Intercession is a major component of the prayer life of the people at the North Shore Bridge Church. What is intercessory prayer? It is believing and persevering (earnest) prayer to God for the welfare, sake or blessing of another person or entity such as a nation.

In the biblical example above, Herod had just killed James and locked Peter in prison, chained between two soldiers. The people prayed earnestly to God for Peter’s welfare. What was the result? An angel came to Peter and he followed the angel out of the prison to freedom.

Intercessory prayer goes all the way back to Abraham when he pleaded for God’s mercy on Sodom (Gen 18:23-32). Moses and Daniel were intercessors (Ex 32:7-14, Daniel 9). In the New Testament, Jesus was the prime intercessor, a few examples being for his disciples (Luke 22:32, John 17:6-26) and even for his enemies while hanging on the cross (Luke 23:34).

Who do we intercede for through intercessory prayer and for what? The Bible tells us to pray for the people of God (Joel 2:12-13, 17; Romans 1:9; Ephesians 6:18), government leaders and authorities (1 Tim 2:1-2), those in spiritual leadership (2 Corinthians 1:11; I Thessalonians 5:25; Hebrews 13:17-18a), the community in which we live, or another city or nation (Psalms 112:6; Jeremiah 29:7; Daniel 9:3, 16-19), for healing (1 Ki 17:20-21, Acts 28:8, James 5:14-16), pastors and ministries (2 Tim 1:3-7), missions work (Matt 9:38, Eph 6:19-20), salvation of others (Rom 10:1), for people to praise God (Psalm 67:3-5) and many other things that the Bible reveals as God’s perfect will for His people.

We have two forms of corporate intercessory prayer at the North Shore Bridge Church. The first happens at 9:15 AM each Sunday prior to our service when people come together to pray for the leaders, the speakers, the worship band, the teachers, and any and all that are part of the service. Secondly, we have an intercessory prayer home group that meets on Thursday nights at 7 PM. Everyone is welcome to participate in either or both activities. Contact Celine Murray at E-Mail for further information.