Are you praying for great and mighty miracles? If so, it will help you to have intercessory triggers. Intercessory triggers will both inspire you AND help you stay on track with keeping your desires constantly lifted up to the Father.

First, what is an intercessory trigger?

When I say “intercessory trigger,” I am talking about some outside object or thing that hits your heart really strongly and immediately sends you into intercession for your dream (or for someone else’s!). An intercessory trigger is very personal, and the type of thing that hits your heart like a Spirit-led hammer is going to be different from what might hit someone else’s.

Let me describe a few examples of intercessory triggers that I have, and which I leverage to keep myself in constant prayer.

First:

Next year, this ministry is taking 10 of our missionaries in Guatemala on a pastors’ retreat. The place we are going is popular on social media, and people who make social media reels about it frequently add one specific song. (That song is popular anyway, having charted at #1 on contemporary music charts awhile back–but it is also really catchy and appropriate for this specific location.)

Anyway, since I have heard this song connected to that place so often on social media, I have come to associate the song with the place. Therefore, every time I hear this song, since taking these pastors on this retreat is so near and dear to my heart, it immediately transports me into intense intercession for these pastors, and for the trip, and for the provision of God to come forth to make it all happen.

Wanting to embrace this, I added the song to my playlists on YouTube. (I always listen to music on YouTube when I drive or have time at home.) And therefore, I purposely hear this song all the time. This keeps it at the top of my mind, and I’m constantly in intercession for this project.

The intercession isn’t difficult; it’s Spirit-led and passionate. And my intercessory trigger of this particular song helps a lot to inspire me and build my faith in the Lord. Every time I hear the song, it’s like a little love note from the Lord to not only draw me into prayer, but also to reassure me that this dream is going to happen, and that He is going to do it.

Secondly:

Beautiful photos of home decor are another intercessory trigger that I use.

This ministry helps to house pastors and missionaries, and we have been doing so for several years. I have faith for housing and a calling in this area, and my husband and I fought through and worked like dogs for years to pay off our own house, and we did it; and by so doing we built the faith for everyone to have a paid-for house, and we also won an intercessory position of faith in this area for other families.

Because of your generosity, this ministry has helped a number of families here in the USA; but, the majority of our efforts in housing pastors and missionaries are in the Third World. Through your generous gifts, we are helping to house these ministerial families every single month–and this effort goes a long way in the Kingdom.

Well, because this is a calling and intercessory anointing on my life, I am constantly aware of who in our sphere of ministry has which needs regarding housing.

We have pastors and missionaries right now who can’t afford to live on their own; who have had to stay with others for decades. We’re talking senior pastors and their wives, with children, who have basic needs for security, safety, and privacy just like anyone else does; but their churches can’t provide a place for them to live because they serve such impoverished populations. And the difficulties that come with not having a place of your own to live, not even to rent, are unspeakable for anyone–and especially when you’re pastoring a church full-time.

So, I ask all the questions.

(Hey, I’m an American, and we have a reputation for directness, and I use that to my advantage here, and people don’t get offended, thank God. LOL.) 😉 I ask very specific questions about income and budgets and needs and groceries and medicines and all these things, and people tell me the answers. And I file that information in my head and before the Lord, and I am constantly contending for housing for the people who still need it.

Well, because I ask these questions, I also know who has what style and what dreams as related to housing. And, you know how social media algorithms feed you things that you talk about and enjoy looking at at times?

Well, when my conversations about housing produce photo after photo on Facebook or Insta of beautiful living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, etc., I leverage those photos by seeing the appropriate missionary in my head occupying those sorts of rooms.

Mind you, these are people who have no place of their own to live. And couch-surfing for decades is not a charming situation. BUT GOD … I believe God. And so every time I see those photos, I use them as inspiration to pray.

I pray, and I take screenshots, and I make albums of which missionary needs what, and I am constantly contending with the Lord to use me (us) in this area to provide safe, adequate, decent, even beautiful housing–even rented!–for these precious families in need.

In this case, the photos I see are my intercessory trigger. I use them to remind me to pray constantly for housing for these missionaries, a subject which is near and dear to my heart.

But also …

Physical objects can be another type of intercessory trigger.

I talk more about this here in my article about how to make a prayer toolbox. And I still use this to this day.

For example, in my personal place of prayer, I have not only all the regular things–like my Bible, and the books of prayer points I have written, and highlighters and my journal and pens–but I also have a beaded Guatemalan quetzal bird (the national bird of Guatemala), and the flags of several nations, and so on. And every time I see those things, I am reminded and inspired to pray for the things they represent.

These are just three simple examples of intercessory triggers.

There are so many more things that could remind you to pray for specific dreams or needs:

• Not just songs, photos, and objects, but also …
• A piece of jewelry that you wear;
• A prayer cloth in your pocket;
• A food that you eat; or anything else.

Intercessory triggers aren’t complicated; they are very simple and personal.

Something that hits my heart like an arrow might not impact you at all, and something that moves you to tears before the Lord might not have any impact on me. That’s okay.

What matters is that, when you’re fasting and praying, you can’t forget the prayer part. Fasting without extra, additional, even constant prayer is merely dieting, and it doesn’t bring spiritual results. Having intercessory triggers is a great way to leverage your everyday environment to keep you reminded, inspired, and actively engaged in prayer for the breakthroughs you need.

Do you have any intercessory triggers? Or, are you going to arrange some for yourself? Let me know in the comments!