What causes despair and burnout in intercessors? This is a critical topic right now because many intercessors in America are experiencing despair and burnout or have gone through this recently.

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I have certainly experienced discouragement from the events of the last few months, which I described in a recent IFA post. God has continued to teach me about the roots of intercessory burnout.

Let’s start with a simple question: What are our responsibilities as intercessors?

I have learned much over the years about boundaries in relationships. It is critical to understand, in any relationship, what is my responsibility and what is not. Setting boundaries in a relationship clarifies the roles of each person, helping each other to set goals and accomplish the tasks at hand. This is necessary in all relationships!  When boundaries are not defined or enforced, we have all seen the problems that result. A strong-willed child without discipline creates chaos in a family. A controlling boss who micromanages stifles employees, causing discontent. A spouse may have good intentions but may actually prevent their partner from maturity and responsibility if the helping is codependent.

How do boundaries apply to intercession? I prayed about the boundaries between God and myself in the area of prayer. I realized they were vague and ill-defined. Is it possible my lack of understanding in this area contributed to my struggles with discouragement? I found out that it did. It’s normal to be discouraged at times, but it should not affect our prayer life which is so central to our relationship with God.

I came across some Scriptures that help define the boundaries that God set for himself and for the human race.

Then God said, “Let us make man in Our image, in Our likeness, and let them rule (have dominion) over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock over all the earth and over all creatures that move along the ground.” So, God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female, he created them. (Gen 1:26-27)

Notice, the Scripture says, let them (man) rule, not let us (God and man) rule. In his book, Rediscovering the Kingdom, Myles Munroe writes about this.

“This statement is most critical and contains the secret transfer of power and authority from God to man. This is significant, because the nature of God’s holiness and integrity does not allow Him to violate His own words. He established mankind as the only legal authority on earth, with the power of attorney to act on His behalf. Perhaps this is why God has never done anything on earth without the cooperation of human entity.”

So, God created man to have relationship with Himself and gave us rule over the earth. He did not include Himself in ruling over earth. Here, the boundaries are defined for God and for us.

The next part of the Scripture discusses the nature of what we have dominion over. Myles goes on to say, “It is essential to note that the human entity is not included in the context of man’s domination. The implication is that God the Creator never intended man to rule over or dominate his own kind, but rather to rule the creation and resources of earth.”

This part of Scripture shows that God intended man and woman to propagate and have dominion over the earth. This promise was spoken at the time of creation and is still valid today. Also, it shows that we do not have dominion over each other. We cannot control people, what they think, or what they do, which is witchcraft.

Why is this important? We see our country slipping into darkness. We all feel this urgency and “burden” to fix it. We struggle when we pray so fervently for so long and it seems God does not answer our prayers. Is there any solace in understanding that God gave a fallen man dominion to rule over the earth? What do we expect the outcome to be? How can a fallen race ever govern righteously? I believe that God intervenes only when asked to.

God is sovereign, created the earth, gave man dominion over it, and made us proprietors. He has limited His activity and intervention on the earth because He gave over his dominion to us. If we want Him to intervene, we must give Him permission. The way we grant permission is through prayer. Saint Augustine said this, “Without God we cannot, without us, God will not.”

We have a very important role in changing the world for good. God created us to work with Him to bring about change in this fallen world. We are a team, each with a role to play.  This concept is important to understand. It establishes the boundaries necessary to allow us to do what we can do, pray, and allow God to act on those prayers. He wants relationship with us. If we do not understand what our role is and what God’s role is, we can take on a responsibility that is not ours. When that is done and God chooses to not answer our prayers in our timeframe, we can go into despair and give up.

God created the earth and gave us dominion over it, knowing full well that man would fall in the garden and fallen man would be ruling the earth with influence from the Prince of the power of the air, Satan himself. Of course, governments would come and go creating all sorts of havoc. He waits for us to call out to Him to intervene as He is bound by his promises to let man have dominion.  So, let us trust Him that in His wisdom He set up the boundaries for man to govern.  Can we trust Him that He knows what He is doing? He had a plan from the very beginning to allow His creation, us, to find Him and worship Him from our own motivations. His plan is unfolding according to His timetable.

Let us not get overwhelmed by all that we are seeing today. Let us keep our eyes on the Lord and be diligent to continue to pray, which is the method created for us to petition God to intervene on our behalf. Let us trust Him as He is the one who chooses to answer our prayers in His timing. Also, let us be careful in praying for others. Our prayers do not control people or rule people. Our prayers should be from a posture of love and respect. “Go get them God” prayers are not very effective.

I think back over the last 5 years how I put myself through much agony. My role is to petition God with my prayers. It’s up to Him to intervene and answer them. It’s a subtle distinction that can be missed when we focus on doctrine rather than relationship. As believers, we also have authority over the spiritual forces of darkness. We can pull down strongholds and bind the enemy. But the final decision to answering our prayers is God. We must have faith to believe in His timing and in His ways of doing things when we ask Him to intervene, even if we do not understand.

Do I think my prayers were in vain because I was a bit off in my approach in prayer? Not at all. God is a God of grace and mercy. It’s not what I prayed that was the issue, it was my motivation to pray that allowed the wind to be taken away from my sails when I didn’t get my way.  I think my prayers were heard, it’s just that I was setting myself up for disappointment with my zeal to fix our nation. Only God can do that and in His timing.

To properly understand our roles as intercessors, we must develop a close relationship with our Father God, His Son Jesus, and Holy Spirit. When we come to believe in Jesus and obey God, a whole different world is opened up to us. The Kingdom of God is ours and with it so many benefits.  One in particular is that we are adopted as sons and daughters of the Creator of the Universe!  Not just servants, but sons and daughters. We have been adopted into a family.

We who have been made holy by Jesus, now have the same Father he has. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call us his brothers. (Hebrews 2:11)

This is very significant. I was raised in a large Italian family, with many aunts and uncles and cousins. We got together often, sometimes 50 or more us. There was much singing, and dancing, and eating.  There was a sense of belonging, that as a child, I cherished. I did not earn the right to be a part of it.  I was part of the Family, the Famiglia. I had the rights to enjoy all the benefits of the gathering because I was simply born into it. We now have the same Father Jesus has. We are in His family. As believers, we are now part of a larger family, to discover and walk into.

Prayer is communication with God. Developing that relationship is crucial to becoming all we can be in Christ. It’s never been about religion, it’s about relationship. As we come to know Him better, His ways, His Kingdom, our prayer life will be more effective and we will be less tossed about by the cares of the world.

In summary, I have tried to show scripturally, that boundaries are established in the Word defining the responsibilities between ourselves and God.

When we see evil manifest in our nation, we can so easily be pulled into the fray and take on the responsibility to defeat the enemy. When we get into this state, we have overstepped our authority and feel “heavily burdened.”  I do not believe this is helpful in our walk with the Lord. Jesus says to wear His yoke, for He gives use light burdens. I believe it when we understand the boundaries between us and Him that we are able to take a heavy burden and cast them onto Him.

Come to me and I will give you rest—all of you who work so hard beneath a heavy yoke. Wear my yoke—for it fits perfectly—and let me teach you; for I am gentle and humble, and you shall find rest for your souls; for I give you only light burdens. (Matthew 11:28)

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time, having cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares about you. (2 Peter 5:6,7)

(I am in no way implying we only pray and then let God fix everything while we sit around and watch. We also are to get involved in society and make known our positions on issues and go wherever God leads us. I believe we are like a boat and God controls the rudder, but we control the boat’s propulsion. If it is not moving forward, the rudder cannot steer the boat.)

I hope this article helps you maintain and establish healthy boundaries in your relationship with God. I want to pray for anyone struggling with apathy, discouragement, or despair:

Dear Father, I lift up my fellow intercessors and ask for wisdom and understanding to help their relationship with You grow in trust and love. May the concept of boundaries be illuminated in each person’s life. Show them what they are and how to establish them in their own lives. I bind the spirits of discouragement and despair in all our lives. I pray You teach us how to open up our hearts to you. For those that have never had a loving family and sense of belonging, I pray you bring revelation to them to understand we have privileges for simply believing in You; not earned or based on any merit, but gifts based on Your Word.  Father, pour out Your love on all who feel unloved.

Do you have a good grasp of your role as an intercessor? Please share your wisdom to others on how you cope or what you do with disappointment when you feel God is not responding in a timely manner to your prayers.

Michael Guidera is an IFA intercessor, retired from a 35 year career developing implantable medical devices that have brought help and relief to thousands of people. (Photo Credit: Unsplash.)