If you have followed Intercessors for America, you know the mandate has been to pray for the nation’s leaders. For over 50 years, IFA has invited intercessors to join a community of people who believe intercession makes the impossible possible. While many may understand what it means to be an intercessor, if you want to learn more or have no idea what this means, this series will lay a foundation for you. You don’t need to have the right qualifications, just a heart that believes in the power of God revealed when we are rightly aligned. This invitation is open to all. 

Have you taken your place on the wall?

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Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

Paul asks the church to make supplication (petition), prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving for kings and all who are in authority. While everyone will be familiar with prayer, not everyone understands that petitions, prayers, and intercession, though all are pleasing to God, are not the same thing. 

Prayer, the most common, has a broad scope, meaning it can cover anything. Most people understand prayer, which is why even people who aren’t saved will pray when they’re desperate. You don’t have to read far in the Bible to find people praying. It is seeking a higher power for help. For Christians, God is our only source of power. Giving thanks and adoration can also express prayer. 

In 1 Samuel 1:10-12, Hannah made supplication.

In her deep anguish, Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” 

Supplication is an urgent appeal to God for help, mercy, or favor, usually for the person praying. It is a heartfelt plea to God. A petition is a specific request made to God or, in some cases, human authority. Hannah made supplication to God; her prayers were mingled with tears for a son, and she vowed to give him back to the Lord. Eli the High Priest, in the tabernacle, did not understand her anguish and accused her of being drunk. When Hannah explained herself, Eli said, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.” (1 Samuel 1:17). 

Eli was the High Priest in Shiloh, which means God set him in place. Although we know that Eli was compromised, he approved her petition and said that God would grant it to her. Petitions sometimes involve human agency; however, prayer is a specific request.  

Intercession is not the same as prayer; like supplication, it is an urgent appeal to God. However, intercession does not involve the person who is praying. It is completely selfless and offered on behalf of another person/ people/ or cause. 

After a time of fasting, Esther bravely went into the King’s court to petition that he and Haman join her at a banquet she prepared for them. She found favor, and he accepted her invitation.

Then answered Esther, and said, My petition and my request is; If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do to morrow as the king hath said (Esther 5:7-8 KJV). 

Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request. For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king. (Esther 7:3-4 ESV). 

Esther had to petition the King; in this case, a formal request to human authority. He wrote the decree after Haman convinced him to destroy the Jews. But when the Queen appealed to the King, she told him, “Let my life be granted, and my people for my request.” She stood in the gap on their behalf; that is intercession. 

The Hebrew word for intercession is paga, meaning to meet with or join, entreat, strike the mark, light upon, and go between. Esther and many others in the Bible did that. Whenever a nation was in trouble, God looked for someone willing to intercede. 

So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one (Ezekiel 22:30). 

In the Old Testament, we see stand-alone figures, like Abraham, Moses, Samuel, and Esther. 

However, after Christ’s resurrection, Paul tells the church to pray, petition, intercede, and give thanks for all in authority. It is a collective invitation to intercede for all who will answer the call.

After His ascension, Jesus Christ is called the Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16). He is the Intercessor, the Ultimate Mediator (go-between) between God and mankind. When we intercede, we are co-laboring with Him in the priestly ministry of intercession. The Holy Spirit, within us, also makes intercession through us. 1 Corinthians 2:10-12 says the Spirit of God searches the depths of God and comprehends God’s thoughts. With our limited understanding and intellect, it would be impossible to know God’s thoughts, but the Holy Spirit does, and He is in us. During intercession, the Holy Spirit reveals God’s thoughts and aligns us with God’s perfect will so we can pray it through. When we reach that place of agreement, it is the “Paga” meeting place, striking the mark. It’s like hitting the bullseye on a target.

Ezekiel 33:20 paints a vivid picture. Judgment is coming; God is looking for an intercessor, a humble yet brave, selfless man or woman who is willing to stand in the gap before Him for the nation, yet none could be found. We know Jesus came to fulfill this verse and is the perfect Intercessor. I still find this verse to be sad.  Judgment was always God’s last option, never His first response. This means the nation was in deep spiritual darkness, and no one was troubled enough to bring it to God. 

I am concerned about the number of Christians I hear and read online who have already written America off. “America is getting what she deserves. This has to happen.” I am in no way condoning any wickedness or corruption, but intercessors, and actually all Christians, are relentless in hope. We know that what God has done before, He can do again. I pray it will never be said that God looked for intercessors to stand in the gap for America, or our own cities, and found none. 

America needs intercessors. Male and female, Young and old, no class barrier, all are welcome. If you belong to Jesus Christ and He is your Lord and Savior, then His Holy Spirit dwells in you. If you believe God has changed the course of history by responding to intercession, and believe James 5:16 (AMP), “The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) is able to accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power].” God is looking for you; this nation needs you; our leaders need you. 

If you are a seasoned prayer warrior, I pray this series will refresh you. I know the battle has been long, and even we can need restoration for our souls and revival for our spirits. If you are new to IFA, curious, or if this crossed your path and you can relate, I pray your passion for intercession will be ignited. 

Intercessors are needed.  Will you accept the invitation? 

Father, 

I believe in the power of prayer and that through yielded vessels, You can do anything. If you are looking for intercessors, someone to stand in the gap, then you have my yes. Here I am, Lord. Holy Spirit, align me with my Father’s will when I pray. Lead me in all truth and reveal the deep and hidden things of God. My heart desires to see your kingdom come and your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven, in Jesus name, amen. 

How are you praying about this issue? Share your scriptures and prayers in the comments below.

IFA contributing writer Gloria Robles is a passionate intercessor with a prophetic voice for today. For more from Gloria, go to Spotify or Anchor and listen to her podcast, Something To Share. Photo Credit: doidam10 via Canva Teams.