First of all... what is intercessory prayer?
"Intercessory prayer is prayer for others. An intercessor is one who takes the place of another or pleads another's case. One study Bible defines intercession as 'holy, believing, persevering prayer whereby someone pleads with God on behalf of another or others who desperately needs God's intervention.'"
There is a rich history and precedent for intercessory prayer throughout Scripture. Some of the main purposes for intercessory prayer are listed with biblical examples below.
Nonbelievers benefit from intercession
Prayer to actively participate in the will of God
In Genesis 18:22-33, Abraham intercedes for the people of Sodom (specifically, his nephew Lot). He prayed:
Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just? ...Suppose there are forty-five... Suppose there are forty... Suppose there are thirty... Suppose there are twenty... Suppose there are ten.
Abraham bargains with God, whittling the the "required" number of righteous men in Sodom from 50 to 10. God agrees not to destroy the city for the sake of Lot and his family. Nonbelievers very evidently benefit from intercessory prayer. Abraham, through his intercession, seems to change God's mind in regard to the whole business of death and destruction - fire and brimstone. I say "seems" because prayer, as is commonly and honestly taught, is more for the benefit of the person praying than it is "for" God. He is blessed by the acknowledgment and worship offered up by the believer, certainly, but His mind is not changed. Prayer, says one wise former professor of mine, invites the believer to participate in the will of God, and partake in the blessing by seeing God work through answered prayer.
In Exodus 8:28, Pharaoh asks Moses to pray for him. This is interesting. Although I doubt the relationship of Pharaoh to Moses was accurately portrayed in the Dreamworks movie Prince of Egypt, it's interesting to speculate through the way they interact throughout the plagues. What was his purpose, do you think, in asking for prayer? Time after time, plague after plague, Pharaoh hardens his heart and refuses to budge and let God's people go. Again, though, a nonbeliever stands to benefit from intercessory prayer, and even requests it.
Prayer for physical needs
Later on, in Exodus 15:25, Moses intercedes for the children of Israel. In their wandering, Israel arrived in a place where there was nothing but bitter water, which they were obviously unable to drink. They were in a desert. Unable to drink anything. Moses cries out to God on behalf of the nation, and God provides a log to throw into the water to turn the water sweet. Moses' position as leader and mediator between God and the people is something of a humorous one. Perhaps he interceded to appease the whining...
Prayer for the faith of other believers
Luke 22:31-32 records Jesus' words of encouragement and warning to Peter.
Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.
Through the example of Jesus Himself, we ought to pray for one another, "that [their] faith may not fail"! If Jesus thought this important, it certainly is!
Prayer for the salvation of others
Prayer for the ignorance of others
Prayer for those who have harmed you personally
In that same vein, learning from the model of compassion Himself, Jesus, Luke 23:34 describes Jesus interceding for those who crucified Him.
Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
Jesus genuinely cares for nonbelievers - if the Cross isn't proof enough, I don't know what is! He cares for their (our) salvation -- for the forgiveness of their (our) sins. He cares that they (we) don't know the truth, not only of who Jesus is, but of the reality of what they're (we're) doing -- actively opposing truth, goodness, and love. He cares about them regardless of all that -- and He is in prime position to be bitter and hateful and seeking revenge for the pain and death they (we) have inflicted on Him. If Christ demonstrates such grace and love on the Cross - the darkest and farthest from God He's ever been - and with His dying breath ask for their forgiveness, then so ought we do the same for nonbelievers, and those who wrong us.
Prayer for the persecuted Church
Acts 12:5 says: So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.
When Peter is ultimately led from prison by an angel (no less!), he goes to the house of fellow believers and interrupts a prayer meeting... they had all been praying for him! God answers prayer, and who needs prayer more than those in prison? Not only are we to pray they are encouraged, and that their faith does not fail, but we ought to pray for their release from prison, their safety, and their witness to those in prison, too (like Paul and Silas - singing songs of praise while in chains!) We are all one Body, regardless of our physical location on this earth. We share the same purpose; the oppression of believers in China and elsewhere in the world affects (or ought to affect) believers here in America.
Prayer for others' discernment, love, fruit of righteousness
Paul makes a habit of writing specific prayers he has for the churches at the beginning of his letters to them. In Philippians, he writes:
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.
(1:9-11)
Another heavyweight of the Bible, let alone intercessory prayer, the Apostle Paul writes letters to the early churches are full of beautiful hymns, prayers, doctrine, and demonstrate his fervent love for fellow believers and the furtherance of the Gospel of Christ. In this particular letter, he reveals his heart for this church, and, I think, all believers. We can pray that believers' faiths do not fail, as seen above, but what does that look like, exactly? Discipleship - the process of becoming more and more like Christ as His disciple - requires knowledge. Believers need to be in the Word! There must be access (and a love of) to Scripture. Through learning the Word, a believer learns what is true and what is false: discernment. This knowledge affects worldview, judgement, and behavior. Further, from learning Scripture, and allowing the Spirit to be more and more in control of a believer's thoughts and actions, the fruit of the Spirit become evident. The fruit of the Spirit (sing it with me!) is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). These are things we ought to pray for ourselves, yes, but for other believers, as well.
Prayer for authority figures
Prayer for the salvation of others
Prayer for peace - godliness and holiness
Not just intercession: thanksgiving, too!
Another letter of Paul's, stressing the need for intercessory prayer, 1 Timothy (2:1-5) says:
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
Certainly, we do not live in a Christian nation. Things could, however, be worse. We are blessed to live in the country that we do - where it is yet legal to be a believer in Christ, to worship publicly, and to share that faith with others. Believers elsewhere, as mentioned earlier, do not have this "right". And these rights are being threatened in recent times, and will continue to be threatened as anti-Christian sentiments gain prominence. Paul (and Jesus!) teaches that though persecution is often inevitable, because the world simply cannot accept the Gospel (as it is foolishness and a stumbling block - 1 Corinthians 1), believers need to pray for peace. In addition to that, regardless of your individual stance on universalism, election, and Heaven and Hell, the Bible says that God desires all men to be saved, and we as believers need to not only be sharing the faith with unbelievers, but praying for the salvation of all men. God will do what God will do, and we must do what He has commissioned us to do: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20).
And finally, kind of as a closing thought:
Is it a SIN not to pray for others?
While I've just outlined prime examples of people praying for others throughout Scripture, is intercessory prayer necessarily a command? 1 Samuel 12:23 says:
As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way.
True, we as individual believers are not in the position of Samuel - for all intents and purposes the anointed leader of the nation of Israel, alongside (and in some senses above) King Saul - but as God's ambassadors in this world, there are similarities in our relationship to an unbelieving people. We are a nation of priests, according to 1 Peter 2:9, and as such, believers fulfill the role of intercessor between believers and nonbelievers with God Almighty. It is an imperative! We are a Body, existing together, growing closer to Christ together; we are ambassadors, promoting His cause and spreading Truth throughout the unbelieving nations! Though we imperfectly fulfill this role, how exciting is it that we have Christ living to forever intercede on our behalf before the Father (Hebrews 8)! So, though it is not a requirement for our salvation to go through another intercessor apart from Christ, we have the opportunity to allow others to partake in the blessing and participate in God's will by allowing others to pray for us, as well! It is for the individual benefit of the believer, and for the corporate benefit of the Body of Christ! Intercessory prayer is huge! And it is an imperative!
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