In these days, there is a necessity for a manifestation of intercession which you will be drawn into in order to walk with God. No one will be able to survive without intercession, because Satan is set to destroy everything that God is bringing forth. Revelation 12:4 tells us that the dragon is waiting to swallow up the manchild, God’s end-time company, as soon as it is born; but through intercession it will be thrust into a place of effectiveness and protection.
There can be no diplomacy or compromise with the satanic antichrist spirit that is filling the earth. False prophets and false Christs are set, if it were possible, to deceive the whole world (Matthew 24:24). Intercession is the front line of today’s spiritual warfare. It is necessary in order to really touch God and to be effective. However, spiritual battles and a serious level of intercession do not appeal to people. Another way of life would seem more pleasing, but the battle of the ages is on, and it has to be won.
No apostleship is possible in the earth without intense intercession. The true apostolic ministries of today will come forth only through intercession. Their survival is dependent upon it. Breakthroughs in God do not just happen. The end-time truths and the pattern of God’s Kingdom are being established through a sustaining drive of intercession. It is actually a way of life. You must understand clearly that no one will get very far in God’s plan for this age without the support of violent intercession. No matter what a man thinks he can do or work, it will be aborted. It will come right up against the impasses and hindrances of Satan unless an apostolic company breaks through. They have to break through. Although a grim picture exists now, intercession will be responsible for opening the door to the greatest manifestation of the Kingdom of God that has ever happened on the earth in any generation in any time, greater even than when Jesus walked on the earth.
All that Jesus did—working miracles, hanging on the cross, and coming out of the tomb—means nothing today if we do not enter into the manifestation of His victory. Christ’s victory over hell means nothing if we do not cast the demons out in His name and finish the work for which He opened the door. He has given His believers the power of attorney to finish it and to bring it forth, to do the business of the Kingdom and get it done in the earth.
It is in this generation that we must cry, “Thy Kingdom come! Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” It is today’s generation that will bring everything down to become the footstool of His feet, until every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord. This generation has to rise up in violence and say, “No longer will we coexist with that which rebels against the authority of the King of kings and the Lord of lords.” The nations have to become His Kingdom. Therefore, what must we do? We must break through the impasses with intercession.
Break through! Do not hold back. Break through! Your prayers must bring the deliverance which is the key to all the other things that must come forth. The manifestation of the sons of God has come to birth (Romans 8:19). They are in the crowning stage of delivery; the head is coming forth. Do you want to see it go back? If the baby comes feet first, there will be trouble. The head must come first. God’s remnant will not get very far without the leadership moving into its place. The end-time apostles and prophets must come forth and move in increasing revelation and perception. The kind of intercession that will produce this must come forth. It is an ugly means, but it is a part of God’s end-time restoration. God has already restored to the Church many New Testament gifts and abilities of the Holy Spirit that are beautiful and wonderful—speaking in tongues, prophesying, discernment, revelation, impartation, and many other attributes that believers seek after. But the breakthrough in God, such as has never been seen, is dependent on one ugly procedure—intercessory travail. The process of birth is beautiful after the baby has been washed, but laboring to have the baby is a painful, ugly experience. The mother goes through it gladly because it is the hope of a new life. The life that has been in the womb has to reach a new dimension. It must come out of the womb and function as an individual.
There is a new spiritual level that we must travail to enter into. It will be beautiful for us, but devastating to Satan. As we intercede for this, it may seem so ugly that we might well say, “We have the uglies!” More time should be spent waiting on the Lord and interceding wholeheartedly with the Body. Intercession may seem ugly, but it has to be done. There always has to be a dedication to something that is worthwhile. A woman anticipating the birth of her baby is prepared to suffer. Her muscle structure must go through an almost unbelievable transformation for that living being to come forth from her womb. As her breasts grow and become more sensitive, she knows that she is being prepared to feed a new life. She will be responsible for another individual in the world.
So, also, the Church is beginning to bring forth ministries in a strange new way. The people must travail to bring forth the ministry of the fathers. They must travail to give birth to the fathers to thrust them up into a higher level. This will also be to the advantage of those who travail. Is this the right way scripturally? Is it right for apostles, like Paul, to actually expect and anticipate such wholehearted intercession from the people they have nurtured? Is this what spiritual leaders should expect from the babes and children they have begotten in the Lord? Paul told the Corinthians, “You are the seal of my apostleship” (I Corinthians 9:2). Many churches were the fruit of his apostolic ministry, and yet he needed his apostleship established through their intercession.
Several Scriptures reveal a pattern of intercession that is related to the first century, to the apostle Paul’s ministry and what happened to him. He wrote to the Ephesians about the importance of intercession. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert (as in warfare) with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. Ephesians 6:18–20. Is it any different today? A living Word has to come forth today, just as it did in Paul’s day. It has to be spoken as it ought to be spoken, and we must intercede to bring it forth. We must believe for the same living Word to be spoken today as it was spoken in Paul’s day, except that he proclaimed the start of the whole Church age, and we must proclaim the days of the fulfillment of the Kingdom.
Paul had often been hindered from going to visit the Christians in Rome. In his letter to them, he wrote, And I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fulness of the blessing of Christ. Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, that I may be delivered from those who are disobedient in Judea (we can become imprisoned by our relationships and circumstances) and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints; so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company. Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. Romans 15:29–33.
Paul told the Thessalonians to pray without ceasing; and he also told them, Brethren, pray for us. I Thessalonians 5:17, 25. Is it right for an apostle to plead with the people, “Pray for me; pray for me! Intercede for me. Help me!” Yes, because there is no help for them if they do not have a ministry who can open the door and lead them into the next step God has for them. Sometimes it is their intercession that pushes him through the door before it can be opened, and that hurts!
In his second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul said, Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you; and that we may be delivered from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command (that is, pray for the Word of the Lord to spread rapidly). And may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ. II Thessalonians 3:1–5. If there were enough intercession for the living Word that is being published in this day, it could change the earth in a matter of months and spread like a great tidal wave.
Another passage of Scripture which establishes Paul’s need for prayer is Hebrews 13:18–19: Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things. And I urge you all the more to do this (pray), that I may be restored to you the sooner.
A ministry may be imprisoned and hindered from doing the will of the Lord by demonic forces. There is no use in being critical of him; just begin to intercede for him and get the job done. Get it finished. Open the door through prayer. Knock on it. Ask, seek, knock—and something will happen. Make sure that it will happen. You may decide to pray, but you will not be able to unless you are dedicated to pray. A dedication to this kind of intercession has to be wrought in God.
Intercession is messy and disagreeable. It goes against the passive flow of our lives. It is the kind of utterance that made the waters of the Jordan pile up when the Israelites crossed over into Canaan. The only way to break through impasses is by interceding and crying and looking to God. To intercede is not an agreeable experience at all. At times you will be assailed with all kinds of problems as you intercede. But in the day that you seek God with your whole heart, you will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13). The Lord said, Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Jeremiah 33:3. This is the secret of making the promises of God work.
Faith is not a state of mind; faith is a dedication of spirit. We predetermine by faith before God that we are going to have an answer. Without that determination, our faith assumes that somewhere something went wrong because we do not have what God provided for us. When He died on the cross, His divine power gave us all things that pertain to life and godliness, and yet we sometimes sit emaciated, like a pile of bones, wondering why we do not have the fulness of God. It is our fault. We cannot become bitter toward the Lord. We must repent before the Lord, facing the fact that a bitterness comes when God does not hand all the promises to us on a silver platter. We will not receive the promises that way. God gives us the promises, as He gave them to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when He promised them the beautiful land of Canaan. He also promised Moses and Joshua, “Wherever the sole of your foot treads shall be yours” (Joshua 1:3). It was really theirs, including the giants and the cities with high walls. He gave it all to them. Today, too, God gives us the promises, including the giants. We have to appropriate His promises and love the Lord with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength, obeying and keeping His commandments.
Perhaps you have never really entered into intercession. Instead of drawing back from it, you must learn to love it, because not much will happen without it. Intercession is to be the explosiveness of real living faith that will accomplish the exploits. The exploits are the works that are to be greater than those which Jesus Christ did on earth before His resurrection and ascension.
You have to go after the promises with everything that is within you. Why? What happened when the promises were given to the first generation that came out of Egypt? What happened to those people? Almost total destruction—all but Caleb and Joshua died in the wilderness. They could not unlearn the ways of Egypt that fast. In the wilderness they longed for the spiced meat and garlic of Egypt, saying, “We loathe this light bread” (the manna that tasted like wafers and honey). Not only did God give them food to eat, but He provided another miracle: their clothes and shoes did not wear out and their feet did not swell while walking through the wilderness. Nevertheless, they murmured and complained because all they could see was where they were. They did not see where they were going. They did not have the overall view of God’s plan. They were not like Caleb and Joshua who wholly followed the Lord (Numbers 32:12).
When Caleb was eighty-five years old, he still had such faith that he and his sons took the hill country away from the giants for their inheritance. He had refused to be a part of the first generation that perished. The second generation of Israelites were those who had learned to fight. Likewise, the generation of children that are coming forth today must be blessed so that they will not walk under the limitations that we have faced. They must be prepared to be gutfighters from the day they are born. They must learn how to walk and how to appropriate the attributes of God to break the impasses and the powers of hell that stand in the way.
Think of the promises you could be walking in right now if there had been enough intercession to bring them to pass. How many blessings in the Bible should you be enjoying as your own? You can have them! Are you tired of walking in less than your heritage? You can walk in it! However, you must realize that nothing will be established without intercession. Every soul that you win and everything that you do will be like an untimely fig that falls off the tree, unless you have travailed and prevailed before God.
That which God provided before the foundation of the world for us to walk in today has to be established. If we will listen, His Spirit will teach us that this is the day when by travail, in the will of God, we can bring forth things that have never been known or seen in the earth before. There has to be this breakthrough. Believers must have greater objectives than trying to keep up with everything that every other church does. They must learn how to really live in Christ, how to come alive and reach a new level of life. They must start believing for the wealth of the earth to be loosed and placed entirely in God’s hands. The usurper must no longer exercise control over everything. This will take place as we become faithful intercessors.
Our tomorrow is going to be created by creative intercession. What is claimed in intercession is what is going to be. Hebrews 11:3 says that by faith we understand that the ages are framed by the Word of God. Speak His Word and it will happen. Kingdom faith will have its first manifestation through intercession. It is a level of prophecy that goes further than the gift of prophecy which edifies and exhorts and comforts. It becomes a creativity of God that brings forth His Kingdom.
Ask the Lord to give you a fresh revelation of intercession. Regardless of where you think you are spiritually, or what you think you are doing, the Lord can give you a new revelation by His Spirit that will show you what intercession actually is. He will make it real to you, not as a theory, but as a living, burning thrust, a revelation so great that you will walk in it. As long as you strive and struggle to intercede, you still have not had the revelation of it. It is to be an activity of faith in your spirit that you will not be able to stop.
Everything that you intercede for on behalf of your brother’s ministry, you too will receive. It will be yours automatically because you are one with him. In the Body of Christ, all should flow in the intercession together. What you thrust your brother into, you will receive too. Do not pray for yourself. You do not have to. Just be one with your brother.
The Lord Jesus Christ ascended on high to the right hand of the Father. He is proclaimed King of kings and Lord of lords. Intercession, then, is actually the manifestation of the authority of the King of kings and the Lord of lords. As you intercede, you are entering into a participation with the authority of Christ. You are moving in the authority of Christ. You stand in a place of faith where all authority in heaven and on earth can be manifested through you. Your intercession may start out with many flaws, but the more you intercede, the purer it becomes. When you are full of the Spirit and moving in intercession, you will find that the intensity of your moving in other areas increases too.
John 14:16 speaks of the Holy Spirit as the Helper; He stands alongside to help. The Holy Spirit stands right at our side to give full voice, to be the Intercessor. When we speak, He is the one who is entitled to speak, and so He gives us His authority. In Acts 2:14, we read that Peter took his stand with the other eleven apostles; and what Peter said, they were all saying. The Holy Spirit was standing alongside them. When the Holy Spirit stands alongside of you, what you speak the Holy Spirit is speaking.
Intercede for the manifestation of sonship to come forth. After that, many of God’s plans will erupt, and the whole world will be filled with the workings of God. After the multitude had been fed the loaves and the fishes, they sought after Jesus and asked, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” He answered, “Believe in Him whom He has sent” (John 6:28–29). It is still the same today. It is based on that faith. Can you believe that Christ is coming forth today in an apostolic company? The word apostle means “one who is sent.” Do you believe that Christ is being sent forth through the brothers who are entering into a oneness of apostleship?
What should you do to work the works of God? Believe! Do you believe that Christ came forth in the flesh of one man? The devil even believes that. The test now is to determine what is of Christ and what is of antichrist. Do you believe that Christ has come in the flesh today? Do you believe in Him in those whom He has sent? Christ is coming forth in a many-membered Body. They are the ones who are being sent to reach the world. They are coming to the birth. They are being loosed into sonship through intercession.
Little private prayer groups can crop up when a few people feel that there are certain things lacking in their church services. These people may even seem to be the most spiritual; however, such meetings fall apart in disrepute, and the ministries are lost because of their withdrawal. In the divine New Testament pattern, it is necessary that group intercession remain within the church and under the authority of the church. A false intercession takes over in meetings that are started apart from the approval and the divine order of the shepherding ministries who can keep an eye on what is being done and what should be done. This does not mean that they have to be present at every meeting. It simply means there should not be separate meetings of intercession that are based on withdrawal. Intercession is to be under the ministry of the church.
There is no real flow of authority unless the ministries of authority partake of the travail in the Body and serve with a foot-washing humility. The world is filled with pastors who do not know how to pray, who only promote and manipulate and lead. They think they have the authority simply because they are leading. What about Christ? He has the authority, and He is always interceding. We ought to follow His example. The manifestation of His authority through us is dependent upon the fact that He ever lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25). How can there be any voice of true authority apart from the leaders being involved with the people and encouraging them? Help your leaders to enter into the flow of your church intercession. Find some way, such as baby-sitting or doing their chores, to take the pressure off of them so that they can give their time to lead intercession.
A flow of wholehearted united intercession can blast things loose quickly. Delays may be due to God waiting for us to be more in one accord, as on the day of Pentecost when they were all in one place in one accord. None of them missed the outpouring. We need to be in one accord; and though we do not have to be in the same geographical place, all of us should be in the same spiritual place of entering into intercession together. Although the Lord answers our prayers continually, the measure of our unity will determine how much we press into intercession, believing for the Lord to answer in an even greater way.