Posted on 6/14/2024 | by Joy A. Phillips (Payne)

Anointing and Intercession

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 through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

Romans 8:26-27 (NIV)

Too often, when we consider the word “Anointing,” we restrict it to the oil of the Anointing being poured, rubbed, or smeared upon us. How does this happen? In light of Romans 8:26-27, I want us to consider the Anointing flowing through our collaboration with the Holy Spirit. God has put this relying on the Holy Spirit in place, for the dispensing of His Anointing. Remember in Acts 1:8, Jesus told the disciples to wait until they were endued with power from on high, rather than running off to minister, trying to impact the lives of people apart from the Holy Spirit’s help or input. Said another way, “Wait until the Holy Spirit comes to live in you and then make room for Him to collaborate with you, helping you in your weakness.”

In Rom. 8:26, we see an identified weakness relating to our intercession. Paul says that we don’t even know what we should pray. The Holy Spirit wants us to look to Him for help in interceding. He has the necessary knowledge and prays with that knowledge. We try to pray without consulting God and do not know His will in that specific situation. If the intent of our prayer is to see God’s will manifested, relying on the Holy Spirit’s help means the will of God will definitely be prayed and realized. He will hit the “praying with knowledge” mark of intercession, every time.

Picture the Holy Spirit interceding for us with wordless groaning, heartfelt prayer, totally understood by God and aligned with His will. Of the Holy Spirit’s groaning, someone said, “It must be, therefore, that the Holy Spirit identifies with our groans, with the pain of the world and the church, and shares in the longing for the final freedom of both. We and He groan together.”

Need I add, that such divine intercession, groaning and all, will be totally saturated with the Anointing, which removes burdens and destroys yokes. This means that our intercession will not be a strain and struggle, which will occur when we try praying in our own strength and without God’s release of the Anointing.

We need to ask ourselves why we do not place more reliance on the Holy Spirit’s leading in our intercession. What matters, if we desire the flowing of the Anointing, is not our many words, the many points we cover in prayer, or how loud or emotional we are. It’s about making room for the Holy Spirit to collaborate with us and lead us in our intercession. Regardless of how competent we may feel about intercession, we need to be intentional about not leaning on our own understanding but looking to the Holy Spirit for His help. When we do so, three persons are involved in our intercession. First, we in our weakness not even knowing what we should pray for. Then, the Holy Spirit, Who helps us by interceding for us and through us. However, let’s not overlook the third Person: God the Father, Who both searches our hearts and knows the Spirit’s mind; He hears our prayers and answers, accordingly.

So, let’s allow the Holy Spirit to groan through us. Sometimes He’ll have us pray in the Spirit. Other times, He’ll have us pray and declare things we would never have included in our intercession. Then, there will be times, He’ll lead us to be still and listen. Whatever course He takes us through, we know He’s bringing God’s will to the fore and God’s attestation to His pleasure; this type of intercession will lead to the unimpeded flow of His Anointing.

I want to leave us with a summation and reminder of what our stance should be in intercession, if we want God to release the Anointing whenever we pray. Let’s take a look at those two verses (Rom. 8:26-27), again. This time, from The Passion Translation (TPT):

26 And in a similar way, the Holy Spirit takes hold of us in our human frailty to empower us in our weakness. For example, at times we don’t even know how to pray, or know the best things to ask for. But the Holy Spirit rises up within us to super-intercede on our behalf, pleading to God with emotional sighs too deep for words. 27 God, the searcher of the heart, knows fully our longings, yet he also understands the desires of the Spirit, because the Holy Spirit passionately pleads before God for us, his holy ones, in perfect harmony with God’s plan and our destiny.

Let the Anointing flow as we intercede. Engage the Holy Spirit and give Him room to help!

Joy A. Phillips (Payne), C.P.A, C.I.S.A.

Director of Prayer Ministry at Christ Church

Joy A. Phillips (Payne) is a passionate intercessor, directing the ministry of intercession at Christ Church, a multiracial church with thousands of members in northern New Jersey. She also collaborates with churches, both domestically and internationally, in this area of intercession.

Since 1999, Joy has been speaking at churches and conferences and was instrumental in the launch of a thriving Women’s Ministry in Portland, Maine. She also founded the Hearts Ablaze Ministry LLC, which focuses on healing and wholeness, and for almost 15 years, has seen both men and women receive inner healing and deliverance, through this ministry. In the banking industry, Joy has also started a global Women’s Group for women in the world of technology.