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While there is a good deal of overlap between petitionary and intercessory prayer they are distinct. In the former people pray about personal needs. In the latter they pray about the  needs that others are experiencing. There are two interrelated forms of intercessory prayer,   charismatic and non-charismatic. In this chapter we will reflect on the nature of biblical intercession and the reasons we have for engaging in it, while suggesting practical ways in which individuals and groups can get involved in this important ministry. 

Intercession in the Old Testament

Many of the great religious figures of the Old Testament such as Abraham, Moses and Jeremiah were intercessors. The Hebrew words used to describe this type of prayer mean "to annoy someone with importunate requests." Intercessors are those who persistently ask God's for others. The key image used to describe this ministry is that of standing in the breach.[1]  In Ezech 22:30, the Lord says: "I have been looking for someone among them…to man the breach in front of me, to defend the country." As the book of Nehemiah illustrates so graphically, a breach in the walls of a city is the place of greatest danger and vulnerability. The intercessor stands in that place of weakness, where the winds of adversity blow, where the jackal of unbridled instinct cries and where enemies can try to enter under the cloak of darkness. As Catherine of Sienna prayed: “May the Holy Spirit make each of us a ‘living stone’ in the wall of prayer now being raised to buttress and protect Holy Church!”[2] The intercessor strives to repel the enemy with the shield of faith and the two edged sword of God's word.

This kind of intercession is mentioned in a number of texts. For example, in Gen 18:16-33, Abraham acted as a mediator between God and people by pleading with Yahweh on Sodom's behalf. He implored the Lord not to destroy the city if  even ten just people lived there. Moses was another great model of intercession on behalf of the people. Jethro, his father in law, encapsulated the purpose of his role when he said: "You should represent the people before God and bring their cases before God" Ex 18:19. The Catechism of the Catholic Church cites him as the greatest intercessor of the Old Testament, the one on whom Jesus would later model his intercessory role. Speaking about him it says: "He does not pray for himself but for the people whom God made his own. Moses already intercedes for them during the battle with the Amalekites and prays to obtain healing for Miriam….The arguments of his prayer - for intercession is also a mysterious battle - will inspire the boldness of the great intercessors among the Jewish people and in the Church."[3] The prophet Jeremiah was another outstanding intercessor. We are told in a number of texts that he felt called to represent the cause of his ungrateful people before the Lord.[4] In Jer 42:2 the people approached the prophet and asked him to pray to God on their behalf: “Let your God show us where we should go and what we should do.” Jeremiah replied: “very well I am going to pray to the Lord your God as you request and whatever the Lord answers, I will tell you.”

Jesus our Intercessor

The ministry of intercession in the New Testaments centers around two great advocates, namely Jesus and the Holy Spirit. We will look at each in turn. Before doing so we can make three introductory points. Firstly, it is clear in the gospels that Jesus admired and modeled his ministry on those of Abraham and Moses. Secondly, Jesus' intercessory prayer was motivated by compassion.[5] On numerous occasions the evangelists tell us that, not only were the activities of Jesus energized by compassion. The word that is used in the Greek of the New Testament, refers to the fact that Jesus was so moved by the sufferings and vulnerabilities of the people he met that they evoked a deep-seated emotional response within him. They literally moved him to the pit of his stomach. It was this visceral sense of  empathy for the afflicted that motivated his heartfelt prayers on their behalf. Thirdly, as intercessor, Jesus is our advocate. The word has a forensic background. It refers to a lawyer who acts on a client's behalf, by expertly and effectively pleading his or her cause. Jesus is our advocate our definitive mediator before the Father. There are a number of examples of his intercessory prayer. We will look at three of them.

As his passion drew near, Jesus anticipated that although they were full of good intentions, Peter and the apostles would have to cope with strong temptation and disillusionment. In Luke 22:31-32 He declares: "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." These are very moving sentiments. Jesus speaks with the kind of knowingness that is rooted in real intimacy, but he does so without any hint of judgement or condemnation. His prayer is suffused with confidence that it will be heard by the Father because he knows that he is praying in the Spirit in accordance with the benevolent will of God.

The second example is to be found in Jn 17:20-21. It occurred at the last supper when Jesus prayed his high priestly prayer on behalf of the apostles and all those, down the ages, who would believe in him. He said: "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me." It is obvious from this prayer that Jesus had a passion for union, a yearning that all those who believed in him would be so united in mind and heart that they would be a credible witness to his presence in their midst. As he said: "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." Matt 18:20

The third example of  the intercessory prayer of Jesus took place on the cross. In Is 53:12 we read in prophetic words that referred to the messiah to come: "For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors" Isa 53:12. The author of the letter to the Hebrews comments: "Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer….sacrifices for sins" Heb 5:1 That intercession reached a high point when Jesus prayed while we were still his enemies through sin: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Luke 23:34

Following his death, resurrection and ascension into heaven, Jesus' role as advocate continues. This is made clear in three texts. As  1 Jn 2:1 says: “we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense-- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.”  Heb 7:25 adds that Jesus: “is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them." In Rm 8:34 St Paul asks the rhetorical question: "Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died-- more than that, who was raised to life-- is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." Clearly the answer is an emphatic no. "For those who are in Christ Jesus," declares St Paul,  "there is now no condemnation" Rm 8:1. What a consoling thought. No matter how cut off, miserable and misunderstood we may feel, there is always One who prays for us, night and day, "with loud cries and tears" Heb 5:7, before the Father in heaven. Mary, and the saints are intimately associated with the compassionate intercessory prayer of their glorified Lord. We will return to this topic in a later chapter.

The Holy Spirit and Intercession

During his ministry Jesus promised that he would send the Holy Spirit to be our go-between-God. "I will ask the Father," he said, "and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth" Jn 14:16. Acting in and through our compassionate concerns the Spirit bears witness to the intercession of the heavenly Jesus. So whenever we pay empathic attention to the sufferings of others with feelings of tenderness, protectiveness, understanding etc., we can become aware of another Presence which sanctifies and transforms our natural emotions in such a way that we share in Christ's concern for others.  In this way our hearts become a point of intersection between the travail of the body of Christ on earth, and the intercessory travail of the risen Lord  in heaven, through the action of the Holy Spirit.

When people are interceding on behalf of others they will often be able to express their longings in articulate ways in the form of remembered, written and vocal prayers. But there will be times when the pre-conceptual longings of our hearts cannot be put into words. As St Paul said in a memorable passage in Rm 8:26-27:  "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will."

Sometimes these inarticulate longings can only be expressed in the form of tears, groans and sighs. One is reminded in this regard of the travail of Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus. John says that he not only wept, "He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled" Jn 11:33. Those who have received the gift of praying or singing in tongues - which is a form of pre-conceptual prayer  expressed in unintelligible words - can intercede with the lips even when their understanding is shrouded in a cloud of unknowing.[6] They know and believe that the Spirit within them is praying to the God beyond, in accordance with the mind and heart of the risen Jesus. It is an apophatic form of prayer i.e. one that is offered without  the aid of concepts and images, to the God who lives in light inaccessible. It conforms to the adage in Prov 3:5: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."

When St Paul wanted to describe this form of prayer, he compared it to the travail of childbirth. It is an apt image. The word compassion in the Old Testament is derived from the Hebrew rachamim meaning "womb". Compassionate intercession is a painful movement of the spiritual womb  which longs to give birth to new life in others. As St Paul says: "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly" Rom 8:22-23. In the light of this passage, it doesn't surprise me, that women I have known over the years seem to have had a particularly deep insight into the nature, purposes and dynamics of compassionate intercession in the Spirit.

Many years ago I attended a charismatic conference in the Royal Dublin Society in Ballsbridge. At one point a priest spoke about the troubles in Northern Ireland. When he had finished he recalled something that John Paul II had said during his visit to Ireland in 1979. "I ask you for a great, intense and growing prayer for all the people of Ireland, for the Church in Ireland, for all the Church which owes so much to Ireland. Pray that Ireland may not fail in the test. Pray as Jesus taught us to pray: "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."[7] Then he invited the large audience of over two thousand people to spend some time in prayer for the healing of our nation. At one point people began to sing quietly in tongues. They did so spontaneously in a minor key. It was quite haunting to hear a large crowd singing a lament in perfect harmony. It seemed to express the inexpressible sadness and longings of the people in unintelligible words, to a melody that was taking spontaneous shape as they sang it. The whole experience sent shivers up and down my spine. Not only was it beautiful in a strange and poignant way, I had a profound impression that the Spirit was anointing our compassionate desires and that God was doing immeasurably more than we could ask or think, according to his power that is at work within us. (cf Eph 3:20) 

Aids to Intercessory Prayer

In the previous chapter, on petitionary prayer, we examined ten conditions associated with the Lord's repeated promises to answer prayer. Needless to say they are equally relevant where intercessory prayer is concerned. At this point I would like to highlight the importance of two other aids to effective prayer for others, namely, discernment of spirits and fasting. We will look briefly at each point in turn.

A)    Discernment of spirits

Those who are familiar with the ministry of intercession stress the fact that anyone who wants to get deeply involved with this form of prayer needs to appreciate the fact that it takes place within a context of spiritual conflict. There is a struggle going on between the kingdom of God, and the prince of this world.[8] As St Paul once wrote: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Eph 6:12

I'm aware of the fact that many modern Christians feel uncomfortable with this world view which they consider to be anachronistic, an echo of a pre-critical age. I have argued elsewhere,[9] that while we should eschew  a simplistic emphasis on the devil and evil spirits, the Church teaches that they exist as perverted and perverting beings who are adamantly opposed to God's purposes. For example, Pope Paul VI said in an address: “The question of the devil and the influence he can have on individual persons as well as communities, whole societies or events is a very important chapter of Catholic doctrine....It is a departure from the picture provided by biblical and Church teaching to refer to the devil’s existence...as a pseudo reality, a conceptual and fanciful personification of the unknown causes of our misfortunes.” The Pope’s views were echoed in Christian Faith and Demonology,  published by the Vatican in 1975. It states: “We repeat, ... that though still emphasizing in our day the real existence of the demonic, the Church has no intention...of proposing an alternative explanation which would be more acceptable to reason. Its desire is simply to remain faithful to the Gospel and its requirements.” Those who engage in intercessory prayer need to test everything in order to ascertain what spirit is at work in the situation. As St John says: "Do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God" I Jn 4:1. There are two overlapping ways of discerning spirits.

Firstly, there is the charismatic gift mentioned in 1 Cor 12:10. Scripture scholars incline to the view that it is principally an ability to distinguish true from false prophecy. Secondly, there is the art of discernment. It is an ability to establish whether an inspiration was prompted by the human spirit, the evil spirit or the Spirit of God. It all depends on whether the inspiration was associated with inner desolation or the characteristics consolation of the Holy Spirit (cf. Gal 5:22). St Ignatius of Loyola's rules for the discernment of spirits are the best known method of discernment in the contemporary Church.

Because the evil one knows that intercession is so effective in advancing God's cause, it is not surprising that he attacks the intercessors in one way or another through misfortune, ill-health, false inspirations, temptations etc. Sometimes he will do this as an angel of light, i.e. under the appearance of an apparent good (cf. 2 Cor 11:14). One way or another he will try to undermine their authority. Intercessors need to become aware of these possibilities and to pray for protection against them. In Eph 6:16 Paul assures us that "the shield of faith puts out all the fiery darts of the evil one." In other words, if the person under attack nestles in the Lord through faith, e.g. by means of praise, instead of trying to wrestle with the evil one, he or she will be freed from the harmful effects of such things as illusions, false inspiration and temptations.

Discernment of spirits also enables intercessors to become aware of what to pray against in  external situations of need. So if intercessors are praying about some situation, such as a war in another country, they need to recognize that the murderous, lying spirit of the Accuser may well be at work. In this context the following New Testament text is particularly helpful. It states: “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” 2 Cor 10:3-5. With this assurance in mind  it is advisable to pray a deliverance prayer, one that opposes the oppressive power of  whatever evil spirits may be at work in the situation the intercessors are concerned about, in order to deliver the people from oppression.[10] Intercessors can silently command them, in the name of Jesus Christ, to yield to the liberating power of God.  As St Paul testified in 1 Cor 4:20, “The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power” i.e. in the Holy Spirit.

B) Fasting and intercession

It is a striking fact that when Jesus was led into the wilderness, there to be tempted by the evil spirit, he fasted for forty days. In all probability this kind of mortification not only heightened his awareness of the presence and malign of the devil he would have to contend with throughout his ministry, it also helped him to recognize his false inspirations and to reject them. It is not surprising, therefore, that when the apostles asked Jesus why they hadn't been able to expel an evil spirit from an epileptic boy, Jesus replied: "This kind can only come out through prayer and fasting" Mk 9:29. In par. 26 of his encyclical Some Aspects of Christian Meditation, Pope John Paul II has written: “The Christian fast signifies, above all, an exercise of penitence and sacrifice; but, already for the Fathers, it also had the aim of rendering man more open to the encounter with God and making a Christian more capable of self- dominion and at the same time more attentive to those in need. Realizing this to be true many people who engage in intercessory prayer become involved in discreet and prudent fasting. Some live on bread and water on a designated day, others abstain from all food for part of a day, or for a few days.[11] Many of those who fast in these ways find that they are not only more alert and perceptive from a spiritual point of view, their physical hunger acts as a symbol of their radical need for God's help. As the Magnificat says: "He fills the hungry with good things" Lk 1:53.

Interceding as an Individual

In Eph 6:18 St Paul says: "Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." The same exhortation is made in 1 Tim 2:1. In my experience there are two ways of interceding as an individual; non charismatic and charismatic. Non charismatic intercession is the norm. It can occur in a number of ways,

·         As a spontaneous prayer which is evoked by some situation of need e.g. a story on T.V. 

·         As a response to some situation of need one has experienced  oneself e.g. a colleague at work who is a victim of alcoholism;

·         Or because someone has asked one to pray about some urgent need e.g. a marriage that is on the rocks.

Personal prayers of intercession may be very brief e.g. short aspirations or prayers. They may be offered during a designated part of a person's regular prayer time e.g. the final fifteen minutes. People may occasionally devote all of their personal prayer time to intercessory prayer. Whether regular or irregular, short or long, it is important that   intercessors tell God how they feel about the situation and what it is that they desire. If at all possible they should try to tune in to God's feelings and desires about the situation. During quiet moments like these intercessors can get an inspired sense of God's presence and purposes in a manner that assures them that God will respond to their intercessions in one way or another.

St John illustrates the potential efficacy of intercessory prayer by saying it can bring about repentance in the lives of sinners. He writes in  1 Jn 5:16, "If  you see your brother or sister committing what is not a mortal sin, you will ask, and God will give life to such a one - to those whose sin is not mortal." The reference, here, to mortal sin, is not to 'ordinary' grave sins but to some extremely deadly sin such as the sin against the Holy Spirit or apostasy. For example, in Heb 6:4-6 we read:  “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.” The Johannine author speaks here about intercessory prayer, he hasn't intercessions in general in mind, but rather prayer for a non-schismatic member of the community who has fallen into some kind of public sin e.g. robbery or sexual promiscuity. If the community, pray with the kind of expectant faith already mentioned, 1 John 5:16  promises that the prodigal will eventually come to his or her senses, and will repent.

There is a good example of this kind of intercession in St Augustine's Confessions. His mother Monica prayed for years for her brilliant but wayward son. He was young, lustful and committed to heretical beliefs. She was so upset by his behavior that she would not even dine with him. In book nine of his Confessions, he tells us that his mother prayed from the heart with many tears, sometimes with her face pressed to the ground. He also informs us that during this period of fervent intercession she had a prophetic dream. In retrospect, he was convinced that the dream had been prompted by God. "She dreamed that coming toward her in a halo of splendor she saw a young man who smiled at her in joy, although she herself was sad and quite consumed with grief. He asked her the reason for her sorrow and her daily tears, not because he did not know, but because he had something to tell her, for this is what happens in visions. When she replied that her tears were for the soul I had lost, he told her to take heart for, if she looked carefully, she would see that where she was, there also was I.  When she looked, she saw me standing beside her."

Monica told Augustine about the dream. He tried to interpret it to mean that she would stand beside him in the sense that she would share his theological point of view. She replied at once and without hesitation 'No, He did not say "Where he is you are," but, "where you are, he is."  As a result of the dream she was prepared to eat with him again. But nothing happened for nine years. In the meantime Monica continued to pray. She was a model of persistence in intercessory prayer. Augustine tells us, "All the time this chaste, devout, and prudent woman, a widow such as is close to your heart, never ceased to pray at all hours and to offer you the tears she shed for me. The dream had given new spirit to her hope, but she gave no rest to her sighs and her tears. Her prayers reached your presence and yet you left me to twist and turn in the dark." But nine years later, Monica's prayers were finally answered. One day Augustine heard a child skipping and singing, "take and read, take and read." When he looked at his open bible he read a passage from Rm 13:13-14, "Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature." Augustine was converted. He says:  "I went in to my mother and told her, to her great joy, how it had come about. She was filled with triumphant exultation" The impossible had actually happened; the professor had finally found his master.

There are other individuals who will rely on the charisms of revelation, such as wisdom, knowledge, prophecy, dreams, visions and inspired scripture readings to guide their intercession. I tend to use the following simple method.

1.       Become aware of the presence and power of God.

2.       Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you and to guide your time of intercession.

3.       Spend some time in worship by thanking, praising and adoring the Lord.

4.       Allow the issues and concerns that are in your heart to surface. Express your feelings and desires to the Lord.

5.       Then blank your mind and ask the Spirit to guide your prayer by means of the charisms of revelation such as an inspired thought, vision, word of knowledge, or scripture reading.

6.       If no charismatic guidance seems to be forthcoming, intercede in an agnostic way in tongues, in the belief that the Spirit within is praying to God above.

7.       As the time of intercession comes to an end, thank God for the graces received.

I can remember an occasion when my intercession was guided in a charismatic way. A number of years ago I met a doctor named Kenneth McAll. He was the author of a well known book entitled Healing the Family Tree.[12] We talked for hours about his belief that the unresolved problems of ancestors can continue to afflict the living. He maintained that healing can come as a result of  having a requiem mass offered for the deceased. I told him that I was skeptical about the notion that troubled  spirits can impinge on the minds and wills of their descendants. At the end of our conversation Dr McAll   suggested that I spend a quiet time in intercessory prayer for the dead. He urged me to have no fixed agenda and to allow the Spirit to lead. Shortly afterwards I did what he recommended. I can recall that as soon as I turned to the Lord a vivid image came to mind. I could see the surface of the ocean. Sad, sighs seemed to be released from its watery depths. I felt as if I were hearing the still, sad lamentation of thousands of Africans who had been dumped into the sea by the crews of slaving ships in the past. I was deeply moved by this experience, and prayed that all those forgotten people, asking the Lord to enable them to rest in peace. I also prayed that the Lord would forgive those who so cruelly mistreated them. Although that time of prayer failed to convince me that the spirits of the restless dead can affect the living, I was convinced that the Spirit can reveal God's will to our hearts, so that we may pray in accordance with his compassionate purposes.

Group Intercession

There are non-charismatic and charismatic ways of fulfilling this injunction. Non-charismatic group intercession is the norm. The best known form is the prayer of the faithful that follows the readings and homily at the Eucharist. It is introduced and concluded by the celebrant. Par. 45-46 of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal has this to say about it. "In the general intercessions or prayer of the faithful, the people, exercising their priestly function, intercede for all humanity. It is appropriate that this prayer be included in all Masses celebrated with a congregation, so that petitions will be offered for the Church, civil authorities, those oppressed by various needs, all young people, and for the salvation of the world. As a rule the sequence of intentions is to be:

A)    For the needs of the Church

B)     For public authorities and the salvation of the world

C)     For those oppressed by any need

D)    For the local community.

In particular celebrations such as confirmations, marriages, funerals, etc., the series of intercessions may refer more specifically to the occasion."

Charismatic prayer groups seem to have a deep understanding of the importance and dynamics of  intercessory prayer. To a greater or lesser extent they devote time to it. Sometimes a period is set aside at the end of a meeting for intercession. On other occasions a whole meeting may be devoted to this form of prayer. Then there are intercessory groups, such as Women Aglow, and the Lydia Fellowship that specialize in intercession. Audrey Merwood has described their method of praying in her book The Way of an Intercessor.[13]

I have found that many of those who are involved with intercessory groups are female. They consist of a relatively small number of people who feel called by God to become involved in the difficult and demanding ministry of intercessory prayer. The members need to be mature from a human and spiritual point of view with an experiential grasp of discernment of spirits and spiritual combat. Many of them will have prayer partners, a soul friend who supports them emotionally and spiritually. In this way they try to shield one another from the wiles of the evil one. By and large, when they come together to pray,  they follow an outline similar to that which is used by individuals. They highlight the importance of vigorous praise, receiving charismatic guidance and  praying in tongues.

Sometimes a group will feel that they are being called to pray for some particular intention on an on-going basis e.g. for a particular political leader (cf 1 Tim 2:1), for reconciliation in a particular community, for revival and renewal in the churches[14] etc. They will try to find out what they can about the issues that concern them, and to discern what kind of prayer is needed. For example, they may feel that they have to pray against evil spirits of pride, resentment, hatred, condemnation and the like which may be oppressing people's minds and wills. It takes great faith to pray like this, because frequently the group will not be sure whether they are praying for the right intentions or whether their prayers are being granted. They simply trust in the Lord. However, every now and then they may discover just how well directed and effective their prayers have been.

For example, I attended an ecumenical conference in the North of Ireland a few years ago. Toward the end of one of our days together a small group met to intercede. One of them was led to pray for a very specific part of  Belfast. She felt that a bomb was going to be planted there in the near future. When the group completed their time of intercession they invited the rest of us to pray about the problem. The next day we read in the newspapers that, the day before, a family in Belfast had been hosting a prayer meeting in their house. Then a number of paramilitaries knocked at the door. When it was opened they rushed in and held everyone captive. They took the householder's car keys and stole his vehicle which they used  to plant a bomb in the very area of Belfast that the  intercessors had been led to pray about the night before. The paper, reported however, that, inexplicably, the primed bomb had failed to go off. Joyfully, we thanked the Lord. We knew why it had failed to explode. 

Conclusion

Many of those who are involved in the ministry of intercessory prayer will testify that it is one of the deepest, most demanding and mysterious forms of prayer. A number of years ago I attended an ecumenical conference in Belgium. The late Cardinal Suenens gave a memorable homily during which he spoke about the importance of intercession. To illustrate his point he cited a text in Is 62:6-7 which reads: "I have posted watchmen (i.e. intercessors) on your walls, O Jerusalem (i.e. the people of God); they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth." In the Old Testament, therefore, the Lord called on intercessors to pray urgently and unceasingly that the breaches would be repaired. This metaphor symbolically signified the restoration, revival and renewal of God's people.