Intercessory Prayer Increasing in Loudoun

"For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened" (Luke 11:10). Keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking. In God's time, your persistence in intercessory prayer will reap a spiritual harvest in your life and the lives of those around you.

Intercessory prayer is the act of praying on behalf of others. True believers of intercessory prayer seek not only to know God’s will and see it fulfilled, but to see it fulfilled whether or not it benefits them.

The Biblical basis for the New Testament believer's ministry of intercessory prayer is our calling as priests unto God. The Word of God declares that we are a holy priesthood (1 Peter 2:5), a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9), and a kingdom of priests (Revelation 1:6).

This calling to priestly intercession is found in the Old Testament example of the priesthood. The priest's responsibility was to stand before and between. He stood before God to minister to Him with sacrifices and offerings.

The town of Purcellville is one such place in Loudoun County with a strong church presence, and God’s people within the local congregations there are sowing the seeds for a great church revival. Take a drive along Main Street and observe the abundance of scripture displayed on signs on the front lawns of churches lining the route.

A powerful prayer ministry, Intercessors for America (IFA; http://www.ifapray.org), is headquartered in Purcellville. IFA serves the Body of Jesus Christ by encouraging effective prayer and fasting for the Church, our nation, and our leaders.

As God intervenes and works in the hearts of His people, we must continue to unite and encourage believers in active prayer and fasting for America. IFA informs, connects, and mobilizes intercessors to pray for our nation and our leaders. IFA desires to reach Christians in churches and communities nationwide with information and tools to unite them in prayer.

The IFA Ministry is based on 1 Tim 2:1-4 which states, “I urge you to pray for all people. Plead for God’s mercy on each request, and give thanks. Pray this way for Kings and all others who are in authority, so we can live in peace and quietness, in godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, for He wants everyone to be saved and understand the truth.”

Breakthrough International Ministry of Intercessory Prayer (http://www.intercessors.org) is an international organization headquartered near Purcellville in Lincoln. It is an evangelical ministry processing over 125,000 prayer requests annually. Requests go to a network of 5,000 intercessors who pray individually and faithfully for each request. Their prayer family extends into nearly 80 countries worldwide. “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles” (Psalm 34:17).

When prayer requests come to Breakthrough they are placed in their database and assigned to six intercessors who pray 21 days for each request. The person requesting prayer is kept anonymous to those who are assigned to pray for them. Intercessors are asked to note any Bible verse that comes to them as they pray over their list. These scriptures are reported back to Breakthrough and then passed on to the requester as a Message of Insight.

These two dynamic organizations can inform people about the Spirit-filled life, yielding to the Spirit's work and guiding one in prayer for the release of the Holy Spirit. Believers can become empowered through spiritual gifts for Christian witness and service.

A Final Thought:

Intercessory prayer is the act of interceding to God on behalf of others. An intercessor is called and gifted to be the go-between, who stands before God to petition on behalf of a person, situation, or need, like the priests of Old Testament.

A Prayer Warrior is an intercessor, with a gift to do battle employing a strategic mindset, bringing God’s strategy for victory on to the field of battle with an authority that allows them to identify the appropriate weapon(s) required and the know how to get heaven involved. Prayer warriors may pray for individuals or for an entire city, state, nation or nations.

Both Intercessor and Prayer Warrior have variations of the Lord’s gifting/mantles based on His grace or desire.

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