The Lord recently reminded me of something regarding mountains: They rarely stand alone. A mountain range, by definition, always involves a series of mountains connected by passes or valleys.
Likewise, a nation’s society isn’t made up of a single mountain but of seven distinct peaks. In between those cultural mountains is a connective landscape just as powerful as those majestic formations: intercession. This powerful spiritual discipline is the natural bridge between each of these mountains, and those who are called and gifted for a lifestyle of prayer—intercessors—serve a vital role throughout the kingdom.
In every nation and culture, the Lord searches for those who will stand between the mountains of society and intercede for those believers ascending the sloped terrains. In all likelihood, you already have a proclivity to pray for a certain mountain because of the way God wired you.
How to Pray for the 7 Mountains
Ask an experienced sports coach, business leader or army general which is more valuable—strength or strategy—and he will likely agree that strategy wins out any day of the week. One of the reasons prayer warriors can feel tired, drained or even defeated after times of intercession is because they fail to ask God for a plan beforehand. Instead of being tactical in their approach, they subconsciously believe that just showing up is good enough.
The result is a “wing it in the Spirit,” anything-goes time of prayer. Though the Holy Spirit may lead us to pray this way on occasion, that is rarely the case when confronting the powers of darkness that rule the seven mountains. It is no wonder why demonic forces attack us so heavily when we pray for a specific mountain. If we are praying with the Holy Spirit’s miracle-working power, then we are, after all, announcing Satan’s defeat and reclaiming the territory. He will not go down without a fight, and that is precisely why we must have a plan of attack that is heaven-sent.
As we encounter the enemies upon each of the seven mountains, we must keep our spiritual ears tuned into heaven’s channel. In Genesis 1:28, we see that the Lord has given us the “Seven-Mountain Mandate” to take dominion; this is our authoritative order from God. Yet we must not only have strategy to follow through with this order, we must also recognize that our ultimate Commander is ready and willing to provide us with this strategy.
In my years of personally interceding for these cultural spheres and leading others in a similar prayer journey, I have discovered a few recurring elements of strategy the Lord continues to provide for each mountain.
The Religion Mountain
The Religion Mountain is more than the temple or building; it is any gathering of people who worship God, Allah, Buddha, Satan or Shiva. The war in the heavens has always been over who will be worshipped. The prayer of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, is inspiring: “If disaster comes upon us, the sword, or judgment, or pestilence, or famine, then we will stand before this temple and before You because Your name is in this temple. And we will cry out to You in our distress, and You will hear and deliver” (2 Chr. 20:9). Almost 3,000 years after King Jehoshaphat lived, we stand in a similar place as he did when he uttered those words—on the brink of war with a fast-approaching enemy, declaring with assurance the faithfulness of God. With that stance in mind, here are the specific points we can pray:
- Pray that believers on the Religion Mountain will reflect Christ.
- Pray those upon the mountain—believers and nonbelievers—will worship the one true God in spirit and truth.
- Pray believers on the mountain will pray out of an intimate, living relationship with Jesus.
- Pray God will eliminate religious rituals.
- Pray the Holy Spirit will stir up a passion for the Word within every person on the mountain.
- Pray believers on the Religion Mountain will have a strong presence upon the other six mountains.
The Family Mountain
Families have never been as fragmented as they are today, and our modern cultural progression—or digression, in most cases—continues to wear away at the core unit of society. Here are some specific prayer points we must hold up in the Spirit:
- Declare that marriage will remain the foundation of the family unit.
- Pray marriages are restored. This involves praying for healing in marriages fractured by affairs, alcoholism, pornography, drug addictions and other vices the enemy uses to tear husbands and wives apart.
- Declare that the Family Mountain will stand for life. Our entire culture’s future depends on how well we defend the unborn.
- Pray parents would step up as the authority in the home and would model godly behavior.
- Renounce family curses from previous generations and release blessings upon the next generation.
- Pray that Christian families will recognize how to engage in spiritual warfare.
The Education Mountain
We are light-years away from the Bible-based education system our nation originally used. Given that sober fact, here are some key prayer points to use as we intercede for the Education Mountain:
- Pray that educators will teach knowledge and truth that is applied with wisdom. To thwart the enemy’s schemes, we must pray for a spirit of wisdom for those who teach.
- Pray that educators will teach the truth about God.
- Pray that educators will teach the full view of creation.
- Pray that educators will impart destiny and purpose.
- Pray that parents will take authority over what their children are taught.
The Government Mountain
The call to prayer for the Government Mountain is the continual responsibility for all Christians, not only intercessors (1 Tim. 2:1-4). With that in mind, intercessors can focus on the following key points of prayer.
- Declare a holy alignment of the nation’s civil laws to God’s laws.
- Pray that government officials will tremble at God’s Word and walk in the fear of the Lord.
- Pray that God will raise governmental apostolic prayer teams.
- Pray that our political leaders will guide with wisdom, revelation and truth. This is particularly apt for the judges who preside in courts throughout our country.
- Release a spirit of justice in the land as the armies of heaven restrain evil.
The Media Mountain
The media’s negative, biased reporting has already made a mark on generations who are now conditioned to distrust any news report. As intercessors, we can pray for a restoration of truth on the Media Mountain as we lift up the following key points.
- Pray that those on the Media Mountain will report the truth with integrity and without exaggerating the facts.
- Pray that those shaping media coverage will report both the good news and the Good News.
- Denounce information that is reported through the lens of evil.
- Call for the voices of righteousness and truth that have not been heard. Just as Ezekiel called forth life from a dead environment, we must call out those whom God has appointed to declare His character upon a mountain that has been ruled by the forces of evil. Remember, whoever controls the language controls the culture.
The Arts and Entertainment Mountain
Moviemakers have known about godly values since the beginning of film, which explains the dozens of epics based on Bible stories. But as Western culture has entered into postmodern thought, biblical values have been completely ignored, replaced by edgier and more graphic depictions in the arts.
It is impossible to say that arts and entertainment are not setting the standards for our culture. This is a key mountain the Lord desires to reclaim through His kingdom ambassadors. Given that, those called to intercede for this mountain should pray specifically for the following:
- Pray that believers called to this mountain will overcome darkness with the Light. Through prayer, we can empower those in the entertainment industry to shine the Light of the Holy Spirit within them and reflect the glory of God that casts out every hint of darkness.
- Pray that this mountain will produce entertainment that displays godly lifestyles, behaviors and values.
- Renounce corruption within this mountain.
- Pray that believers will actively support Christ-honoring entertainment.
- War against the outright celebration of ungodly values and the distortion of godly virtues. As intercessors, we must discern the spirits and the times—choosing to love those who oppose us, while fighting in the spiritual realm. When the enemy celebrates his perversion of morality and values, we must raise up the kingdom standard even higher and declare our Lord’s righteousness over this highly contested cultural territory.
- Pray for relationships and unity in the body of Christ. You will find this on all of the Seven Mountains, but it is especially critical in Hollywood.
The Business Mountain
Regardless of whether it is a bull market or a bear market, our God remains in control. Too often as believers, however, we lose sight of this and succumb to the prevailing spirits of fear and panic. The spiritual war we fight on the Business Mountain is both intense and integral to every other mountain’s success. Without finances, none of the other mountains can effectively grow, given today’s world structure. Keep this in mind as we intercede using the following prayer points.
- Call forth companies, leaders and workers who build for the glory of God.
- Declare an abundance of resources consecrated for the kingdom of God.
- Pray that leaders on the Business Mountain will not only be concerned about the bottom line but will also have compassion for those affected by their leadership.
- Pray that kingdom-minded leaders in this sphere will learn to receive—and integrate—intercessory prayer into their businesses.
As leaders ascend higher and become more influential on these mountains, they must rely on the prayers of supporting saints even more. Without that prayer shield, they are open targets, waiting to be picked off for the fall. Whether you are an intercessor or a leader, it is crucial that you not only recognize but also incorporate the power of intercession into every aspect of life upon the Seven Mountains.
Tommi Femrite is an ordained minister and the founder of GateKeepers International and the Apostolic Intercessors Network and author of Invading the Seven Mountains With Intercession.
Watch Lance Wallnau explain the seven mountains of influence and our Christian mandate at sevenmountains.charismamag.com.
A resource on this topic:
In her book Invading the Seven Mountains of Influence: How to Reclaim Society Through Prayer (Creation House), Tommi Femrite teaches how to reclaim society through prayer. Learn how to intercede for believers ascending each mountain. You can find this book at amazon.com, christianbook.com or wherever Christian books are sold.
