magnifying his
righteousness, by insisting that his great righteousness requires him to spare the city for even ten
righteous persons.

Persistence in Prayer
Abraham's persistence pleases God also. Jesus gave us two parables that teach persistence in
prayer -- the parable of the Friend at Midnight (Luke 11:5-13) and the Parable of the Persistent
Widow (Luke 18:1-8). In both parables, the lesson is the same.

"I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend,
yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will
be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks,
the door will be opened. (Luke 11:8-10)

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"Yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't
eventually wear me out with her coming!'"
And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for
his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he
will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith
on the earth?" (Luke 18:5-8)

An older generation of saints used to call this kind of persistence "praying through," praying until
assurance of an answer comes. If we want answers to our prayers, we too must learn to "pray
through" and not quit before the assurance of answered prayer comes.

The Audacity of Prayer

Through his prayer, Abraham has prevailed upon the Lord to change his mind -- at least to
modify his judgment. Last week with Moses we examined the audacious assumption that
underlies prayer -- that we can influence God to change his mind. Of course, God will never act
against his own character and word. But God can work out his will and purpose in many ways.

Notice how God answers. While there are not ten righteous people in Sodom, God answers
the intent of Abraham's prayer -- to save his nephew. Lot is righteous (2 Peter 2:7), so he and
the family who comes under Lot's protection must be saved. The angels were under strict orders
from God that they were not to destroy Sodom until Lot was safe. When Lot requested
permission to only flee as far as Zoar, the angel granted his petition:

"Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. But flee there
quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it." (Genesis 19:21-22)

Abraham prays and God grants the intent of his request, even though he does not grant
the literal request itself. How wonderful! How gracious!

Lessons from Abraham's Intercession

I believe God intended to teach Abraham -- and us -- several lessons about intercession, that is,
praying to God on behalf of someone else. I see four lessons here:

1. Boldness or confidence before God is necessary. See Ephesians 2:18; 3:12; Hebrews
4:16; 10:19.
2. Humility. Abraham remains respectful of God and cognizant of his own inferiority at the
same time that he petitions boldly.
3. Yahweh's character and word are the basis of the appeal. You can see this some
of the great prayers of intercession in the Bible: Exodus 32:9-14; 33:12-17; Numbers

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 16:20-22; 1 Samuel 7:5-14; 2 Samuel 24:17; 1 Kings 17:20-23; 2 Kings 19:1-37; Ezra
9:5-15; Nehemiah 1:4-9; Daniel 9:4-19; Amos 7:2-6.
4. Persistence in prayer continues until the answer is received.

I invite you to seek this awesome God in bold, persistent, prevailing prayer, based on his
promises and character. Indeed, this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you! (1 Thessalonians
5:18).

Already we can make four conclusions about what an intercessor is:

1. An intercessor has concern for another. Abraham was concerned for Lot and for any other
righteous people in the city (Nielsen, 2020).

2. An intercessor is bold. Abraham was willing to face up to God and to tell Him how he felt.
Likewise, he was extremely bold to question God and to even suggest that He was going to act
unjustly by destroying the city.

Upon further observation, I have found two more things that are true of Abraham’s intercession,
and that also must be true of any intercessor:

3. An intercessor is persistent. In his boldness and out of his concern for others, Abraham
continued with persistence to intercede for the righteous. For when God told him that He would
spare the city if fifty righteous were found, that was not good enough for Abraham. “What about
forty-five”, he said, “or forty, or thirty, or twenty, or ten.” “Will you destroy the whole city if ten are
found there?” But as it turned out, not even ten righteous were found. So, God delivered Lot
and his family, and destroyed the city with all the wicked. The point we are making here is that
Abraham, out of his concern for the righteous, was persistent in his intercession before God.
Therefore, we conclude that an intercessor must be persistent (Nielsen, 2020).

4. An intercessor draws near to God. Verse 23 tells us that Abraham “came near” the Lord. I
get the picture that he was eye to eye before the Lord, probably griping His shoulders and
desperately begging Him to reconsider what He was about to do (No man has seen God,
because God is a spirit; therefore, in this case, God [Yahweh] had made himself in the form of a
man). In all of our attempts to intercede for others we must also draw very near to the Lord—as
close as we can. We must look Him in the eye. We must grab Him. We must show Him how we
feel. It is required of an intercessor (Nielsen, 2020).

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Characteristics of an
Intercessor.
Intercession is not a take it or leave it proposition. When it is fully understood as a call from
God, “intercession asks for surrender to God, persistence and patience, self-discipline, sensitivity
to the needs of others, and penetrating self-examination.” Though the call can be challenging
and even costly, “the spiritual rewards for the individual and the church are beyond price.”(1)

First, an intercessor must be willing to surrender

self to God—heart, mind, soul and strength.
That is the first great commandment for an intercessor. God cannot use us if we are ‘half-
hearted or half-souled.’ And he cannot use us if we are ‘half-sold’ on the truth of the gospel
either. We need to believe fervently in the cause for which we are praying, in God’s ability to
meet the deepest of needs, and in the necessity of our commitment to the ‘neighbour’ for whom
we are praying.” (1)

That’s the second commandment for an intercessor: ‘To love your neighbour as much as you
love yourself.’ “None of us lives a perfect life. We all are sinners. However, we should be
reaching toward perfection; conscious of God’s calling us toward that goal. As we come before
God and stand before our neighbour, let it be as forgiven and forgiving sinners. “(1)

“With that mindset, an intercessor is tuned to God’s channel of truth and grace, conscious of
what God desires, open to and informed by the Holy Spirit in one’s heart and mind, and a student
of God’s Word.” (1)

Secondly, an intercessor needs great persistence

and patience.
A large part of faithfulness is persistence— continuing in prayer ‘in season and out of season.’
Persistence enables us to to pray regularly, whether you are ‘up or down, whether you feel like
praying or not.’ The truth even for a dedicated intercessor is that there will be stormy periods in

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life when prayer for others comes hard, and you cannot seem to get into the act of intercession.
In these dry times, keep on praying—for God is listening and responding the same as ever.

With persistence comes patience and with patience comes trust in God. Though you may not
see an observable answer to your intercessions, keep on praying. This is especially true in
prayers for the salvation of a loved one or the healing of relationships. Patience and trust cause
us to keep on praying.” (1)

Thirdly, an intercessor must be open to the

needs of others.
Not only does an intercessor need to be tuned in to God’s will, but the eyes and ears of one’s
heart must sense the needs of others—expressed and unexpressed. Some requests for prayers
are clearly stated, while others require the leading of the Holy Spirit to help you assess their true
need. It is important at all times to allow the Spirit to direct your mind and heart to pertinent
prayer, and to stay alert and open to the needs around you. Most of all, view the world with the
mind, heart and eyes of Christ.” (1)

Fourthly, being a prayer intercessor requires self-

discipline.
Quite simply, the spiritual and personal life of an intercessor depends on discipline. Performing
this ministry comes not only out of duty or necessity, but also out of love—in grateful obedience
for what God has done for us. The discipline of prayer can be enhanced by these actions:

 Meditate on God’s Word and do so with diligence and a willing spirit. Scripture
is one of the main sources of God’s messages to us. Not only will we see the
relevance of scripture to our intercessory prayer life, but God’s Word also informs
our own personal prayers and guides our everyday life.

 Relaxation is an important part of the discipline of meditation. Relaxing is an

art which needs practice. (Deep-breathing and walking are two useful examples.)
Develop your own style of relaxing and perfect it. As you use it consistently, you will
experience a greater closeness to God through prayer.

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  Establish a regular time for intercession and adhere to it, as much as possible.
If others are living with you, ask them to help you be faithful to your intercessory call.
Carefully pick a time and place that will offer the least chance of interruption and
learn to block out any negative internal and external stimuli. Once a time is
established, stick to it. This discipline will help you overcome the many everyday
distractions that would otherwise draw you away from prayer.” (1)

Lastly, the hearts and minds of effective

intercessors need to be pure and free of
bitterness.
God’s Spirit cannot be at home in a heart cluttered with hate or envy, or lives soiled by sins not
repented. Self-examination is critically important for intercessors to first get right with God before
we come to him in prayer. Scripture reminds us that sustained hands lifted in prayer by an
unrepentant ‘pray-er’ cannot be tolerated by God.”

When we seek forgiveness for our own brokenness, and when we believe and pray under the
guidance and control of the Holy Spirit, God has promised to hear our prayers. “As Christians,
we believe in a God who, above all things, is a God of love. That love for us is infinitely greater
than any earthly parent has ever shown to a child. God’s love never lets us go. It passes all
human understanding. And, while our prayers do not always result in the removal of difficulties
for others or ourselves, when offered in humility and faith they always bring victory over those
difficulties through all surpassing love, wisdom and power of God.” (1)

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