I simply love training God’s prophets! They are one of God’s premier officers within
the ranks of Kingdom and Church government. Because intercession is the chisel that
God uses to form, shape and incubate the prophet, they are wired with powerful
intercessory hardware! After all, much of what prophets do on a daily bases is
intercessory in nature.
In my prophetic training classes (Shamar Prophets Training Camp), one of the
definitions I give for intercession is “to cause a meeting between two opposing sides
for the purpose of bringing resolution”. Prophets position themselves as ‘the resolvers’
of Yeshua’s problems and the enforcers of God’s decisions for both His church and the
earth. Prophetic Intercession confronts rebellious and bewildered generations with
God's unchanging desires through the weapon of intercession.
Priest & Prophet Unite
Old Testament scriptures verify that one of the roles of the priests was to represented
the needs of the people to God, whereas the prophets represented the interests of
God to the people. In prophetic intercession the burden of prophet and priest unite at
the highest level.
Look at the picture of prophetic intercession found in Old Testament scripture, that
clearly reveals Moses’ intercessory skill, as he is found pleading to be "blotted of
God's book rather than for God to write off his people! (Exodus 32:32).
Similarly, we see the heart of a prophetic intercessor in the New Testament
demonstrated in apostle Paul who said, "I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my
heart. For I could pray that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake
of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites" (Romans 9:2-
4). Paul was not feigning exaggerated grief in his letter to the church in Rome. This
was one of the many cries he carried at all times in his spirit; as he prayed without
ceasing.
It is intercession that paves the way for the fulfilment of these prophetic assurances:
"For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not keep quiet,
until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that is
burning. And the nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; and you
will be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord will designate" (Isaiah
62:1-2).
This is not wishful daydreaming by Prophet Isaiah. This is the purpose of God revealed
in Isaiah's soul and expressed in his prophesying. He is speaking of the prophetic
intercessors of his generation becoming persistent and passionate in prayer for God's
purpose and plans to be accomplished.
"On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; all day and all night they will
never keep silent. And you who remind the Lord, take no rest for yourselves; and give
him no rest until he establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth." (Isaiah
62:6-7).
Through prophetic intercession, the Spirit of God reveals the will and intent of the
Sovereign God, reminding Him of the covenantal agreements made with His people
throughout history (Isaiah 55:11). Every unfulfilled promise is still in force and will
remain so until fulfilled. Meanwhile they are being pleaded by the Spirit before God's
throne.
A Prophetess Comes Forward
One of the most significant yet under recognized prophetic intercessors in the New
Testament is the prophetess Anna. After seven years of married life, she had been
suddenly widowed and thereafter devoted herself in the Temple to fasting and prayer.
Now, at 84 years of age, we find her still ministering in her.
There was a prophetess, Anna… a widow to the age of eighty four. And she never left
the temple, serving night and day with fasting and prayers. And at that very moment
she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of him to all
those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. (Luke 2:36-38).
In what way can she be considered a prophetess? Unlike John the Baptist, she was not
the herald of the Messiah. Unlike Elijah, she was not challenging the prophets of Baal
or calling down fire. Anna was a prophetess of the secret place, interceding in keeping
with the purposes of God for her generation. Her intercession was her prophetic
ministry.
Undoubtedly Anna's intercessory burden for years had been for a fulfilling of God's
Covenant promises to the patriarchs. She was looking for the Deliverer, the Messiah,
the Hope of Israel. She was one of the prophetic intercessors God had ordained to pray
through those promises of a coming Messiah. God's entry into every generation has
been through a line of faith such as is seen in Anna.
A Covenant Basis
To engage in prophetic intercession is to commit to praying through God's
prophetic purposes. It is a privilege of the highest order, that of entering into
intercession with, and in, Christ. This total yielding to his purpose enables Christ to
function in his High Priestly ministry, in its fullest sense, before the Father. In this
ministry you become a laborer together with God, you enter into partnership with the
Almighty.
The burden of prophetic intercession is the result of a growing conviction of the
purposes of God for our time. Whether it is preached, prayed, or prophesied, a thing
is only prophetic if it brings us into a knowledge of the heart, mind and world
of God in our time. It might be an increasing inner conviction of his will or a sudden
revelation by His word. It may be hearing the condition of something that triggers ones
prophetic spirit as was the case with Nehemiah. Nehemiah heard the condition of
Jerusalem and the distress of the remaining Jews who had survived the captivity and
was moved to fast and pray. He entered into a season of intense intercession. The
basis of his plea is very important for us.
"I beseech thee O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the
covenant… let thine ear now be attentive and thine eyes open to hear the prayer of thy
servant which I am praying before thee now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of
Israel thy servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned
against thee; I and my Father's house have sinned." (Nehemiah 1:5-6).
Nehemiah's plea cannot find its root of hope in any merit on Israel's part, for he
confesses their sin and treats it as his own. Neither is it based on sentiment, for his
heart is scandalized by Israel's departure from God. Nehemiah's prophetic prayer base
was the covenant of God with His Nation. All prophetic intercessory engagement is
rooted in our unwillingness to break covenant with our Sovereign.
Nehemiah did not ignore the condition of Israel, the tragedy that had stripped her of
her land, city, temple and glory. Nevertheless, he found his hope in his knowledge of
God as a covenant-keeping God. Despite what the church today appears to be, the
prophetic intercessor does not base his praying on either good or bad conditions, but
rather on the covenants and future of God.
Coming to the birth
The spirit of the intercessor is the womb in which God's prophetic purposes are brought
to their fullness. It is also through intercession that the church overcomes in the
conflict that surrounds all prophetic fulfillments, the clash between new beliefs and old
traditions, God’s desires and Satan’s agendas.
The prophetic intercessor conspires with God to bring forth his glory in the church.
The word "conspire" literally means to "breathe together". The Hebrew word here
translated "breathed" is literally "to breathe violently." This suggests the intensity of
God's action in the fulfilling of his intention. It was experienced again at Pentecost
when there was the sound of a violent wind filling the house as God sent his Spirit into
the new corporate man of the church.
Prophetic intercession is our conspiring together with God, breathing violently into
situations through prayer in order to bring life.
When any community of God's prophets and intercessors has the spirit of prayer
poured out upon them, they share a sense of divine opportunity and become excited
with the prospect of what God will do. The old limits to their expectation are rapidly
overrun. Their praying embraces new power. They are suddenly liberated from
considering the condition of things from a human perspective, and see from the eyes of
the Holy Spirit. Their intercession assumes a prophetic dimension. It gathers up the
initiatives God has willed for their generation and boldly stakes claim to them.
Such will be the prophetic intercessors of this era. Will you be among them? Anything
less than such selfless, passionate, potent praying will simply be less than what is
required for such a time as this.
"On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; all day and all night they will
never keep silent. And you who remind the Lord, take no rest for yourselves; and give
him no rest until he establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth" (Isaiah
62:6-7).
