The Prophetic Intercessor (book review)

(Following is a review of James Goll’s book, The Prophetic Intercessor.  I know many of you are looking for information on prophetic intercession, and I write a lot on this subject myself.  Please take a look at the Article Series link in the menu or in the left-hand bar of this blog for a wealth of posts on prophetic intercession.  You may also be interested in my book, The Intercessor Manual.) 

Recently I read James Goll’s The Prophetic Intercessor.  It’s a wonderful book, and I learned so much.

Here are a few of the concepts taught by Mr. Goll:

About “groaning in the spirit” (Romans 8:26, 27): “Those who are self-satisfied will have difficulty groaning; those who are desperate will have great difficulty not groaning.”

Intercessors not only build a wall or hedge of protection about others to keep out satanic attack.  They also build a wall to stave off God’s judgment by crying out for mercy for an individual or a people.

Worship and intercession must go hand in hand.

“Tenacity and endurance are required when the result seems to be delayed.  Even when the breakthrough begins, it takes eyes of discernment to see it.”

There is a relationship between responsibility and authority. If we have a God-given responsibility, we are granted authority through prayer.

“Discernment must be stewarded carefully.  We will either turn it into private intercession or gossip and slander.”

Anna, who prayed night and day in the temple (Luke 2:36, 37), was called a “prophetess” by God, yet she did not have a public ministry.  She ministered to the Lord in the secret place of intercession.

One of the most helpful chapters for me was the one on wisdom issues.  It dealt with protecting ourselves when doing spiritual warfare.  Mr. Goll talked a lot about keeping our focus on Jesus, rather than having our eyes on the devil or what the devil is trying to accomplish.  He commented that often the enemy brings problems to the forefront of our lives for the sole purpose of distracting us from Jesus and to derail our pure devotion for the Lord.  We do not need to war about everything; we can pick and choose which fights are important for us to engage in.  We must let Jesus guide our use of authority, rather than wearing ourselves out fighting every battle that comes along.

I was encouraged to find out that although Mr. Goll is considered to be one of the top prophets of our day, he was not sovereignly gifted in the prophetic from birth.  He did not experience fantastic open-eyed visions from the time he was a child.  He came into it gradually, through purposefully and diligently desiring to be prophetic and through actively praying Ephesians 1:15-19.  I am not among those who have been sovereignly gifted in the prophetic, either, and I took heart and hope in reading that I can come into a high level of hearing and seeing in the Spirit by asking God to increase it in me.  (Isn’t it great that God wants to reach down and pull up those of us who are average into higher levels than we ever thought we could get to?)

I highly recommend The Prophetic Intercessor to anyone with a leaning toward prayer, from the person who is still wondering if he or she has a call to intercession, on up to the most seasoned of prayer warriors.

Purchase this book at Amazon: The Prophetic Intercessor
Or, see Lee Ann’s book, The Intercessor Manual