Powerful and effective intercession is the result of believers learning, and living, the principles of faith, obedience, and righteousness. Consider these ten qualities as you stand in the gap for others and position your heart and mind to see powerful and lasting impact.

1. Come in Relationship

Come near to God and He will come near to you (James 4:7).

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Prayer is first and foremost relating to our Heavenly Father. It is from our position as His son or daughter that we talk with Him, meditate on His Word, and interact with His work on earth. Though there is a place for warfare and intercession, our first priority should always be to fellowship with the Father.

2. Come in Love

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8).

We cannot pray effectively or have any spiritual authority concerning anyone we do not love as God does. It’s the love of the Father that provides the needed perspective to pray for those who don’t know Him or can’t see Him. We may not like what others do or agree with their decisions, but God’s heart for them is unchanging and is always redemptive.

3. Come in Faith

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

 Faith comes by reading, listening to, and embracing His Word. It comes as we worship and praise Him. It grows as we focus our heart and attention on what He has already accomplished in our lives. Getting rid of anxiety or fear and nurturing a faith that is unshakeable enables effective intercessors to move mountains and displace strongholds.

4. Come in Obedience

“If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7).

 The fruit of our prayers is often determined by our own walk of obedience to His Word. He will entrust spiritual authority to those who follow through with His commands. Effective intercessors determine to walk in personal obedience and pray from that place of total surrender to His will and purpose. 

5. Pray with proper authority

“I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over Me” (John 14:30). He was heard because of His reverent submission (Hebrews 5:7).

 Jesus had authority over the enemy because there was nothing the Accuser could bring against Him in the courts of heaven. Because Jesus was in submission to His Father and was free of sin and compromise, He had legal authority over the evil one. Intercession has enhanced power when one is submitted to God’s appointed spiritual authorities, both in heaven as well as on earth.

6. Pray for Holiness

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).

Jesus is preparing for Himself a Bride that is without spot or wrinkle. His goal is to make us holy so that we might truly see Him and know Him. This may involve pruning and discipline, but we can pray with the assurance of His redemptive purpose in setting apart a people to display His glory and shatter the darkness.

7. Pray for the Heart

“The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). 

Ultimately, any sin issue is a heart issue. As we intercede for those struggling in sin and darkness, effective prayers will go straight to the heart, asking that it would be hungry and thirsty for Truth. Praying for this deep region of the soul can bring the Father’s healing touch and convert even the hardest of hearts.

8. Pray for Truth

“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—He will testify about Me” (John 15:26).  

Truth is what sets the heart free. People are held captive by the Father of Lies. Lack of information and ignorance of God’s Word can be displaced when we pray for accurate facts and a clear presentation of Truth. Jesus is the Living Word that reveals the Heavenly Father’s heart to those searching for answers.

9. Pray for Right Agreements

 Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses (2 Corinthians 13:1).  

There is power in agreement. Our spiritual adversary knows this and works to unite the ungodly in order to accomplish his plans. Godly prayers work when believers come into oneness of heart and spirit in order to resist the enemy’s schemes and stand firm in God’s righteous purposes. Spiritual power is multiplied where God finds agreement (Matthew 18:19, “If two of you agree on earth…”).

10. Pray for Tangible Evidence

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power (1 Corinthians 2:4).

Many who are lost and wandering are looking for evidence of a loving God. The church was birthed in signs, wonders, and miracles in order to display God’s power and love to those who were truly seeking. Effective intercessors believe that the power of God’s love should be experienced in personal and tangible ways. Prayers are offered with great expectation in a supernatural God who moves in love and power to give hope to a dying world.

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