Intercessory Prayer vs Declarative Prayer

Intercessory Prayer

Intercessory prayer is when you talking to God on someone else’s behalf.

To illustrate, imagine you have a friend who is in need of spiritual healing from God, so you say, “Oh, I know God! Come with me. I’ll talk to Him for you.” Then you approach God and say, “God, my friend here needs your healing in his life.”

That’s intercessory prayer, because you are “interceding” (aka intervening) for someone else by looping in the Supernatural.

This is the “default” prayer mode… but did you know there’s a different kind of prayer?

Declarative Prayer

Declarative prayer is when you talk to someone else on God’s behalf.

To illustrate, imagine you have a friend who is battling anxiety, so the Holy Spirit inside of you uses your mouth to tell your friend, “You are deeply loved just the way you are, and I declare God’s peace over your spirit.”

That is declarative prayer, because you are “declaring” God’s intent to another person.

That type of prayer isn’t as common, but it can be a powerful tool.

The trick with this type of prayer is that you are representing God to other people, which means you need to know God’s heart and His desires in order to represent Him accurately. You need to be in tune with God by knowing His Word (the Bible) and listening to His Spirit.

This method of praying for someone can be really encouraging and hope-giving to the receiver. For example, if someone is feeling lonely, you could pray something like, “I bless you with the presence of God’s Spirit. He is always with you and will never leave you. May you sense His presence wherever you go.”

Conclusion

Both types of prayer are handy techniques to have in your toolbox. God says that believers are “priests,” which means we can act as the middle-man between God and humanity. We are capable of talking to God on behalf of other people, and we are capable of talking to other people on behalf of God.