INTERCESSORY PRAYER BY PASTOR BENNY HINN

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Do you realize as a born-again, Holy Spirit-filled believer what kind of awesome power is available to you in praying for others?

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places… Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. (Ephesians 6:12,18)

The power of prayer should never be taken lightly. God is not looking for religious activity in your life. Today, more than ever, He’s looking for believers who are hungry for the power of God to be poured out upon a lost, hurting, and dying world.

After all, we are co-heirs of God’s rule, and part of our authority in Christ Jesus is the power of answered prayer, especially in the area of intercession.

Intercessory Prayer

What is intercession? First of all, intercession is sacrificial prayer. It focuses less on you and more on others. It asks for God’s power to be unleashed in the world.

Intercessory prayer is also spiritual warfare. And God didn’t tell us to fight a war standing on natural ground with carnal weapons. Far from it!

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds: casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)

We win these battles on our knees! Through intercession, for example, you can pray your children into the will of God!  Through intercession, you can touch your community, seek God’s protection for our nation, and help impact your world. The weapons of Satan are not effective against that kind of prayer life.

A “Secret” Power Unleashed

One of the greatest “secrets” to getting answers to your prayers, including intercessory prayers, comes through understanding the power of praying with the promises of God. It’s a principle that every great giant of the faith has learned and put into practice.

What do I mean? Here are a few examples: Moses and Jacob claimed the declarations of the Lord. So did Peter and John. After the two disciples had been threatened by the Pharisees not to preach in the name of Christ, they gathered with fellow believers and said:

Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth and the sea, and all that in them is: who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the nations rage, and the people imagine (plot) vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. (Acts 4:24-26)

Of course God knew what His Word proclaimed, yet Peter makes a point of repeating it again. “Lord, you said ‘Why do the heathen rage?’ You declared that ‘the rulers would stand up’ … You said, Lord.”

After praying the promises of God, Peter stated:

And, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, by stretching forth thine hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of thy holy child Jesus. (Acts 4:29-30)

What was the result?

And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:31)

If you want the Lord to begin shaking things around you, start praying “Lord, You promised! Lord, You said!”

Praying Prophetic Prayers

Did you know that prophecy, like promises, can be prayed into fulfillment? Daniel was reading the Word of God when he realized that the Lord had promised the destruction of Jerusalem, yet it had not happened. He declared:

I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. (Daniel 9:2)

What was Daniel’s response? He stood on the Word and prayed. “And I set my face toward the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes” (verse 3).

The prophet Daniel happened to be reading Jeremiah 25 that stated Israel would be in Babylon for 70 years. He said to himself, “That’s a promise God made” and made the decision to pray prophecy into fulfillment.

Let me offer another example: In the Old Covenant, God announced He would send the Messiah, and a man named Simeon prayed it would come to pass. “And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:26).

Later, when Jesus was brought to the temple, Simeon took Him into his arms and said, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for my eyes have seen your salvation” (verse 29-30).

What had been Simeon’s prayer for so long?

“God, send the promise!”

Praying the Promises as You Intercede

Today as you intercede for people around you, begin to pray the prophecies that are directly from God’s Word:

• Lord, You said, “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14).
• Father, You declared, “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee” (Psalm 22:27).
• Jesus, You promised, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14).

As you read His Word, the Word will “quicken” and empower you about specific promises and prophecies: “…quicken us, and we will call upon thy name” (Psalm 80:18). The Word arouses and activates His power in you. And once the quickening comes, you’ll intercede with greater power than ever.

Discover the great joy that comes through answered intercessory prayers. Pray for a revival to sweep the world. Pray for your loved ones to know the Savior. Above all, pray the promises!

Reaching Souls

One of the greatest needs is intercessory prayer for eternal souls. As you pray, I ask you to join with me in agreement that we will continue to impact the billions of men, women, and children around the world. Truly we have been given a great responsibility for reaching the world with the life-saving and miracle-working Gospel of Jesus Christ!

We know that “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14). 

This ministry is doing everything we can to reach around the globe with the Gospel through our Atmosphere for Healing Network, This Is Your Day broadcasts, crusades and miracle services, BennyHinn.org, social media, and mission outreaches.

I’m thrilled to let you know that we’re doing it more efficiently and effectively than ever before!

We’re striving to strengthen our outreach efforts while seeking to be even better stewards of your gifts. We are very conscious of the fact that the wonderful partners and friends of this ministry have given sacrificially to keep it strong during these changing times.

And God is blessing our work as we labor together. Recent services have been so powerfully anointed. I’m thrilled with what the Lord is doing. Thousands have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior.

I want you to know how much I appreciate your love and faithfulness to the work of the Lord as you have stood with this ministry to take the Gospel to the nations.

You, dear partner, are a vital part of this ministry. I share these victories with you because your faithful prayers and support are the backbone of everything we do.

I believe with all my heart that this ministry has been prepared for this moment in time! We’re uniquely positioned to be able to move forward in faith rather than being staggered by all the world’s changes. We’re seeing so many opportunities being opened to us, and we know God is showering us with these open doors because we’ve been faithful in the past.

What will we do with these unparalleled avenues of ministry? I believe, with your continued gifts and prayers, we will do whatever it takes to reach the world. We’re part of a great army, and the most wonderful part is that anyone can participate, regardless of age, geographic location, or how long any of us have been believers. 

Together, more than any time in the past, we can truly fulfill the words spoken by Jesus, as recorded in Mark 16: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth shall be saved…and these signs shall follow them that believe…they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”

It’s exciting to be part of something so special. And now, more than ever, we must take this message of hope and healing to a lost and hurting world.

God has promised a special blessing on winning souls: “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him” (Psalm 126:5-6).

Surely, the joy of answered intercessory prayer is made even sweeter through our prayers of agreement, along with our outreaches. Our Lord Jesus told us, “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth” (Luke 15:10).

What great joy! Eternal joy!