Growing up, I often looked at a plaque that hung in our home that read: “Prayer changes things.” Many Christians have said they believe that, but I see a rising consciousness within the body of Christ that prayer truly does change things and that we need to intercede.
David Kubal, president for Intercessors for America, can attest to this rising faith. He has seen intercession do incredible things, including bring down the Berlin Wall. That same spirit of intercession, Kubal told me in an interview for my “Strang Report” podcast, will overturn Roe v. Wade in our lifetime and turn back the wave of socialism coming against America. Click here or scroll to the end of this article to listen to the entire interview.
Most of my readers will remember President Reagan’s famous line to the Soviet Union’s general secretary—”Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” But Kubal says there’s much more to the story.
“The wall didn’t actually come down for two more years,” he says. “And there’s actually a story that indicates that prayer was the real reason the Berlin Wall came down, because five years before Reagan ever went to Germany for that famous speech, a small prayer gathering began to meet on Monday nights. This reverend by the name of Rev. [Christian] Fuhrer began to gather just a small handful of people to pray every Monday night. And they would gather 40 candles every Monday night and pray for peace.”
The government began to persecute this small prayer group as it grew, but no persecution could stop the group’s petitions from reaching God’s ears. Kubal believes that same spirit of intercession will soon overthrow Roe v. Wade. After all, that was the main reason Intercessors for America (IFA) was founded in 1973. At the heart of the ministry’s genesis was the late Derek Prince, prominent teacher and author of Shaping History Through Prayer and Fasting, which also came out in 1973 on the heels of Roe v. Wade.
“Part of [Prince’s] releasing this book was he was speaking at a conference, and he challenged those at this conference to form a ministry to pray and intercede for the nation,” Kubal says. “The founders of Intercessors for America thought IFA would last maybe a couple years to pray through the bicentennials and that by then, they would see Roe v. Wade overturned. So obviously, we continue to labor in that realm. I believe that you and I will see Roe v. Wade overturned very shortly, in our lifetime for sure.”
But in order to see that happen, Kubal says Christians have to commit to intercession. And, he points out, there’s a crucial difference between prayer and intercession.
“Prayer, I believe, is telling God what you want,” Kubal says. “It’s not bad to bring before the Lord your list of prayer needs and the things that are upon your heart, and we certainly all do that. But intercession is a whole different level. Intercession is letting God tell us what He wants. I begins, I believe, with reading Scripture and understanding God’s plans and purposes for our lives and for our family and our nation that we live in.”
Kubal points out that this isn’t just another duty Christians have to do so they can check it off their list. On the contrary, the act of intercession is much more significant than that.
“I’ve just been captivated by the thought that He invites us to shape history with Him,” he says. “It’s fascinating to me that history really belongs to the intercessor. I think that that’s something really important for [people] to remember and to realize that intercession is about listening to God to see what His heart is in these matters and releasing by interacting with the Lord through intercession.”
IFA seeks to equip believers across the nation for this very purpose and mobilize them to cry out for the U.S. Their website, ifapray.org, offers a regular newsfeed with prayer requests as well as what Kubal calls “intercessory intelligent reports,” which shed light on how believers can pray for complicated cultural issues.
“But more than anything, we’re trying to fuel a community of intercessors that feel belonging with a team of people who are shaping history,” Kubal says. “We’re reaching millions and millions of people on a monthly basis, and we just see the people enjoy resonating as they pray together and as they communicate. More than anything, I believe people need inspiration to really be motivated to pray on a regular basis.”
I’m so grateful ministries like IFA are equipping God’s people to pray. If we don’t take intercession seriously and truly listen to God’s heart the way Kubal describes, we will watch our nation slip further into spiritual death. But there is hope. And if we link arms in prayer, I believe we can see a turnaround in our nation.
Listen to my podcast with Kubal below to learn how to wage powerful spiritual warfare in your prayer times. And if you know someone who needs encouragement in their prayer life, share this article with them!