What is an Intercessor?

by Melissa Nordell

“There is a sphere of authority that you have that no one can touch like you can” (Cindy Jacobs)

Ezekiel 22:30:

King James Bible
“And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
“I searched for a man among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land so that I might not destroy it, but I found no one.”

New International Version
“I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land, so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.”

Notice that each translation above of Ezekiel 22:30 has the words: “standing in the gap.” Job, Samuel, David, Moses, Hannah, Paul, William Seymour, Rees Howells, Lou Engle,  others, and above all, JESUS, were examples of how one person stood in the gap through intercession to repair the walls that separated people, land, churches, countries, businesses and other things from God and His will. They helped so many – and you can too, even as one person!

Definition of an Intercessor:  One who goes between God and the person or thing needing change, always yielding to God and doing what He says that He wants the intercessor to do. It always involves yielding to the Lord and not in the intercessor’s flesh or mind just as Jesus never did anything He did not see His Father do, nor say anything that He did not hear His Father say (John 5:19 & John 12:49); and since Jesus is our Great Intercessor and example, we need to only do the same. “Inter” means “between” and “cede” actually means to yield, give up, or formally surrender to another (God). Therefore, intercession means to yield or surrender to God’s direction in what to say or do when endeavoring to make changes for the kingdom.

Intercession might involve: decrees, a root word regarding the situation and what to do about it, a prophetic act, travail, a scripture to decree, to bind something and its name, to worship, to repent for something, dance intercession, and many other ways God might direct, but never from the intercessor’s mind or flesh nor leaning on the intercessor’s understanding. Prov 3:5-6 says: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (NIV).

An intercessor, by calling or by nature as a Christian chooses to stand in the gap on behalf of those who need Godly intervention through prophetic intercession, perhaps due to an inability to intercede for themselves or just needing some extra help. An intercessor has built on the concept of prayer but has moved beyond petition unto God and follows Holy Spirit’s leading prophetically.

An intercessor must wait on Holy Spirit’s direction and do accordingly. There is no distinction between intercession and prophetic intercession since this is how Jesus operated on earth and now as our Great Intercessor. Anything else is the definition of prayer or petition. John 3:6 says: “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” (NIV).

Through intercession, we get the tremendous honor of being a bridge between a person, a group, or a place that needs to fully experience God and all He has for them, transforming them for God’s kingdom advance. When there is a person or circumstance still defined by things that do not represent God’s heart such as brokenness, sin, poverty, crime, lack of salvation, sickness or injustice, an intercessor recognizes a gap between present reality and the possibilities of God’s kingdom which is a kingdom of wholeness, truth, love, health, and justice – like that of heaven. Through following Holy Spirit, that intercessor listens for God’s plan to make a change for the good; to transform, allowing His kingdom to come and His will to be done in the situation.

Of course, the deepest root purpose of intercession is to ultimately bring souls into God’s kingdom. Interceding for land, businesses, churches, people and people groups, cities and nations leads to the salvation and help of many.

For the many varied types of intercessors see: https://strategicprayercommandmin.com/2019/04/08/types-of-intercessors-what-type-are-you/