Prophetic Intercession

Photo by Diana Simumpande

And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, “Go up now and look toward the sea.” And went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again,” seven times. And the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” 1 Kings 18:42-44

Elijah had declared a season of drought over Israel. There hadn’t been rain for 3 years. Elijah went into hiding. But a time came when the Lord told him to go back because he was sending rain. We see that even though God had spoken about rain coming. it wasn’t automatic, Elijah had to intercede for rain for the word to be fulfilled.

Today I want us to look at prophetic intercession from the story of Elijah.

TAKE AWAY:

Prophetic declaration

Prophetic declaration is when we declare on earth what God has spoken. We come into agreement with what heaven is saying.

It is impossible for prophetic intercession to take place where there isn’t prophetic declaration. Elijah could pray and ask God for rain because he had a word that confirmed what God wanted to do. Sometimes we are making declarations and prayers where God hasn’t spoken concerning what we are asking for. When we do this we will pray without results.

Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? Numbers 23:19

Prophetic declaration is us catching what God is saying and declaring it in agreement. We don’t declare because we see it with our physical eyes, we declare because we see it with our eyes of faith. We declare it in order for it to manifest on the earth. We declare to bring what is in the spiritual realm into the physical realm.

And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” 1 kings 18:41

What is Elijah doing? He is coming into agreement with the word of God. Ahab couldn’t hear the sound of rain but Elijah could because he was hearing it by faith. Elijah doesn’t wait to see clouds or rain to say it is coming; he declares it and even goes a step further to tell the king to prepare for rain. When we see it by faith, we are able to act and prepare accordingly to receive what we are believing God for.

Prophetic intercession

Prophetic intercession is us taking the words God has spoken over our lives and using those words to pray until we see results.

After Elijah declares that there was going to be rain. He doesn’t just go home and take a nap waiting for rain. He gets to work. He goes up the mountain and begins to intercede for rain. I read somewhere that Elijah positions himself like a woman ready to give birth. So we could say that he was spiritually birthing the word of God on the earth. Prayer is spiritual birthing. It is us taking the spoken word over our lives and through prayer birthing it into our lives.

Most prophetic words will require intercession. Most believers think that all you need is a word from God and you will be okay. So we get words, then do nothing and get angry at God because those words don’t come to pass. If you do nothing, you will receive nothing. We have to know what our part in the fulfillment of those words is. Our part is to intercede and walk in obedience to the word we have heard. If you don’t pray for that marriage you will not see it. If you don’t pray and participate concerning your success you will not see it. If you don’t partner with God in prayer and obedience you will live a life of unfulfilled promises. Prayer is how we co-labor with God to bring forth what He has spoken over us.

Persistency

We don’t just pray, but we stay persistent in our praying. We are told that for seven times, Elijah would pray and then send his servant out to look out for rain. Elijah teaches us persistency in carrying the promises of God. We cannot get weary in praying for the words God has spoken over us. Be earnest and unwearied and steadfast in your prayer [life], being [both] alert and intent in [your praying] with thanksgiving. Colossians 4:2

We cannot get tired of interceding and wrestling in prayer for the prophecies on our lives. We pray without ceasing, we pray until we get the results. We don’t stop short of results.

If Elijah would have stopped the first time he was told there was no rain, there wouldn’t have been rain. If he would have stopped anytime before the seventh time, there wouldn’t have been any rain in the land.

Seven in the Hebrew language is the number of perfection and completion. So we can say that we are required to pray and keep praying until there is a completion concerning that word.

Your seventh time could be one week, or it could be a few months, or it could be a few years, no matter the timing, we keep praying and looking out for the promise until we see it begin to become evident in our lives.

Spiritual Hindrances

Sometimes we wonder why some things are taking so long yet, God is all-powerful and can do anything. Yes, God can do anything and He will do His part but He will not do ours.

Sometimes there is a hindrance because we aren’t partnering with God and doing our part. Other times, the enemy is hindering those promises from being fulfilled; this is why we have to intercede. Other times, God has released the promise but it is in the hands of men. And we have to pray for those involved to align themselves in order for us to receive God’s promises.

We are told, After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.” 1 Kings 18:1

The promise was already fulfilled in verse 1, but we don’t see rain until verse 45. Between those two verses, a lot happens. Sometimes, there are things that need to be fulfilled between our hearing the word, and our seeing its fulfillment. We, therefore, have to exercise faith and patience. If we do our part and let God do His, we will be able to live in fulfilled promises.