Examples of Intercessors

There are various examples of Intercessors in the Bible. Our greatest example is the Lord Jesus Christ. Others include (but are not limited to) Abraham, Moses, Aaron, Hur, Daniel, Anna the prophetess and Paul the Apostle.

Jesus Christ

Romans 3:23 says; “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” As a result of this fact, the whole world was doomed for an everlasting destruction, but Jesus came in as the mediator between God and man. For he is our peace, who hath made both, one and hath broken the middle wall of partition between us.-Ephesians 2:14 His whole lifetime was the life of intercession because He poured it out for mankind. He also taught His disciples to intercede by showing them the example. In Luke 22:31-32, He said to Peter “Satan hath desired to have you... but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not...”. and in John 17, He interceded for His disciples and future believers. Finally, Hebrew 7:25 and Romans 8:34 confirm the on-going intercessory ministry of Jesus Christ. He came and lived the life of an intercessor, He died as a mediator and now that He has risen from the dead, He is taking His position at the right hand of God where He lives to make intercession for us.

Abraham

Abraham interceded for Sodom and Gomorrah because of Lot and his family. Genesis 18:22-33

Moses

Moses stood in the gap before God for the children of Israel when they sinned against God. Exodus 32:11-14 And Moses besought the Lord his God , and said, Lord why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou has brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak and say, for mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath and repent of this evil against thy people. And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

Aaron and Hur

In Exodus 17, Joshua led the Israelites to war against the Amalekites while Moses, Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed. But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. [The result?] And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. While Moses stood in for Joshua as an intercessor, Aaron and Hur stood in for Moses and the result was the victory won by Joshua at the battle field.

Daniel

In Daniel chapter nine, the Bible recorded that Daniel discovered the written prophecy of Jeremiah in which the specific numbers of years of the desolation of Jerusalem was mentioned. He therefore took this prophecy to the Lord in prayer and the whole chapter is an account of his intercession before God for Jerusalem. This is what I call prophetic Intercession. I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. And l set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplication, with fasting, and sackcloth and ashes. - Dan 9:2-3

Anna the Prophetess

In Luke 2: 36&37 we read: And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity. And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. If Anna was praying for her personal needs,it would not have been recorded as a service to the Lord. That she served God through prayer implies that she was praying for the needs of others. She was an intercessor,standing in the gap before God for others with prayer and fasting and it was recorded before God as a service.

Paul the Apostle

Another example of Intercessor in the New Testament is Paul the Apostle. In the book of Philemon, he stood in the gap between two men - Philemon and Onesimus for a godly purpose (reconciliation). This is the type of the intercession that Jesus did between God and man, reconciling us back to Him. (Please read the book of Philemon) Paul's soul-winning ministry was always coupled with intercession as seen in the following scriptures. My little children, of whom l travail in birth until Christ be formed in you. - Galatians 4:19 ("travail in birth" is a figurative expression for intercession/prayer) Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. - Rom. 10:2 Paul's style of ministry therefore is a proof that evangelism is not complete without intercession.

Finally, it is important to know that the

Holy Spirit in the believer is also an intercessor.

He intercedes for us and gives us the power to intercede for others. Rom. 8:26-27. These among many others are our great examples of intercessors who made tremendous impacts on earth through the power of prayer.

May these inspire you into action as you join the chariot of those who are ready to profit the economy of heaven through the ministry of intercession.