What’s the difference between intercession and prayer?

First, let’s understand that both are important. Prayer is usually about making a request for yourself or for your loved ones. Intercession means to intercede — that is, for one to intervene (to mediate, to plead, to negotiate) on behalf of another. When we intercede, we stand in between God and another person or a group of persons. Intercession transcends self. It places God’s agenda above our own.

Is everyone called to intercede? Yes. According to 1 Timothy 2:1–2, we are to offer prayers and intercession on behalf of other human beings. Though this epistle is addressed to Timothy, it was written for the Church on the whole, and so we know that this exhortation applies to all of us as well.

How do I know if I am an intercessor? 

Here are a few signs which may indicate that you are called to the ministry of intercession:

• You love the place of prayer, and you love to pray for others. You delight in prayer, such that for you it’s not an obligation, and it’s not boring. For you, prayer is more than a list of needs or requests, it is a lifestyle.
• You probably get bored with prayer lists. You may start out with a list of prayers, but very soon you venture off and start praying in a different manner. Intercessors like to be led by Holy Spirit in prayer — and He doesn’t do things according to a checklist.
• People often come to you with prayer needs, because they’ve realized that when you pray, they see answers come quickly.
• You feel that God has given you a specific assignment to pray through something. Some people have an assignment to pray until abortion is ended; others to see an end to human trafficking; and still others to see justice done, or for some awakening or breakthrough for a specific person, church, city, or nation/nations.
• You recognize when God is giving you a burden to pray. A burden is a strong urge or a leading in a certain direction. This can happen at any time of the day or night, and you can recognize that God is calling you to pray at that very moment.
• You like to pray God’s promises back to Him. This is biblical. Intercessors remind God of His promises (see Exodus 32:13–14 and Isaiah 62:6–7).
• There are times you are given a revelation during prayer. God will give you strategies or insight into a situation of which you have no personal knowledge.
• You sometimes have a knowing in your spirit when something is off; this is actually a gift of discerning, and in this context, discerning is always given for purposes of intercession.
• There are times you are moved to compassion and tears during prayer. This is normal for an intercessor. When you intercede, God reveals His heart in a given situation. You may at times feel grief or a deep hurt when praying for someone or over something (see Jeremiah 31:15–16).
• There are times you feel you have no words during a prayer. At such times, tears or groans are all you can manage. This is called travail, and it is biblical. It may also be referred to as “birthing prayer,” and it plays a part in birthing God’s plans (see Romans 8:26).
• You believe wholeheartedly that prayer can bring the transformation we need.

If you recognize some or all of these signs, perhaps there is a call on your life to intercession. Ezekiel 22:30 says that God is looking for those who will stand in the gap. It is God who issues the call. Our response is to be obedient and say yes. Our second response is to just be available when He is prompting us to prayer.

This article will be confirmation to those who already know they’re intercessors. But for those who have wondered if they are, or who desire a deeper understanding, my prayer is that this will produce a hunger to go deeper in relationship with God. The times in which we live will increasingly require that.

Since the start of 2020, I have heard the word unprecedented expressed more times than I can count. I have to say that I believe it to be true: Just about everything around us now is unprecedented in quality or quantity. Who would have imagined that we would ever see what we have begun to see? We are in a crucial hour. We need intercessors NOW who will stand in the gap for their families, cities, churches, and nations — as never before. My prayer is: Lord, raise up a million more intercessors to stand and take the place to which You have called them. Let this be the hour that the intercessors arise! 

Share with us if you are sensing this call, or tell us about how God called you to intercession.

FA contributing writer Gloria Robles is a passionate intercessor with a prophetic voice for today. For more from Gloria, go to Spotify or Anchor and listen to her podcast, Something To Share. Photo Credit: Unsplash.