I started meditating on 1 Timothy 2:1. It says, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.” Paul used the same three ways in Philippians 4:6. I wanted a working definition for the difference between the three ways. 

I looked it up in all my resources. Nothing satisfied me until I found what I wanted in Matthew Henry’s commentary. His definition resonated with my spirit. It means to come humbly before the Lord, petitioning Him to avert evil; prayers for the obtaining of good; intercession for others.

For years Ezekiel 22:30 has been my understanding for intercession. It says, “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”

1 Timothy 2:2-3 says that we are to pray for all in authority. Why? That we may live in quiet and peace, and to have the freedom to proclaim the gospel and advance His Kingdom.