Praying for others may be the form of prayer that most Christians are most comfortable with. After all, every Bible study and theology class ends with a time for prayer requests and prayer.
But is there a certain way we should pray for each other? What does intercession really look like?
First, let’s talk about the word intercession. To intercede is to intervene on behalf of someone else. We pray to the Lord for someone else, making us the intermediary–the intercessor.
We serve one God in three Persons–God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Scripture teaches us to look to Jesus–who is God the Son–and to God the Holy Spirit as the ultimate intercessors on our behalf before God the Father.
Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. (Romans 8:34)
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (Romans 8:26)
We can rest assured that believers are always being prayed for before the throne of the Father in heaven. For, Jesus and the Holy Spirit intercede on our behalf.
Scripture is full of instructions to pray for each other. It is also full of stories of people interceding.
How to Pray for Others
Consider 1 John 5:13-15, ESV, which says:
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
The Apostle John is writing to those who believe that Jesus died for our sins, was resurrected three days later, and is returning again for his people.
Believers have faith in God. We don’t have faith in ourselves, in our words, or in the outcome of our prayers. Instead, we trust in the God of Heaven’s Armies, the Creator of the Universe. He is our Creator, and the Father whom we run to when there is a request of any kind. Because we trust God, we have confidence. We know that if we ask anything according to his will, he will hear us.
God’s will isn’t a mystical plan we must somehow uncover. Rather, John is talking about knowing the will of God through his revealed, written Word. So to pray properly, we need to study and know Scripture.
When we pray to God, with our trust firmly focused on him, and we pray according to his will, we know that he hears us. We also can be confident that he will answer us.
Ephesians 3:9-12, ESV, speaks of this confidence we have in the Lord through his gospel, saying:
and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.
How do we pray for others? We pray like this:
- We believe in Jesus for eternal life.
- We trust in God. Our confidence is in him.
- We ask according to his revealed will in Scripture.
- We have confidence that he hears us and will answer us.
- We remember that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us.
- We know that Jesus is on his throne, at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us.
Take a look at eight prayers of intercession in the Bible that will help you learn to intercede with confidence!
Prayers of Intercession in Scripture
You can become a prayer warrior for your friends, family, and people you know as you learn about prayers of intercession that were prayed by people in Scripture.
The devotional I wrote for you, 60 Scriptures You Can Pray (Whitaker House, 2026) has eight types of prayer you will learn about. Here are the devotions you’ll study covering biblical prayers of intercession!
- May My Child Live Before You | Genesis 17:15-21
- Remember Your Promises | Exodus 32:1-14
- Forgive Their Folly | Job 42:1-10
- Have Mercy, O Lord | Matthew 15:21-28
- Make Her Well | Mark 5:21-24, 35-43
- Praying for God’s Salvation Plan | Luke 2:36-38
- Walk Worthy of the Lord | Colossians 1:3-14
- Let the Gospel Go Forth | 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10
This year, learn more about prayer–and go to the Lord on behalf of the people you love!
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60 Scriptures You Can Pray
The Bible is full of prayer that you can pray too!
How do you pray when you don’t know what to say? The Bible holds the answer.
God doesn’t expect us to pray without guidance. In fact, Scripture is full of examples of ordinary people approaching our extraordinary God in prayer.
Award-winning author Danika Cooley believes that praying God’s Word teaches us how to best communicate with our Lord:
“There are so many lessons we can learn from Scripture about how to approach God and what to expect when we do.”
Danika’s devotional 60 Scriptures You Can Pray covers eight types of prayer from the Bible, the expectations we should have when we pray, and the right heart attitude for prayer.
- Praise | We adore God for who he is.
- Thanksgiving | We thank God for all he has done.
- Confession | We admit our sin to the God who saves us.
- Supplication | We humbly ask God to provide for our needs.
- Intercession | We ask God to meet the needs of others.
- Deliverance | We cry out to God for help in times of trouble.
- Lament | We bring our sorrow to God, our comforter.
- Guidance | We ask for God’s help in determining his will for our lives.
When you read 60 Scriptures You Can Pray, you will:
- Develop a habit of praying daily over a two-month period
- Learn more about prayer in Scripture
- Understand eight different types of prayer
- Expand your understanding of how to pray biblically
- Become better acquainted with God, His Word, and why we pray
Packed with thoughtful explanations of biblical prayer and practical application in each devotion, 60 Scriptures You Can Pray is the tool you need to learn more about prayer–straight from God’s Word.
Want to equip the women in your church to pray biblically?
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