THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PROPHETIC AND INTERCESSION
by Pam Clark

As has been often heard, all prophets are intercessors but not all intercessors are prophets. I would venture to say that not all intercessors are even prophetic intercessors, but many are. Prayer is the basis for every ministry, but some have the unique gift from God for praying.

Intercessors are usually very quiet and low key personalities, but forceful in their prayer times. They are even a little "strange" to the general public, hearing things and feeling needs that most others don't - at least not in the measure that they hear and feel them. Intercessors will take a need or a word and rehearse it and rehearse it before the Lord, often using Scriptures to back up the request in asking God to honor His Word. They understand certain things that please His Heart and appeal to that. They know how to knock and keep on knocking. It's a gift, subject to the will of God.

Prophets on the other hand love to pray but their prayer styles are different. Prophets are visionaries. Not only do they see and assess the status quo, they see the needs and desire for positive change. As a prophet matures, they will see many options in the plan of God. They can become so burdened for the needs that many are called judgment prophets for a season because they are so zealous to see God act.

Many in their zeal get ahead of God and man and declare their wishes as the plan when it is only a possibility in the making. A prophet, as a friend of God, walks with God and has insight but can forget the free will that God has given man. God does not reveal all of His omnipotent knowledge to any mortal, but the little that He does release can so impress some that they believe the prophet "knows everything." They don't, but if they walk with God and pay the price to do that, they do get to know His heart and mind and share a portion of His supernatural insight.

When we walk in the Light as He is in the Light, the dark things are exposed. But as that begins to happen, the individual must focus to have the heart that Jesus did and that is to motivate and redeem people to leave the darkness and come into the Light of His Life.

Some are shocked when they begin to see the darkness in others - it can anger them. The Spirit will strive to have them apply that same intensity of light to their own lives. Many do, many don't, but when they do, they qualify for a powerful move and anointing.

When they do, a grace and humility is at work and they can walk as Jesus did - a friend to sinners. This is a friendship that does not partake in the sins, but rather allows them to have the strength and abilities to assist these sinners into the change they need for the better and more powerful life.

And if they can resist the temptation to control and of strings attached and manipulations, they indeed have gone to another level, that of establishing. When they qualify for this level, they are known in the Spirit as office prophets.

Now called intercessors have a special ministry gift that others don't, either in capacity or ability. Every minister must interceed as Jesus for the people they minister to, but intercessors put oil on the wheels. We each have a personal gift of prayer for the working out of our individual calling. No one can steal that, or do that work for you. But when it comes to the Body working as a whole, the intercessors carry a key role.

It's easy to overlook. It's easy to believe that our own prayers are sufficient for the works of God, but our eyes need to be unveiled to this truth. Many people think, "Oh how nice, you prayed." And they take it as a compliment that you prayed for them or that you did something for self improvement or that you genuinely cared or were just whiling away the time in a "comfortable" activity. Many do not understand the spiritual forces at work.

Has your family ever decided to go on an outing and you got everything packed and ready to go, all supplies and monies on hand, and then it was a rotten trip because everything went wrong? I think we all have experienced something like that at one time or another. You had everything you needed, but it didn't work out. Why? Spiritual forces. The enemy hates family cohesiveness and Godly pleasure, even more so in the Body at large. Intercessors will call down spiritual enforcements.

A pastor may make an announcement that a new sound system is needed. For most, we think, just go buy something. But, this is for the work of the ministry. Whether the pastors know and realize it or not, the intercessors of that church will go to work. They won't make an announcement but they will go hard at work over every little detail of that system. It will amaze you the details they get concerned about. They cover this work in prayer. Here, pastors can misunderstand their role and think they are too nosey and inquisitive or controlling. They aren't. Mostly, they are just looking for feedback or direction.

Pastors don't often realize how much they need the intercessors. Unknowingly offend some and some projects can fall through. Wear them too thin, and continually change the plans, and nothing goes smoothly. On the other hand, too, intercessors can overstep their boundaries. They can feel they are called to lead by their work and not have the gift of that leadership anointing. Intercessors do not take the first hits of leadership. They are the enforcements.

Intercession is a servant gift. When Jesus prayed, He prayed for the will of the Father. He worked to do what the Father was doing. He ever interceeds for mankind - even to the point that He laid down His earthly life for us. Intercessors are close to the Father's heart. They follow direction.

Now prophets are seers who make the vision plain so that others may run with it. They don't have the all-knowing mind of God but they have portions of it released to them. God releases a word by His Spirit and the prophets pick up the sound of His Voice and put it into human words. With good and Godly people skills, they convey the messages and other ministers work with that as well.

A prophet may have a wonderful vision and inspired message or idea or even see a serious threat or problem, but it takes the intercessors to pray it through. Now I say that prophets have sentences and intercessors have words.

If God is moving by His Spirit, the intercessors may even pick up some of the words for it before the prophets. But it takes the prophet to make a sentence out of the words.

If the intercessors try to put the words together without the prophets, the sentence may be jumbled up and the message distorted because the full vision is not conveyed yet. But if the prophet's message does not have prayer over the words, the sentence is never completed. That is why I say that prophets have sentences and intercessors have words. You cannot have one without the other.

When office ministers learn how to work with, value and appreciate the intercessors, ministry will take on new effective dimensions. Intercessors may have to wait on the office ministers to get with it, but that also can be a test of self control and something to pray about. We must seek to understand each other and the forces that work against us so the work of the goodness of the Kingdom can prosper.

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