Intercession: Spiritual Gifts Definitions, Scriptures, and Ways to Serve
[If you have not already done so, please take a moment now to take this free spiritual gifts assessment. Once you have your results, come back to this and the corresponding 22 blog posts for a detailed description of each of the gifts, focusing on your own as well as becoming familiar with all of them so you can spot and call them out in others.]
Intercession
Intercession—interceding, pleading, approaching God on someone else’s behalf—is something we are all to do. People with this gift are those who feel compelled by God to pray on a daily basis for others. They are completely convinced of the awesome power and necessity of prayer. These are the folks you call first about a concern you have, because you know they will pray. Many with this gift are surprised it’s a gift—they think ALL of us pray unceasingly as they do. They know that their faithfulness in prayer for others invites the power and the presence of God into every circumstance, and that prayer is not something to be taken lightly but is a battleground.
Scriptures that reference Intercession or show someone exhibiting this gift:
Psalms (David); Luke 22 (Jesus); John 17 (Jesus); Acts 8 (Peter and John); Ephesians 1;Philippians 1;2 Timothy 1; Romans 8 (the Spirit); Colossians 1 (Paul); Colossians 4;Colossians 4 (Epaphras).
Questions on the assessment that pertain to Intercession:
People who know me consider me a “prayer warrior.”
When I learn about somebody in a difficult situation, my first impulse is to pray.
I am one of the first people others turn to when asking for prayer.
Some words that describe people with this gift:
Faithful
Trusting
Disciplined
Consistent
Spirit-led
Steady
Potential negatives to this gift:
May not recognize that they have this gift since prayer comes easily to them.
May wonder why others don’t pray nearly as much as they do, and set themselves as the standard.
May think that this gift is somehow less important to the Body of Christ than other more visible gifts.
Some possible ways to serve using this gift:
Prayer ministry/praying for individuals, family, co-workers
Prayer for missionaries and their families
Youth ministry prayer team/Children’s ministry prayer team
New Members ministry prayer team
Women’s ministry prayer team
Prayer for pastoral staff and session
Nursing home prayer ministry
Stephen Ministry
Shirley Giles Davis, author of the God. Gifts. You. Your Unique Calling and Design workbook, Your Unique Design Class Guide, Your Unique Design Facilitator Guide, and Gifts-Calling-Purpose blog, is a consultant, coach, facilitator who has worked with hundreds of faith-based organizations, nonprofit agencies, and executive leaders in a diversity of fields for four decades. She currently serves as Catalyst for Equipping and overseer of Local Missions at her church.
Photo © Shirley Giles Davis.
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