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Intercessory Prayer Quotations

These quotations come from a variety of authors.

Quotations on the Need of Intercessory Prayer

Anonymous Christian:

“God’s great storehouse is full of blessings. Only prayer can unlock that storehouse. Prayer is the key, and faith turns the key and opens the door and claims the blessing.” Anonymous Christian, The Kneeling Christian p. 35.

“The Lord Jesus is as powerful today as ever before. The Lord Jesus is as anxious for men to be saved as ever before. His arm is not shortened that it cannot save, but He cannot stretch forth His arm unless we pray more—and more.” Anonymous Christian, The Kneeling Christian

Sidlow Baxter:

"Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons—but they are helpless against our prayers."

E. M. Bounds:

“If men would pray as they ought to pray, the marvels of the past would be more than reproduced. The Gospel would advance with a facility and power it has never known. Doors would be thrown open to the Gospel, and the Word of God would have a conquering force rarely if ever known before.”

James Fraser:

“Can it be that a great work for God involving thousands of souls devolves upon our prayer life, half a world away? I am feeling more and more that it is, after all, just the prayers of God’s people that call down blessing upon the work, whether they are directly engaged in it or not. Paul may plant and Apollos water, but it is God who gives the increase; and this increase can be brought down from heaven by believing prayer, whether offered in China or in England. We are, as it were, God’s agents-used by Him to do His work, not ours. We do our part, and then can only look to Him, with others, for His blessing. If this is so, then Christians at home can do as much for foreign missions as those actually on the field. I believe it will only be known on the Last Day how much has been accomplished in missionary work by the prayers of earnest believers at home. And this, surely, is the heart of the problem. Such work does not consist in curio exhibitions, lantern lectures, interesting reports, and so on. Good as they may be, these are only the fringe, not the root of the matter. Solid, lasting missionary work is done on our knees. What I covet more than anything else, is earnest, believing prayer, and I write to ask you to continue in prayer for me and the work here. Eileen Crossman, Mountain Rain, (Robesonia, PA: OMF Books, 1987), p. 35.

“I believe it will only be known on the Last Day how much has been accomplished in missionary work by the prayers of earnest believers at home. And this, surely, is the heart of the problem.... Solid, lasting missionary work is done on our knees. . . .” Eileen Crossman, Mountain Rain, (Robesonia, PA: OMF Books, 1987), p. 35.

“I find myself able to do little or nothing apart from God’s going before me and working among (the Lisu people). Without this I feel like a man who grounded his boat in shallow water. Pull or push as he may, he will not be able to make his boat move more than a few inches. But let the tide come in and lift his boat off the bottom—then he will be able to move it as far as he pleases, quite easily and without friction. It is indeed necessary for me to go around among our Lisu, preaching, teaching, exhorting, rebuking, but the amount of progress made thereby depends almost entirely on the state of the spiritual tide in the village—a condition which you can control upon your knees as well as I.” Eileen Crossman, Mountain Rain, (Robesonia, PA: OMF Books, 1987), p. 148.

S D Gordon:

“The enemy yields only what he must. He yields only what is taken. Therefore the ground must be taken step by step. Prayer must be definite. He yields only when he must. Therefore the prayer must be persistent. He continually renews his attacks, therefore the ground taken must be held against him in the Victor’s name.” S D Gordon, Quiet Talks on Prayer

Andrew Murray:

“God is longing to pour out blessing but is held back by His people. They are the hindrance.... God allows His work to suffer loss, terrible loss, because He will not break the law He Himself made. He respects the liberty He Himself gave man. In infinite long-suffering He bides His time until man becomes willing to pray and receive His blessing.” Andrew Murray, The State of the Church, (Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1983), p. 119.

“Oh, when will Christians learn the great truth, that what God in heaven desires to do needs prayer on earth as its indispensable condition. It is as we realize this that we shall see that intercession is the chief element in the conversion of souls.” Andrew Murray, The Secret of Intercession,, (Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1998), p. 53.

“God appoints watchmen not only to warn men—often they will not hear—but also to summon Him to come to their aid whenever need or enemy may be threatening. The great mark of the intercessor is that they are not to hold their peace day or night, to take no rest, and to give God no rest, until the deliverance comes.” Andrew Murray, Secret of Intercession, p. 22.

A T Pierson:

“From the day of Pentecost, there has been not one great spiritual awakening in any land which has not begun in a union of prayer, though only among two or three. And no such outward, upward movement has continued after such prayer meetings have declined. It is in exact proportion to the maintenance of such joint and believing supplication and intercession that the Word of the Lord in any land or locality has had free course and been glorified.” A T Pierson

E. White:

“Every soul that refuses to give himself to God is under the control of another power. He is not his own. He may talk of freedom, but he is in the most abject slavery. He is not allowed to see the beauty of truth, for his mind is under the control of Satan. While he flatters himself that he is following the dictates of his own judgment, he obeys the will of the prince of darkness. Christ came to free the shackles of sin-slavery from the soul. ‘If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.’” Desire of Ages, p. 466.

“In times past there were those who fastened their minds upon one soul after another, saying, “Lord, help me to save this soul.” But now such instances are rare. How many act as if they realized the peril of sinners? How many take those whom they know to be in peril, presenting them to God in prayer, and supplicating Him to save them?” Gospel Workers, p. 65.

Quotations on the Results of Intercessory Prayer

Andrew Murray:

“All that God wants to do for the world, He chooses to do through men (and women) whom He has taken up into His counsels. These are (individuals) who have yielded themselves fully to His will.... Such have the high honor to understand that God, at their request, will direct the working of His Holy Spirit and send Him to go where and to do what they have asked in prayer.” Andrew Murray, The State of the Church, (Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1983), p. 64.

Thomas Payne:

“The Apostles considered prayer to be their chief employment. They gave themselves to prayer, and as a result they succeeded; and, God be praised, the same privileges and possibilities in the prayer-life are placed at our disposal.” Thomas Payne, The Power of Intensified Prayer. 

Ruth Paxson:

“To the God-man prayer was work; in fact, intercession was the most important work that He did. Greater in power than His preaching, His teaching or His healing was His praying. He commenced, continued and consummated everything in prayer. In the upper room He laid hold upon the supernatural forces of the unseen and brought them to bear upon the world in which men lived. Intercession was the most potential means of responsive cooperation with His Father in accomplishing the task He was sent to do.” Ruth Paxson, Life on the Highest Plane, (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1928), p. 399.

Charles Spurgeon: 

“There is nothing that intercessory prayer cannot do. Believer, you have a mighty engine in your hand—use it well, use it constantly, use it now with faith, and you shall surely prevail.” Charles Spurgeon Prayer in the Believer’s Life, (Lynnwood, WA: Emerald Books, 1993), p. ”

“Spiritually there have been many (individuals) given up for dead who were still within reach of grace. God found them and took them out of the horrible pit and out of the miry clay, setting their living feet upon His living rock. Never give up anyone for spiritually dead until they are lain out for dead naturally.” Charles Spurgeon Prayer in the Believer’s Life, (Lynnwood, WA: Emerald Books, 1993), p. 

G F Oliver

“He can do all things who prays well. All soul-winners have conquered on their knees. Wherever the secret of prevailing prayer is found, something supernatural will come to pass.” G F Oliver

John R Mott

“The Church has not yet touched the fringe of the possibilities of intercessory prayer. Her largest victories will be witnessed when individual Christians everywhere come to recognize their priesthood unto God and day by day give themselves unto prayer.” John R Mott

E. White

I remember in Battle Creek when there were those who felt the burden for the unconverted, and those who were in darkness and saw no light; then prayer meetings were appointed that they might make the strength of God their strength. In every case the heavenly intelligences worked with these efforts, and souls were saved. Maranatha, p. 38.

“Jesus sees His true church on the earth, whose greatest ambition is to cooperate with Him in the grand work of saving souls. He hears their prayers, presented in contrition and power, and Omnipotence cannot resist their plea for the salvation of any tried, tempted member of Christ’s body.” Testimonies to Ministers, p. 19.