TYPES OF INTERCESSOR: What type are you?
By Melissa Nordell
Types of Intercessor Specialties:
Intercessors, and especially intercessory leaders, need to be well-versed and
experienced in all types of intercession. However, this list shows how some
feel a specific “bent,” specialty, lean, and concern for certain areas of
expertise. Intercessors frequently find themselves interceding predominantly
for one or two of these specific areas, but by no means does an intercessor
always intercede in one area.
A pitfall for all intercessors is to intercede for your particular “bent” in
corporate intercession when the group is going a different direction, not
following the leader’s or Holy Spirit’s direction. In corporate intercession we
must follow decently and in order (1 Corinthians 14:40).
Please explore the following specialties in intercession and see where you fit
the best or where you tend to lean, noting the pitfalls to be aware of:
1. Warfare Intercessors – These intercessors are typically involved in
high-level spiritual warfare, binding and loosing. They follow the Lord,
battling against His enemies, and are familiar with demonic hierarchies
(principalities and powers and rulers of the darkness for instance) and
how things work in the spirit realm.
Pitfalls: warring too much; having an angry spirit; having no mercy;
always in war mode; getting in the flesh; binding but not replacing with
good things like healing after something is bound; binding in the wrong
timing; not binding backlash; not having proper alignment or
protection; operating in legalism; getting ahead of Holy Spirit.
2. Transformational Intercessors – These intercessors intercede
prophetically, asking the Lord what is needed for a city, a church, a
business, or a region to bring kingdom change – or “transformation.”
Most often, this involves repentance but also can include warfare,
prophetic acts, and dance intercession. It involves finding what has
defiled the land by inquiring of the Lord, often confirming through
historical facts and present reality. The more the darkness is expelled
by these intercessors, the more of Jesus’ light can prevail. Pitfalls: not
correctly hearing from the Lord; not inquiring of the Lord properly and
doing it without His direction; not having proper “alignment” or
protection; going it alone; doing things out of His timing; binding
principalities when He has not authorized it and/or He has not given
the name of the spirit specifically (hence always binding Jezebel for
instance).
3. Political Intercessors – These have a healthy burden for things in the
political arena that need change and for nations, cities, or the world.
Pitfalls: thinking about politics too much; getting in the flesh; getting
angry in an ungodly way; being in fear; arguing about politics with
others; watching or reading the news too much; becoming negative;
not discerning the right information in media, the internet, or words
from others; not being in the Word of God and not worshiping the Lord
enough, seeking His face.
4. Crisis Intercessors – These intercede for crises, emergencies and
immediate needs like 9/11, Japan’s 3/11 Tsunami, COVID-19, Amber
Alerts, or an ambulance with someone on the side of the road. This
specialty in intercession often includes interceding to prevent or stop
weather situations and natural disasters in order to decrease and stop
loss of life and property. Example: Abraham in Genesis 18 interceded
for Sodom and Gomorrah.
Pitfalls: stress and lack of sleep; taking on too many problems; taking
on the burden personally and physically; watching too many videos or
seeing too many graphic photos of bad situations.
5. Birthing or Midwife Intercessors – These intercessors love to
“birth” souls, revival, new ministries, schools, and Godly businesses.
This may involve travailing, which is a type of birthing intercession.
Midwife intercessors sometimes help the travailing intercessor to birth
what Holy Spirit is wanting to birth. Example: When Elijah prayed for it
to rain, he got down in the birthing position seven times before the rain
cloud formed (1Kings 18).
Pitfalls: doing it in the flesh, not following Holy Spirit (you cannot
make travail happen in the flesh); midwives interrupting the travailer;
the travailer stopping before the birthing is finished. Be aware that
there might be several intercessors birthing the same thing at the
same time.
6. Prophetic Acts Intercessors – These are Ezekiel and Jeremiah type
intercessors that act out what the Lord tells them to do with specific
prophetic acts to achieve God’s purpose. Example: Jeremiah burying
his underwear in Jeremiah 13. Pitfalls: they can be accused of being
weird; they need to be able to not succumb to rejection from people
and fully be able to hear from the Lord and act on it.
7. Dance Intercessors and Worship Warriors – These intercessors
intercede through dance and warring in worship. This type of dance
includes prophetic acts and gestures (“He teaches my hands to war” Ps
144:1), and sometimes a warring dance. This can include banners,
flags, hoops, tambourines, streamers, baskets, etc. Why does this and
all prophetic acts work so well? Because it is by faith and all the glory
has to go to God and not yourself. Example: Anna in Luke 2:36-38,
Miriam.
Pitfalls: many of this type of intercessor stay in outer court praise only
and do not enter the Holy of Holies in true intimacy with the Lord.
Performance and man-pleasing is a pitfall as well. Dance intercession is
not just pretty or entertaining dance – it is always movements and acts
led fully by the Lord in order to be effective. True prophetic dance must
follow the Lord’s lead.
8. Personal Intercessors – These intercessors are called and
sometimes appointed to intercede for pastors and leaders in a personal
way as a specific assignment. See Dr. C. Peter Wagner’s book Prayer
Shield for information on levels of personal intercessors in Chapter 6.
Pitfalls: gossip about the leader; not keeping things confidential;
trying to control that leader; pride in position; charismatic witchcraft or
soulish intercession.
9. Marketplace Intercessors – These intercessors are called and often
appointed to intercede for certain businesses. Some may intercede for
a certain industry or marketplace sector, but others may intercede for
a specific business. Example: Joseph in Egypt.
Pitfalls: wanting the glory or demanding money for successes; control;
discussing secrets with others.
10. Intercessors for Israel – All should intercede for Israel, but
some have a specific burden for Israel and the Jewish people (Ezek 33).
Pitfalls: not knowing enough of the Word, the history of Israel or
contemporary issues there.
11. Administrative Intercessors – These intercessors find it easy
to establish prayer chains, 24 hour prayer watches, times of fasting;
and to assemble people to intercede in a crisis, etc. These intercessors
are sometimes the scribes for an intercession group. Example: Ezra,
Mordecai.
Pitfalls – not taking time to intercede but concentrating on the
administration of it all.
12. Issues Intercessors – These intercessors see a need and seek
to solve it (not just emergencies). This might include the state of the
Church, sex-trafficking, homelessness, abortion, etc. Example:
Nehemiah, Ezra, Mordecai, and Esther.
Pitfalls: stopping too soon before the burden is lifted or interceding
even after the Lord says it is enough; taking on the burden physically.
13. Issachar Intercessors – These intercessors feel a burden for
times and seasons, or the future. They see what is to come and
intercede regarding that. They hear from the Lord about times and
seasons and may be seers in this realm (1 Chron 12:32). This often
includes intercession about the end-times, for Jesus’ return, for the
Bride of Christ to be ready and spotless, or for new wineskins and
changes in the Church. Example: Anna, John the Revelator, Samuel,
Daniel in the Bible, and Chuck Pierce in the present.
Pitfalls: feeling the burden too much and not giving it to God after
intercession; fear; misinterpretation of times and seasons and what
God is actually saying; not knowing the Word of God.
14. Missions Intercessors – These awesome intercessors are
burdened for the needs and issues of missions and missionaries around
the world. This is such a much-needed job as most intercessors do not
intercede for missions far away but concentrate on their own area and
church. Missions intercessors intercede for such things as the mission’s
protection and finances, but most of all for souls (Matt 9:38). This
includes interceding for the persecuted church which is not often
included in intercession groups as well. Pitfalls: not fully understanding
the deep needs and dangers for the missionaries; praying soulish
prayers and not what the missionary requests or not what the area and
culture may dictate. For example, many in the persecuted church do
not ask to be freed from prison but unselfishly would rather be in
prison to bring souls to Christ in their closed country – another reason
to always intercede for God’s will.
Tommi Femrite – 12 Types of Intercessors
1. Issues Intercessors - Standing against injustices. The 'issues' are what make you
weep and pound the table!
2. List Intercessors - You find freedom in structure! As soon as you hear a prayer
request, you're looking for a pen.
3. Soul Intercessors - God's Midwives - you love to pray for people to choose
everlasting life.
4. Personal Intercessors - Spiritual Guardians - You are a personal intercessor who
can be trusted with confidential information, in order to pray for another person.
5. Financial Intercessors - Faith for Finances/Funding - You've been anointed by God
to summon funds on behalf of others.
6. Mercy Intercessors - The Heart people - you are God's living stethoscopes. You can
hear/feel the pain of others and want to extend the mercy of God to the root of that pain.
7. Crisis Intercessors: Paramedics of Prayer - You rush in and out of the throne room
with urgent requests on behalf of others - acting as watchman for God's people.
You are the ones He can wake up in the middle of the night to pray for someone you
may or may not even know!
8. Warfare Intercessors - The Military Might of the Kingdom - You fight to usher in truth
by establishing God's authority in places where the enemy has a 'strong' hold on
people, places or situations.
9. Worship Intercessors - Sacred Romancers - You access heaven's power, thru
worship and bring hope to the hopeless. You silence the voice of the enemy and release
the voice of the Beloved over people and situations.
10. Government Intercessors - Watchmen for Politics and the Church - You are the
watchmen who prayerfully uphold the leaders in the church and political arenas where
destinies are forged.
11. People- Group and Israel Intercessors - Prayer Shepherds for Ethnic Groups.
God is calling intercessory shepherds to lead the way in prayer for entire people groups.
You're heart leaps when you think of certain nations or ethnic groups and you find
yourself praying for them to be touched by God as a nation or group.
12. Prophetic Intercessors - Trusted with the Secrets of God - You pray the things on
God's heart; then, under His direction you report the words, thoughts, images and
actions He releases you to share - at His discretion.
