The Scripture Seeds Foundation has established the 12-Gate Prayer Room so that Prayer
Warriors around the world can pray for the areas of the world marked out by the
12 gates of Jerusalem. The hope is that if all Prayer Warriors concentrate their
prayers for protection, healing and salvation for the peoples who live within the
designated areas of the gates, and focus their prayers upon the selected gates of
Jerusalem, the power of their prayers will be strengthened and empowered as more
Prayer Warriors join the gate rooms. By adding your prayers of comfort to the peoples
found within each gate, we believe that God will honor our prayers and shed His
grace upon the people who hear His voice through your prayers.
We ask only that you address your prayers to the protection and comfort of the Lost,
the Unreached, and the Persecuted peoples within these areas. We are not seeking
personal prayers but rather prayers of intercession that will bring hope and enlightenment
to the people of the world who don't yet know Jesus Christ, and comfort to those
who are persecuted for confessing Him as Lord and Savior.
Note: There is an erroneous idea in contemporary Christianity that those who
offer up intercessory prayers are a special class of “super-Christians,” called
by God to a specific ministry of intercession. The Bible is clear that all Christians
are called to be intercessors. All Christians have the Holy Spirit in their hearts
and, just as He intercedes for us in accordance with God’s will (Romans
8:26-27), we are to intercede for one another. This is not a privilege limited to
an exclusive Christian elite; this is the command to all. In fact, not to intercede
for others is sin. “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD
by failing to pray for you” (1 Samuel 12:23).
Note: God calls all Christians to be intercessors. It is God’s desire that
every believer be active in intercessory prayer. What a wonderful and exalted privilege
we have in being able to come boldly before the throne of Almighty God with our
prayers and requests!
Seven Tips for Effective Intercessory Prayer
- Since it is the prayer of the righteous that is powerful and effective (James 5:16),
examine your conscience before you pray, and repent of any sin or harsh feelings
you may have against other people.
- Spend a few minutes in silence, to quiet your mind and come into God’s presence.
- During this time, ask the Lord to give you a sense of the things God wants you to
pray for. Put aside your own agenda, concerns, and desires and unite yourself to
Jesus’ heart. You may want to write down the things that God places on your hearts.
- Briefly reflect on what you wrote down. What do you think God is leading you to
pray for?
- Pray for the things on God’s heart—for those who have no faith; for those who have
fallen away from Jesus; for the persecuted in Christ, for renewal and unity in all
the Christian churches; for respect for all life; for all the lost, unreached, abandoned,
or forgotten children of the world; for those under the power of addictions or bound
by depression, anxiety, or bitterness; and for prisoners and service men and women.
And, of course, pray for your own intentions and those of your loved ones.
- As you pray, take confidence in God’s power to overcome any obstacle. Stand firm
in faith, and wait to see God work in power.
- In your prayer journal, keep a record of what you prayed for, and of the ways God
answered those prayers. Thank Him and praise Him for all the ways He has worked
through your prayer.
Jesus promised:
“If two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them
by my Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:19).
One of the most powerful ways we can pray as intercessors is together with others.
The final chapter of the Book of Habakkuk gives us a glimpse into the heart of an
intercessor, both in praying for a mighty outpouring of grace, and in his abandonment
and trust in God’s provision. Let us take Habakkuk’s prayer as our own as we intercede
for the many needs of the church and the world:
“O Lord, I have heard of your renown, and I stand in awe, O Lord, of your work.
In our own time revive it; in our own time make it known; in wrath may you remember
mercy.” (Habakkuk 3:2)