Have you ever prayed with the Holy Spirit’s direction for others? It’s known as Spirit-led prayer. I have encouragement and guidance for you today.

Our focus will be based on this verse:

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.
Romans 8:26 NLT

My Spirit-Led Prayer Assignment

In my post for Proverbs 31 Ministries last week, I mentioned an 18-month intercessory prayer assignment God gave me. You can read about that assignment HERE.

Many people asked, “How did you know when to stop praying?” I want to address this question here today.

For starters, I need you to know that this entire prayer journey has been somewhat of a mystery to me. God called me to pray over a specific person in July 2018, a person I know only as an acquaintance, at best. In God’s ways that are higher than mine, and his thoughts that are higher than mine, he graciously and mysteriously gave me prayer details through the Holy Spirit. I still don’t understand it all, but I do know my experience was real.

If God calls you to wait faithfully in prayer, you need to accept that God probably won’t reveal everything to you, and he doesn’t owe you that anyway. It’s simply a joy and honor to be assigned to pray on another person’s behalf, as long as the assignment lasts.

Hearing God’s Voice As You Pray

You must know God’s voice before you begin an intercessory prayer journey. Jesus tells us in John 10:27 that his sheep hear and know his voice. I recognized God’s prayer prompts because I was well familiar with his voice from years of daily Bible study and prayer. Reading the Bible is the best way to discern God’s voice in your life. You’ll be able to differentiate between your own internal voice and Satan’s voice when you become very familiar with God’s Word. It’s a crucial part of intercessory prayer.

God gave me an essential book at just the right time to help me pray with the Holy Spirit’s power. The book is called When You Need to Move a Mountain. It made my top 20 books of 2019 list, and you can check it out HERE.

As Romans 8:26 states, we don’t always know how to pray. But the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. He will also give us specific ways to intercede on behalf of others. Author Linda Evans Shepherd writes, “I have times when the Holy Spirit has flowed in me, not only giving me the words to pray but the burdens to pray about.” That’s exactly what happened to me on my 18-month intercessory prayer assignment.

Praying in the Holy Spirit’s Power

Every day during those 18 months, I went on a prayer walk outdoors and lifted known requests to the Lord. Then I would quietly wait for the Holy Spirit to give me more prompts. Some days, I received many prompts. Others, none or just a few. There was no way I could have discerned the prompts with my own knowledge. God made me promise I would not search for information on this person online, and to this day I have kept that promise. I’m glad I did, because God gets all the glory for those amazing and mysterious prompts.

Occasionally, I heard God’s call to drop everything and pray right then and there, at a non-scheduled prayer time. Once it was while I was cooking supper, and almost all the food was coming together. So I simply went up to my prayer bench in my bedroom, prayed this benediction over the person, and returned to work. Other times, I had to pull over in my vehicle or pause silently while out and about. I believe those moments must have been times that the person needed a greater infusion of God’s strength in their struggles.

When to Stop Your Spirit-Led Prayer Assignment

How did I know when to stop praying? In January 2020, my church started a 40-day fast. They do this every year, but as a new member, I wasn’t yet familiar with the annual rhythm. While in church on the Sunday before the fast, I heard the Holy Spirit say to me, “I want you to pray specific prayers for this person every day of the fast.” So I obeyed. I heard brand-new prayer prompts from God during that fast – that’s one reason I believe fasting is a way to supercharge your prayer life.

Toward the end of the fasting period, the prompts suddenly ran out. I sensed that God gently yet firmly closed a door. It’s probably because the person’s struggle was over and didn’t require the same prayers any longer. It was strange to abruptly stop praying after 18 months of daily prayer, yet I felt peace that God’s will had been done. My assignment was largely over.

The Mystery of Intercessory Prayer

Now, nearly two years after God first called me to pray, I rarely receive more calls to pray.  I’m fine with that. I may have been prompted half a dozen times since January to offer short, to-the-point prayers for the person. I sense that God used my prayers to uplift this person through a difficult season.

I realize that I may not understand how God used my prayers until I get to heaven. And I’m OK with that too. When I agreed to the assignment, Jesus spoke to me: “I am the Alpha and Omega of this journey. It starts with me and ends with me.” It was all for his glory to start with, and it is for his glory now, on earth and in the heavenly places. That’s really all I need to know.

If God calls you to be an intercessor for someone over an extended period of time, I pray my testimony will help you persist in faith. I also hope you’ll regularly meditate on our focus verse today, because it can remind you to rely on the Holy Spirit for Spirit-led prayer. I hope you’ll take the time to read my original post, plus this additional post I wrote on my blog, to gain a fuller perspective. May it inspire you and give you hope for your own prayer missions.

Prayer

Heavenly Father,
I praise you as Alpha and Omega over my life.
You make your voice known to me.
You call me to prayer.
Lord, who do you want me to pray for today?
In which situation do you want me to persist in Spirit-led prayer?
Who can I serve through an intercessory prayer mission?
I am open to your will, Lord.
Holy Spirit, thank you for interceding for me.
Teach me how to intercede for others so I can glorify you.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.

Do you have a prayer request to share with me, or feedback on this devotion? Simply reply to me on my Contact page.

How to Engage in Spirit-Led Prayer for Others

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