The Unexpected Gift of Intercessory Prayer

My phone rang. I scowled and released an exasperated groan. Muscle spasms and headaches had kept me from enjoying quality sleep and hindered my work for days. 

The too-loud-for-today ring squeezed my temples. Still, my curiosity insisted I know who beckoned for my attention.

Blinking hard, I asked God to quell my curiosity and calm my muscle spasms. I squinted to see the name, date, and time clearly on the small screen.

A tinge of worry shoved my frustration into the corner. This friend knew and respected my work schedule. A call from her at this time guaranteed a heavy conversation and a need for prayer.

But how could I intercede for her when I had nothing to offer? No energy. No strength. No optimism. No wise words. Nothing.

Hope slipped through my fingers as my pain levels increased over the past few months. How could I pour into someone when I was running on fumes?

My inner struggle outlasted the ring cycle. I stared at the missed call notification and sighed; Be my strength, Lord.

I knew I didn’t feel well enough to be a vessel of encouragement. So why did my finger tappity-tap-tap my friend’s name and number while my tapped-out soul begged for mercy?

I inhaled, tempted to hang up, and exhaled . . . still tempted to hang up. I shook my head and prayed silently. I’ve got nothing, Lord. This is all on You!

My friend answered. “I know you’re working, but”

“I wasn’t working,” I said. Technically, not a lie. But not the whole truth either.

Compassion welled in my heart as I listened. When my friend finished speaking, I bowed my head, closed my eyes, and began praying out loud. She agreed with whispered affirmations as I proclaimed God’s promises over her and declared His unchanging character traits.

Jesus was and is and always will be the same. Hallelujah!

Our good, good Father is faithful, compassionate, and full of mercy. Hallelujah! 

The Holy Spirit is always with us. He is always working, always able, and always available. Hallelujah!

God was and is and always will be enough . . . no matter what our current needs. Thank You, Lord!

I recited Bible verses I hadn’t even tried to memorize in the past. I sat up straighter and spoke with confidence that grew with every word that bubbled up from my heart and flowed over my lips.

The Scripture-based promises I declared for my friend through prayer were sealed with a guarantee for me too.

Every truth I uttered strengthened my faith in the One True God, the one who hears us, sees us, and loves us completely and continually.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.” (2 Corinthians 1:3–5, NIV, emphasis mine)

Though pain relief hadn’t come in my situation, I prayed from a place of security and contentment that did not depend on my human frailty. I prayed from a well of fullness . . . fullness of faith in the God who reaffirmed that He alone could and would empower me to encourage others of His trustworthiness . . . even when I felt depleted.

God comforted my friend with the same comfort He was, in that very moment, pouring over and into me.

God comforts, a present and ongoing action that is always sufficient for us and for those God leads to receive His comfort through us.

The words we pray for and over others are proclamations of God’s unchanging truth and declarations of God’s proven faithfulness and dependable promises.

As we speak truth while interceding for others, even in our weakness, the Holy Spirit works in mysterious and purposeful ways to secure our belief in all He guarantees to be true.

The more I prayed for my friend and the more I acknowledged God’s constant presence, the more I leaned on the solid foundation of His unfailing, unerring, and unshakable truth.

I couldn’t stop my grateful tears. I couldn’t stop my voice from shaking or my hands from trembling with joy.

My friend called me because she needed to be reminded of truth she already knew and often declared with fierce faith. She needed to hear the same truth I’d seemingly forgotten as I wallowed in my suffering and allowed doubt and despair to taint my hope.

I was not empty, because God had never left me.

I hadn’t lost my faith, because Jesus—Emmanuel, God with us—is the author and perfecter of my faith.

I didn’t need to feel strong, because the Holy Spirit was and always will be my strength . . . even when weakness deceives me and tempts me to focus on all I lack on my own.

When God spoke and created the world, He demonstrated the power of His unerring words, words that always accomplish His purpose and honor His perfect timing.

“And God said . . . ‘Let there be . . . and there was . . .” (Genesis 1:3). Hallelujah!

Our mighty and merciful Triune God merely spoke and made the world we live in, the world we are given stewardship of, the world the Holy Spirit empowers us to impact for good, as we live for Jesus until the day He calls us home or comes again.

When God speaks, He means what He says and accomplishes all He has planned. We can count on God’s words to remain the sturdy fortress in which we find refuge, even when everything around us and inside us seems to be falling apart.

The apostle Paul acknowledged the comfort God gives in our times of need as intended to go beyond us. To impact communities through intercession, to reassure and support, to encourage and provide solace through relationships.

After addressing the church of Corinth, Paul admitted his struggles and shared his hopes for them as a family of believers. His transformed life made him a living testimony of God’s unending power and enduring grace.

Paul confessed his reliance on God and his dependence on intercessory prayer as he wrote: 

“Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. . . On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.” 2 Corinthians 1:9–11

When we feel trapped in the clutches of personal suffering, God invites us to inhale His promises, look beyond our personal space, and exhale His truth with blessed assurance in His unconditional love for us.

The unexpected gift of intercessory prayer is a deepening of our own faith, secured with every word of God’s truth we speak over others and accept as truth that applies to all of God’s children . . . including us.

–Written by Xochitl Dixon. Used by permission from the author.