“And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?” – Genesis 18:23
When we think of worship, we picture singing, raised hands, maybe a quiet moment of prayer for ourselves. But there’s an act of worship we’ve largely forgotten: standing in the gap for others. Intercession, praying for someone else’s needs, someone else’s sins, and someone else’s futures, has become a forgotten pillar of worship.
Consider Witold Pilecki, the Polish officer who voluntarily got himself arrested to enter Auschwitz in 1940. His mission? To gather intelligence and organize resistance from within. For two and a half years, he endured unimaginable suffering, not for his own crimes, but to help others. He chose to place himself between the oppressor and the oppressed.
This is the heart of intercessory prayer. We position ourselves between God’s holiness and human need, between heaven’s throne and earth’s brokenness. Today’s passages show us that intercession isn’t just something we do in worship: it is worship. And it reaches its climax in Christ, whose intercession makes our worship possible.
Abraham: Standing in the Gap (Genesis 18:20-32)
Abraham hears God’s plan to judge Sodom and does something remarkable; he steps between God’s justice and human sin. “Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?” This isn’t presumption; it’s intercession as worship. Abraham honors God by appealing to His character, essentially saying, “This doesn’t match who I know You to be.”
Watch how Abraham intercedes. He starts with fifty righteous people and works down to ten. Each negotiation reveals his heart for others and his confidence in God’s mercy. Abraham doesn’t pray for himself here: Sodom isn’t his city. He prays because he understands something fundamental: God delights when His people care about what He cares about. Intercession becomes worship when we align our hearts with God’s heart for others.
The Psalmist: Remembering to Plead (Psalm 85)
The psalmist intercedes for Israel by first remembering God’s past mercy. “Lord, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.” He bases his intercession on God’s proven character. But notice how he moves from memory to pleading: “Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.”
This psalm shows us mature intercession. The psalmist doesn’t minimize Israel’s sin or make excuses. Instead, he appeals to God’s nature: “Wilt thou be angry with us for ever?” He intercedes by reminding God of His own promises. “Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation.” The psalmist worships through intercession by acknowledging both God’s justice and His covenant love.
Hosea: When Intercession Meets Rejection (Hosea 1:2-10)
Hosea’s entire life becomes an act of intercession. God commands him to marry Gomer, knowing she will be unfaithful. Through this painful marriage, Hosea intercedes for Israel by living out their story. The children’s names become prayers of warning: Jezreel (God will scatter), Lo-ruhamah (no mercy), Lo-ammi (not my people).
However, intercession doesn’t always work as we expect. Israel rejects the prophets’ warnings. They refuse the calls to repentance. Yet even in this failure, we see the promise of ultimate intercession: “Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea… and it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.” Hosea’s intercession may have been rejected, but God’s intercession on behalf of His people will not fail.
Jesus: The Perfect Intercessor (Luke 11:1-13)
When the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray, He gives them the Lord’s Prayer – a model of intercession. Notice how it begins: “Our Father” – not “my Father.” Even in personal prayer, Jesus teaches us to think of others. “Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
The parable that follows reveals the heart of intercession. The man knocks at midnight for his friend’s need, not his own. Jesus says this persistence will be rewarded. But the climax comes in verse 13: “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” Jesus intercedes by teaching us to intercede, and promises that the Father will respond with His greatest gift – Himself.
The Gospel Fruit of Christ’s Intercession (Colossians 2:6-15)
Paul reveals what Jesus’ intercession accomplished. “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses.” Christ didn’t just teach intercession – He became our intercessor. He stood between God’s wrath and our sin.
The cross demonstrates perfect intercession. Christ “blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” Where Abraham interceded for strangers, where the psalmist interceded for his nation, Christ interceded for His enemies. His intercession didn’t just delay judgment – it satisfied it completely.
The Song of Those Interceded For (Psalm 138)
David’s psalm becomes the worship response of everyone who has been interceded for. “I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.” Why this confidence? Because “thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” God kept His promise to intercede on behalf of His people.
The vision expands: “All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, when they hear the words of thy mouth.” This is what Christ’s intercession accomplishes – universal worship. Those who were “not my people” become worshipers. Those who deserved judgment receive mercy. The psalm concludes with the confidence that flows from successful intercession: “The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever.”
Conclusion: Recovering Intercessory Worship
How do we model Jesus as the perfect intercessor? We recover intercession as worship. When we pray for others, we participate in Christ’s ongoing ministry. When we stand in the gap for someone’s marriage, someone’s prodigal child, someone’s salvation, we worship by caring about what God cares about.
Intercessory prayer transforms our hearts. We stop seeing people as problems to avoid and start seeing them as people to pray for. We move beyond self-focused prayer to God-glorifying prayer. We align our hearts with Christ, who “ever lives to make intercession” for us (Hebrews 7:25).
This week, choose someone to intercede for regularly. It might be a difficult family member, a struggling friend, or even an enemy. Stand between their need and God’s throne. Worship through intercession, knowing that Christ stands between your need and the Father’s throne.
Points to Ponder
- How does viewing intercession as worship change your perspective on praying for others?
- Who has stood in the gap for you through prayer? How did their intercession impact your life?
- What keeps you from interceding more regularly for others?
- How does knowing Christ intercedes for you motivate you to intercede for others?
- Which relationship or situation is God calling you to bring before His throne?
Prayer
Father, thank You for the pattern of intercession that runs through Scripture. Thank You for Abraham’s boldness, for the psalmist’s persistence, for Hosea’s faithful witness even when rejected. Most of all, thank You for Jesus, our perfect intercessor. Thank You that He stands between Your holiness and our sin, that He ever lives to make intercession for us, that His prayer for us never fails. Help us recover intercession as worship. Show us who You want us to pray for. Give us hearts that care about what You care about. Help us stand in the gap for others as Christ stands in the gap for us. We pray for those who don’t yet know You, that they would come to faith. We pray for fellow believers who are struggling, that they would find strength. We pray for our enemies, that they would become our brothers and sisters in Christ. Teach us to worship through intercession, knowing that when we pray for others, we participate in Your heart for the world. We ask this through Jesus Christ, our great intercessor. Amen.
“The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever.” – Psalm 138:8
Josh Cehulik 