1 Sam 12:23 Intercessory Prayer III CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

Intercessory prayer can be very difficult because it is for others and not for ourselves and so we don’t have the same urgency when we approach the throne of grace on their behalf.  Furthermore, there are some other problems:

Forgetfulness – if you have trouble remembering to pray for people who ask you to pray for them, then write down their requests.  I use a piece of plain white printing paper and fold it 3 times until it measures about 3 x 4 ½.  On it I write requests and group them by type, i.e. work related, health related, salvation, cancer, ministry and so forth.  That way I can carry it with me and pray for these folks wherever I am.  And when I finish praying for one section, I can just refold the paper and pray for the folks in the next section.

Also, if you have trouble remembering to pray for folks, you can just pray with them the moment they make their request.  You can pray over the phone, you can pray with them at the church or the store or the restaurant or wherever you are.  That way at least you will not have forgotten to pray.

Lack of Fervency – Jas 5:16 is about praying for others.  And here, the fellow that gets through to God is the one whose prayer is fervent.  We have to be as desperate for the answer as the one making the request.

Lack of Fasting – Matt 17:21, Est 4:16 – sometimes to get a thing worked out in prayer, you just need to quit eating and get serious about praying.  Fasting helps in certain situations and may be the very thing that gets the prayer answered.

Lack of Faith – Lk 18:1-8, Mk 11:22-24 – this is not the kind of faith being exploited today that manifests its own reality.  This is the kind of faith that knows God and God’s words so  well, that it can rest in the peace that passeth all understanding with confidence when the one praying has gotten through and knows it even before the answer is apparent [Phil 4:6-7].

Now, pray with fervency, fasting and faith without forgetting and you will find that your intercessory prayer life will improve.