“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

Among the most important weapons in the arsenal of any church or individual Christian is an effective ministry of intercession, prayer, and fasting. Like the vestibule of the church in which we hang our outer garments before entering the main sanctuary, intercession, prayer, and fasting stand as the vestibule of the Spirit, as those who have been called to this special ministry find themselves ushered into the presence of God to stand in the gap and make up the hedge against the enemy and his intent against the church and its membership.

In Isaiah 59:16, Isaiah is prophesying: “And he [God] saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm [Jesus] brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.” Jesus came to earth as an Intercessor. From the day he was filled with the Holy Spirit to the present day, he has been involved in the ministry of intercession. Romans 8:34 says “Who is he that condemeth? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” Intercession is simply going to God on behalf of someone else rather than for yourself. It is releasing the power of God for someone else who needs Christ; e.g, someone who is facing a problem or crisis, then seeing him or her walk in victory over it.

Every child of God is called into a ministry of intercession; however, there are those with a specific calling upon them to intercede. The reason why there seems to be a greater anointing on that person to pray is because they have dedicated and committed themselves to intercession. The ministry of intercession is not a part of the five-fold ministry gifts God gave to the church in Ephesians 4:11. It is a ministry that everyone is to be involved in from the least in the kingdom of God to the greatest.

There are two ways to intercede: (1) pray God’s word over the situation and (2) pray in the spirit. We challenge you to enter into a life of intercessory prayer as Jesus did. We know that Jesus had authority over the devil and that he was the son of God, but his purpose as an intercessor was to give himself for us that we might have eternal life. John 15:13 says: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” In the same manner that Jesus laid down his life for us, we should lay down our lives in intercessory prayer for there is no greater love.

Individuals who have been called to this ministry come together to maintain consistent daily and weekly prayer, intercession, and fasting for the Tree of Life Christian Ministries and all its ministries; and to continuously keep before the presence of the Lord the request and needs of the congregation, and of those who reach out to this ministry. Intercessors meet weekly to come against all obstacles of the adversary for the morning worship service, for the salvation of souls, and the deliverance of those bound. Our primary goal for weekday intercession is to seek out faithful qualified men and women with the ability to lay before the Lord seven days a week for the covenants and purposes of God for the Tree of Life Christian Ministries. It should also provide, under the watchful eye of the church intercessor, the foundation for the needs of any and all spiritual warfare concerning individual and specific needs of the membership and church function in general.