How to Intercede

Psalm 100:4 - "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name." (NIV)

Psalm 139:23-24 - "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (NIV)

Proverbs 3:5-6 - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." (NIV)

1 Peter 5:5-6 - "Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time." (NIV)

James 4:7 - "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (NIV)

The basic principles of intercession are: listen to God for direction in prayer and pray out with authority the specifics that he gives you. But, how do we get to the point of hearing God's voice in intercession? And how do we pray with authority? Let's look at some simple principles that will help us practice intercession.

The Steps of Intercession

The steps of intercession were originally brought forward by Joy Dawson, a teacher and prophetic voice in Youth With A Mission. They are simple steps that bring us to the point of hearing God's voice in intercession. Each step is thoroughly biblical in approach and very useful for tracking with God in prayer. These steps can be used as an individual in prayer or as a small group. You may already know your topic for intercession, and you can use these steps to direct your prayers. If you don't know your topic, you can use these steps to form the target for your prayers.

  1. Praise God - take time to praise and thank God for his goodness and for his desire to work with you in intercession. Thank him in faith that he will speak to you. It's important to praise and thank God as the first step. We remember who this prayer time is all about - God himself. He also calls us to "enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise." (Psalm 100:4 NIV)
  2. Check for sin - ask God to search your heart (Psa. 139:23-24) to see if there would be any sin in your life blocking you from hearing God's voice. Most often, it is sin that provides the static noise, keeping us from hearing clearly what God is saying. As God reveals any sin to you, take time to confess it immediately. Walk in humility. That's where his grace and voice flows (1 Peter 5:5-6).
  3. Surrender thoughts, agenda, distractions - we acknowledge before God that we do not want to walk in our own wisdom or good ideas of how to pray (Prov. 3:5-6). So, we surrender our minds and emotions before the Lord in order to hear him more clearly.
  4. Resist the enemy - speak out, "I resist (or rebuke, bind up, cut off, etc.) you, Satan, in the name of Jesus." It is important that we take up our authority here. We are told to resist the enemy, and he will flee from us (James 4:7). The enemy will want to harass our intercession time with thoughts of fear, apathy or unbelief. We should acknowledge the spiritual warfare in our intercession time and deal with the enemy.
  5. Come, Holy Spirit, and speak to us - we then welcome the Holy Spirit to speak to us his direction for the time of intercession. Remember, this is a personal interaction with God. He wants to be acknowledged and welcomed. In this step, we are recognizing that a person is talking to us - the Holy Spirit.

After this point, wait quietly for God to speak. How will he speak? After you have gone through these steps, typically, the next thought that comes to you is the voice of God. Trust him. If a wicked thought comes to your mind, immediately deal with the enemy and keep listening to God. But, usually, a picture, a phrase, a Bible phrase or reference, an emotion, a song or other impression will come to your mind. If you are in a group, you can report back with what you feel like God is giving to you. From that point, you can form the basis for your prayer time. If you are alone, you can just start praying in the direction that God is giving you.

As you intercede, it is important to keep listening to God. He is giving us direction in real time about the target of our prayers. As we follow him step by step, we are affecting real change in families and communities around the world. So keep listening. Remember, intercession is not a static, one-way event. It is relational, conversational and a battle. The enemy is being pushed back, and the Holy Spirit is being released into situations.

For More Study
  • Psalm 100
  • Psalm 51
  • Proverbs 3
  • 2 Corinthians 10:1-5
  • Galatians 5:16-26

Thoughts and Questions for Application
  1. It is an exciting adventure to go through these steps and practice intercession in a small group. Gather some friends together, wait on God and get involved in his purposes on the earth.
  2. Remember that you can go through the steps above during the course of your day. They are very good to practice "as you go" - and keep yourself in a position of hearing God's voice throughout the day.
  3. Practice listening for the Holy Spirit's soft promptings. Follow through on what he is saying to you.

Memorization

James 4:7 - "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (NIV)