Participating in the Renewal of All Things.

Every day is an opportunity to join God in the renewal of the world, our city, and our neighbourhoods through prayers of intercession. As we pray we talk with and listen to God in many ways: confession, adoration, silence, contemplation, giving thanks, making personal requests, and on and on. Intercession is the form of prayer where we implore God on behalf of others and our world.

Preparation

• Slow down & centre yourself — Before jumping into prayer, take a few deep breaths. Quiet your mind, settle your heart, and invite the Holy Spirit to lead this time.

• Align your heart with God’s — Intercessory prayer isn’t about convincing God to act—it’s about joining Him in what He’s already doing. Ask: God, how are you moving? How can I pray in alignment with Your heart?

• Pray with expectancy — Step into this moment believing that God hears, cares, and responds. Whether you see answers right away or not, trust that your prayers are shaping reality in ways you can’t always see.

INTERCESSION | Inhale Practice

Begin Practice

As we walk out our faith in, and apprenticeship to Jesus, we want to make time in our daily rhythms to pray for others and for our city. You may want to keep a running list of prayers or make a plan to pray for certain people or things on certain days. As a church family, our goal is to make a habit of intercessory prayer. It is a way we join in the ministry of Jesus.

A Word From Dutch Sheets

Here is how author Dutch Sheets describes intercession:

When I say our prayers of intercession are an extension of His work of intercession, the difference is in distributing versus producing. We don’t have to produce anything—reconciliation, deliverance, victory, etc.—but rather we distribute, as the disciples did with the loaves and fishes (see Matthew 14:17–19). Our calling and function is not to replace God, but to release Him. It liberates us from intimidation and emboldens us to know that:

The Producer simply wants to distribute through us.

The Intercessor wants to intercede through us.

The Mediator wants to mediate through us.

The Representative wants to represent through us.

The Go-between wants to go between through us.

The Victor wants His victory enforced through us.

The Minister of reconciliation has given to us the ministry of reconciliation (see 2 Corinthians 5:18–19). We now represent Him in His representation ministry. God continues to incarnate His redemptive purposes in human lives. We don’t deliver anyone, we don’t reconcile anyone to God, we don’t defeat the enemy. The work is already done. Reconciliation is complete. Deliverance and victory are complete. Salvation is complete. Intercession is complete! Finished! Done!

We must ask for the release and application of these things. So, let me offer the following as a biblical definition of intercessory prayer: Intercessory prayer is an extension of the ministry of Jesus through His Body, the Church, whereby we mediate between God and humanity for the purpose of reconciling the world to Him, or between Satan and humanity for the purpose of enforcing the victory of Calvary. Christ needs a human on the earth to represent Himself through just as the Father did. The Father’s human was Jesus; Jesus’ humans are us, the Church. He said, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (John 20:21).