Prayer / Intercession

Prayer:	A solemn request or thanksgiving to the Almighty: speaking to, communicating with Yahweh - the Creator, for one's-self or for others.
Intercession:	To intervene on behalf of another person or as a peacemaker; can only be made for others.

1. Prayer Likened to Fragrant Incense

Revelation 5:	8: “And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.”
Revelation 8:	3: “And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4: And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.”

2. Ask

The Most High is an extremely generous Person. Like every kind father He is keen to give His children good gifts. But to ensure that we really want them - we must first ask.

1 Kings 3: 5: “In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what shall I give thee.”

Matthew 7: 7: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
9: Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10: Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11: If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”

3. Ask Without Doubting

Doubt is the opposite of faith. Doubt is a form of sin. It exists, in varying quantities in all of us. Fight doubt. Conquer doubt.

James 1: 5: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6: But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7: For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.”

James 4: 2: “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.” (So ask).

4. Ask in Messiah’s Name

To ask in Messiah’s Name does not mean simply to voice the word Jesus (Yahshua, Yeshua or Yahoshua) after a prayer. It means to ask for the glory of Yahweh, for the good of Messiah’s cause, for the spiritual benefit of the church and for the salvation of souls etc. It is most essential that the following mandatory conditions are met. If they are not, worthwhile results will not be obtained.

John 14: 12: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
13: And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14: If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”

5. Settle Differences First

Matthew 5:	23: “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24: Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.”
1 Peter 3:	7: “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.”

The Greek word for ‘hindered’ is ‘ekkopt’ means ‘to cut off.’ In other words if you don't want to have yours prayers ignored, ‘cut off’ or disregarded then as far as is possible be at peace with family and neighbour.

6. Intercession

The Most High wants His people to pray for others and He marvels when we do not. It is one of the few things that really surprises Him.

Isaiah 59:

16: “And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.”

Abraham

Genesis 20:

7: “Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.”
(Prayed for Abimelech.)

Moses

Numbers 11:	1: “And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp. 2: And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the LORD, the fire was quenched. 3: And he called the name of the place Taberah: because the fire of the LORD burnt among them.”
Numbers 21:	1: “And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners. 2: And Israel vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. 3: And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah. 4: And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. 5: And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. 6: And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. 7: Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.” (Prayed for Israel.)
Deuteronomy 9:	20: “And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also the same time.” (Prayed for Aaron his brother.)
Deuteronomy 9:	26: “I prayed therefore unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness, which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand.” (Prayed for the People.)
Exodus 17:	11: “And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12: But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.” (Prayed for victory with uplifted hands.)

Hezekiah

2 Kings 19:

14: “So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram had kept Ramoth-gilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria.
15: But king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If it be your minds, then let none go forth nor escape out of the city to go to tell it in Jezreel.
16: So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see Joram.
17: And there stood a watchman on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, I see a company. And Joram said, Take an horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, Is it peace?
18: So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came to them, but he cometh not again.
19: Then he sent out a second on horseback, which came to them, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu answered, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me.
20: And the watchman told, saying, He came even unto them, and cometh not again: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously.”
(Prayed for Jerusalem and all Israel.)

Daniel

Daniel 9:

3: “And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplication, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:
4: And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;
5: We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:
6: Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7: O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.
8: O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.
9: To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;
10: Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.
11: Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.
12: And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.
13: As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.
14: Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.
15: And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
16: O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.
17: Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.
18: O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.
19: O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.”
(Prayed for forgiveness for himself and all Yahweh's people, also for understanding (chapter 10).

Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ)

John 17:

1: “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
2: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
3: And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
4: I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
5: And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
6: I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
7: Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
8: For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
9: I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
10: And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
11: And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
12: While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
13: And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
14: I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
15: I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
16: They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17: Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
18: As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
19: And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
20: Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21: That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22: And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
23: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
24: Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
25: O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
26: And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

Note how the Saviour first met all the mandatory requirements of prayer. I have glorified your name (done your will.) Not that Yahweh will refuse to hear the prayers of imperfect believers; for we know from experience that He answers every prayer offered by the repentant soul. But if you want extraordinary results then you must first do Yahweh’s will, and then ask in Messiah’s Name. If you do this you are guaranteed astonishing results.

7. Intercede for Others

An intercessor is an advocate, a pleader, a person who makes a request on another's behalf. Believers should intercede for others.

Isaiah 59:	16: “And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor:* therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.”* (Yahweh wondered that there was no intercessor!)
Romans 8:	27: “And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” (The Holy Ghost makes intercession on our behalf.)
Romans 8:	34: “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” (The Saviour also makes intercession on our behalf.)
Hebrews 7:	25: “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
Isaiah 53:	12: “Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
1 Timothy 2:	1: “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;”

8. Summary

Prayer is spiritual incense. Let it rise before the throne of God each day. To get good results follow these few basic rules:

Live a righteous life. Seek to understand Yahweh's will and purposes for the world, the church and for yourself. In other words, obey the Almighty’s commandments.
Ask in Messiah’s Name. For things that will glorify Yahweh and be of spiritual benefit to the cause of Jesus Christ, to the church and to the rest of humanity.
Ask with the right motives. Believers often ask for the right things but with the intention of showing off to others. This is not just a form of self-deception: it is juvenile. It is a waste of time and produces no results whatsoever. So check your motives. Be ruthless when you examine yourself. Constantly examine your motives; for here is where most of us fail miserably. We want to impress others with our power, our wisdom and our fame. Yahweh knows this and answers accordingly.
Wait for the results. They will come. If you are successful, praise God; if not re-examine yourself, your motives and your life. The fault is somewhere there.

Note: Intercede for others. Meaningful miracles will happen! Souls will be converted to Yeshua. Believers will begin to obey the commandments. Yahweh's Signature (His sacred Sabbaths) will appear in the minds of the hitherto rebellious. The good fruit of: faith, obedience, holiness, praise, thanksgiving and sacrifice will soon become apparent. These are the real miracles of grace the Saviour came to perform in the soil of the human mind. These are far greater miracles than the healing of the physical body or the feeding of a multitude with bread and fish. The greatest miracles are seen when sinners give up sin and become holy like their heavenly Father is holy. You could be part of this almost incredible, miraculous process. Join us in aiming to make these verses a reality in our lives:

AMEN!

In the Son’s Name — For the Father’s glory.

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James 1:	5: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6: But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7: For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.”
James 4:	2: “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.” (So ask).