Do you believe that God has called you to be a prophetic intercessor?
Intercessory prayer is simply praying on behalf of others.
And when this is teamed up with a prophetic gift it can be powerful.
Prophetic prayer occurs when we pray with insights (prophetic revelation) received from the Holy Spirit. We may receive these insights during prayer, or pray about the revelation that has already been received.
We can all pray prophetically. However, a prophetic intercessor is not only equipped with insight from the Spirit. The prophetic intercessor becomes the vessel through whom the Spirit Himself prays.
‘In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.’ (Rom 8:26-27)
The Ministry of the Prophetic Intercessor
“I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.” (Ezek 22:30)
Anna is a Biblical example of a prophetic intercessor. She poured years into her God-given assignment of praying in the temple, leading up to Jesus the Messiah’s birth. (Luke 2:36-38)
It has often been said, that not all intercessors are prophets; but all prophets are called to intercede. And in the Bible, we see specific examples of those in a prophetic office. They took time to pray and intercede for those people and situations they ministered into. [1]
So if you have a prophetic calling, I encourage you to read and be inspired by the list in this article. Even if you do not see yourself as a prophetic intercessor.
17 Signs You May Be a Prophetic Intercessor
Following are some of the signs that I have observed (and personally experienced) in those who have a calling to the ministry of prophetic intercession. The first three signs are common to all of those who have a calling to the ministry of prayer:
- You believe that God has called you to pray and you love to pray more than most people do
- You place a high value on prayer and sometimes wonder why (or get frustrated when) others do not share it
- You have seen significant answers to your prayers
Specific Signs Related to a Prophetic Intercessory Prayer Gift
If you are called to the ministry of a prophetic intercessor, you will relate to some of the following traits:
- You tend to pray more at times when you feel urged by the Holy Spirit. You may know this as a ‘burden’ of prayer.
- Prayer is easy for you when you sense that the Holy Spirit has given you a specific burden or assignment. However, you find it harder to pray when people assign prayer to you as a task or give you lists and times to pray. (Unless you feel drawn by the Spirit to these).
In the past, you may have been intimidated by those who are ‘task intercessors’. These happily spend hours praying over lists! [2] However, God is calling you to embrace your particular gift and calling and see it as He does—highly valued and influential.
- You receive revelation from the Holy Spirit concerning what to pray and how to pray. You may receive prophetic insights concerning the situation you are praying about, to pass on, or to pray further into.
- You may be more spontaneous in the expression of your prayer gift than others who are gifted in prayer.
- You have a strong sense of intimacy with the Holy Spirit when you pray—and this fuels your prayer life.
- Travail is familiar to you—a sense of birthing the purposes of God—and you may have experienced wordless groans or weeping in your prayer times. In this, you can identify with Hannah (1 Samuel 1:10-13) and Elijah—who prayed for rain in the birthing position (1 Kings 18:41-44).
- You do not always need to have specific knowledge about what you are praying for. Sometimes you pray in the realm of ‘mystery’. (1 Cor 14:2) It is enough for you to know that the Spirit has called you to prayer.
- When you have a prayer assignment, it may feel as though you are personally involved and invested in the situation. You may have a sense of identification in the Spirit with those you are praying for. Perhaps, you feel what they are feeling, or sense God’s heart towards them, such as compassion, grief, or mercy.
- You know the ‘secret place’ of prayer. Your prayer life is often hidden, and sometimes not understood or appreciated by people. However, your reward is found in the Presence of God.
(As with all prophetic gifts and ministries, the ministry of prophetic intercession flourishes in the local church community and benefits from oversight. It is a temptation for those with a prophetic prayer ministry to isolate themselves, especially if they feel misunderstood.)
- You experience a deep sense of satisfaction in prayer—especially in being at the right place and time for your God-given assignment to pray on behalf of a person, group, region, or situation.
- You may be sent by God to be in certain places at particular times to intercede on behalf of a situation, person, or region, especially if you are a prophet-intercessor operating in a ‘prophetic office’ ministry.
- Your journey has been lonely at times. Even those around you who love prayer do not always understand the dynamics of prophetic intercessory prayer. You may have experienced some unusual manifestations of the Holy Spirit whilst praying (Rom 8:26-27), that others do not understand. (Note: It is very important that we focus on the fruit and message of the prayer, rather than the manifestations when communicating to others).
- One of your challenges has been to learn to fully release the burden of the Spirit in prayer—not to hold onto it. You have also had to learn not to personalize or hold onto the emotion that identification (point 11) can sometimes bring with it.
- You prefer prayer meetings that have some room for listening to and being led by the Holy Spirit in prayer.
(Note: This does not mean that other types of prayer meetings are wrong. Let’s always honor others who lead prayer meetings, regardless of their culture, methods, or emphasis. They are not wrong—just different from us)
The Prophet-Intercessor
The ‘Prophet-Intercessor’ is someone who has a five-fold ministry office of a prophet (Eph 4:11-13), and who also has a primary calling and gifting of intercessory prayer. As mentioned in point 14, above, a prophet-intercessor may be stationed or sent by God to specific places to pray and make prophetic declarations.
A prophet who is an intercessor will have a greater authority in prayer and prophetic ministry, than a prophetic intercessor. He or she may be used by God to minister through prophecy and intercessory prayer in significant arenas. These may include nations or regions, governments, education, business, and church movements.
Is Intercessory Prayer a Spiritual Gift?
Is prophetic intercession, or intercessory prayer, a spiritual gift? I personally believe so. The prophetic intercessor is graced and anointed to pray. One way of looking at this is to see prophetic intercessory prayer as an expression of the prophetic gift.
Our God who created the snowflake and fingerprints gifts His people in many unique ways. Those of us who are prophetic intercessors know when we find others who have a like calling, that we have found one of our own ‘tribe.’
Intercessory prayer is a significant ministry—and eternity will reveal the fruit and power of the hidden work of prophetic intercession.
Notes:
[1] Some examples: Moses intercedes for Israel (Exodus 34:8-9), Daniel for the Jews (Dan 9:3-19), Jeremiah for Jerusalem (Jer 14:20-21) and Elijah prayed for the drought he prophesied to begin and end (James 5:17-18)
[2] For insights about different prayer gifts, I highly recommend Intercessors Discover Your Prayer Power, by FEMRITE, T; ALVES, E; KAUFMAN, K. 2000. Ventura : Regal.
Prayer Warriors! The School of Intimacy and Prayer is Open
When I began to experience a significant anointing of the Holy Spirit for prophetic prayer 20 years ago, I did not know how to navigate many of the encounters with God I was having.
I saw miracles and breakthroughs in answer to prayer, but I also made mistakes and had a lot of “growth pains” as a prophetic intercessor.
Since then I have been a prayer leader, have been a minister on a prophetic team, and by God’s grace have developed in ministry as a prophetic writer and teacher.
Now I’m passionate about helping others on the same journey I’ve been on. And this week, a long-held dream has come to reality.
I’ve just launched the Enliven School of Intimacy and Prayer with the first series of topics, and I extend you a warm welcome to join me!
Currently on the Prayer School are self-paced video lessons on:
- Intimacy with the Holy Spirit
- Introducing Prophetic Prayer
- Praying the Mysteries of Heaven
- The Gift and Ministry of Prophetic Intercession
- Angels and Encounters
- Bonus mini-eBook on Prophetic Dreams
You can find out more or enroll in the School of Intimacy and Prayer here. Alternatively, you can view all online courses, including the Prophetic School, here.
More help for prophetic intercessors:
Prophetic Intercession, its Power and Pitfalls
8 Signs You May Have a Gift of Prophecy
8 tips For Personal Intercessors
© 2016 Helen Calder – Enliven Ministries: Prophetic ministry for a revival generation
Helen Calder is a prophetic minister and writer, and founder of Enliven Ministries. Helen has a unique gift of equipping in prophetic ministry and prayer. She is known for Enliven Blog (est. 2009), an online resource that reaches thousands of people globally.
I relate to all of it
Hi
I have been experiencing the manifestations whilst in prayer and worship since about 1995. Many times I will shake , my hands , my head, my feet, I will weep, travail in birth, have a sense of hitting in my chest, and pulling up through my chest. At the time the manifestations started I was despritely trying to understand why I was experiencing them, and of course took it to prayer. I had always been called to prayer for people especially when others were in times of danger or involved in car accidents, with names and situations placed on my heart , unable to leave prayer until praise, peace and worship rose in my heart. The Lord spoke to me about each manifestation and I realised that he had placed a breakthrough anointing on my life. I have felt eyes on me many times and had other well meaning Christians attempt to deliver me , but as the LORD asked me ” what do you want more your pride or me” the answer was easy.
Truth is prophetic intercession is not well understood and considered strange at the best of times, however our desire for God and prayer forces us to continue to pray and seek the LORD with everything we have, prophetic intercession becomes a by product of our worship and desire for him. It’s never the focus.
I thank you for these forums where people that have these manifestations on their lives can realise they are normal and have a defined purpose in God through intercession, not to shut down their call, for fear of others and lack of understanding. We need those that will stand in the gap for others.
I have done much research over the years in relation to intercession and am still hungry to learn all I can. There is always so much to learn in God.
Blesssings
Hi Stephanie, I’m sorry I missed your comment, thanks so much!
I love the revelation that you received about having a breakthrough anointing on your life. That says a lot about the cutting edge on the gift of prophetic intercession – I say, ‘amen!’ to that!
I have been running from this for past seven years plus, since second husband passed away. I see now that all the women in my family of origin have this gift to some degree or another, especially my mother who passed on a few years ago. I never appreciated it then. But now? You have answered a number of questions that I have begged God to illuminate for me ever since the disintegration of my own family decades ago—divorce, suicide attempt, depression, infidelity, spiritual warfare on a level I never knew existed—-all in order to “take me out” of the battle over a region in which I was “waging war.”
Occasionally, God would get my attention: praying/interceding over cities I lived in. Prophetical prayers and visions about people and communities, but I could never “stand alone” through it all. Scared to death at times might be more applicable.
Last stronghold? Never finding a believing community that could stand with me or help me to understand what was necessary, I kept having extramarital affairs. I see now that this was Satan’s final stronghold on my life to weaken me and to get my attention on how to serve myself.
Am seeking a like-minded community of prophetic intercessors, but they are nearly impossible to come by …..feel pretty isolated in this. Thanks so much for having this blog.
Trying to come to grips with what IS!
Hi Shaaron, thank you for sharing – yes community is a great thing and God’s plan for our help and protection too. I pray you find the fellowship you need.
This teaching has truly been a blessing to me. God called me to be an intercessor a few years ago and I nevwr understood the difference between prayera and intercession. I started learning through leadings of the Holy Spirit and other intercessors. These last few years God has taken me into prophetic intercession and it has been a great experience. ALL of the 17 signs I can relate to, especially the one about wanting to isolate and it being lonely because of being misunderstood. Also not wanting to pray corporately because I would be given a agenda and I pray according to the Holy Spirit. I also have to constantly remember to release the burdens back to the Holy Spirit because I feel it spiritually after praying for others in my own prayer ministry Prayers on Purpose. This has truly blessed me as well as your other teachings. I will be sharing this with others. God bless you!
Hello LaToyoa, I’m glad to hear the article has been a help to you. I have experienced all of these things myself and it’s a joy to be able to share with others. Your prayer ministry sounds great!
Sometimes when the burden comes it breaks me and lead me to tears before I know it I will start praying. It just looks as if am the one affected or someone close to me. At that point, I suspend every other activities to go down on my knees to pray. After then, I feel greatly relieved and happy
Hi Helen
Indeed our God is good! I came across your blog because I was desperately looking for answers. I am very sensitive in the spirit, I easily perceive the presemse of the Holy Spirit before other people can do so. I also sense the presence of evil spiritsso strongly, it could be a sudden heaviness that falls upon me and as I pray to shake it off my eyes will open and I will actually see the demon responsible. During my prayer time God will show me people to pray for and most times He won’t show me the problem but I would just pray as I sense the leading of the Holy Spirit. This has been a very challenging area for me because I thought if God asks you pray for someone then He has to reveal what the problem is. Now I have found the answer! I was thinking that may be there’s something lacking in me that is why God is not revealing everything to me. I am so relieved to hear that God does not always reveal everything, we operate by faith. You have no idea how you have just relieved me of a burden I’ve been carrying for years. God richly bless you!
Hi Carol, isn’t it wonderful when you discover others are on the same journey and things are explained! This happened to me recently too, so I know how freeing it is. Be blessed!