Personal Intercessors

Personal Intercessors*
Spiritual Guardians

Personal Intercessors have been commissioned to prayerfully support leaders. (Intercessors International calls them ' leader-intercessors'. ) These Intercessors have lists that pray for that include pastors, missionaries, spiritual leaders, various people, sports celebrities, businessmen, governmental leaders and those in education.

Altho I've mentioned mostly leaders in this category, basically a personal intercessor is someone who has been entrusted by God to carry confidential information in and out of God's throne room for another person, in order to partner in that's person's protection, provision and prayer priorities. When God assigns one person to another, as a personal intercessor, a heart response, like that of David and Jonathan, begins to happen. ( I Sam.18:1) While the spiritual connection between these two people is important, more important tis the connectedness and sensitivity of the intercessor with God. Col 1:9 is the basis for personal intercession:
For this reason.....we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

We are all aware of the scriptures that speak about the three-strand cord of spiritual wisdom, knowledge and understanding. If any one of these strands is overlooked in personal intercession, problems can occur. We might have knowledge of God's will, knowing what He wants a person to do, but lack the spiritual wisdom and understanding of heaven to back it up. We need to guard, in this scenario, that human reasoning doesn't take over and open the door to the enemy.

Wisdom is knowing God's timing and plan for what He wants to accomplish. Without spiritual wisdom, we can do or or say the right thing at the wrong time and bring about hurtful and cause damage. On the other hand, understanding is recognizing God's reason for doing or saying something. When we have God's understanding, our motives for speaking or sharing what we're hearing will be pure, also we'll have the passion to complete the assignment – even if it takes longer than we were expecting! When it's His love fueling us and our actions, we have the energy, grace and strength to not only take up an assignment, but see it through to it's finish!
One of the examples in the book “ Intercessors”, of how the three strands – knowledge, wisdom and understand – might effect personal intercession.

You are praying for 'Bob' when the Lord gives you a word of knowledge that he will be called to the mission field. Do you immediately run to the phone and let him know what you've heard? Or do you wait on the Lord for spiritual wisdom to understand God's timing and plan for going to the mission field? Knowing the person you are interceding for is important when deciding whether to release knowledge. Occasionally God will use us to confirm what He has already spoken to another, but sometimes we are merely called to shoulder the knowledge in prayer. The Lord may simple ask us to carry a word like a seed until He is ready to birth it into that person's life. Our prayers then become the water for that seed.

As we wait for God's understanding to show us both our motive for sharing a word from Him and His motive for calling us into intercession, we may discover we have had a personal agenda in wanting to share. Some intercessors want to share to get close to the one they are praying for; others share to ex cerise control in that person's life. But exposing God's secrets to manipulate others will cause the Lord to withdraw his presence. Even when God does allow an intercessor to share, the timing of that word is critical. Only the right word ( knowledge) at the right time ( wisdom) for the right reason ( understanding) will bring about God's glory.

Remember that even people who love us can be used by the enemy to prevent us from doing a hard thing – even tho it may be the right thing! That's why it's important that personal intercessors do not cloud God's truths with their own opinions. People need to hear what God thinks, not what human reasoning thinks. ( I try to encourage personal intercessors ..as well as prophetic intercessors..to not get in the habit of feeling like they need to explain the words they are getting. This is the area that I find 'human reasoning' gets in and the original word can end up being interpreted thru the intercessor's personal experiences.)

You may be called upon to pray for someone for just a short time, or for a longer term, even years. Only God can determine the length an assignment will be for personal intercession. The point is, to let it go without any feelings of guilt or condemnation. Also, remember to focus on the greatness of God so that you don't get awestruck by the power or position of the people/person you are praying for. Keeping focused on His greatness will also help keep the problem in perspective, so that you can be bold in your intercession.

Are you a Personal Intercessor?
-Do people often seek you out to confide their personal prayer needs?
-Is God repeatedly bringing one or two particular people to mind during your prayer time?
-Has the Lord given you special insight about someone in order to pray for that person?
-Would you rather pray for individuals or for the masses? If you answer is individuals, your prayer anointing includes that of a personal intercessor.

Pitfalls of a Personal Intercessor:
-Bragging about the person for whom they intercede.
-Seeking that person's approval.
-Sharing confidences under the guise of achieving the 'prayer of agreement'.
-Giving words at inappropriate times.
-Using their own words as a ministry of correction.
-Thinking so highly of the person that they neglect to speak truth into that individual's life.
-Interpreting the words and visions received for others with their own understanding.
-Fearing disapproval for giving a word that doesn't make sense.
-Feeling guilty when a season of intercession ends
-Not willing to let go of an assignment

Remember, the anointing of the personal intercessor is always paired with another kind of anointing. They do not necessarily pray every day for that person that God has assigned to them, unless their prayer-power mix is combined with a list anointing. Many intercessors will pray on a regular basis, as the Holy Spirit bring that person to mind. As a personal intercessor, you will find that the more the Lord can trust you with, the more He will entrust to you.

* compiled from the book "Intercessors" by Tommi Femrite - E. Alves - K. Kaufman - check your local christian bookstore for a copy..or Amazon.com