Following http://jmm.org.au/articles/16254.htm this comment from a feamle pastor-friend:

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Helpful statements addressing both questions. Revelation 8:3-5 indicates the importance of the prayers of all the saints in bringing on earth what is the Father’s will. Certainly those who are the object of our prayers would testify to many instances where all hope was gone, but by prayer, circumstances completely changed. Prayer is the one thing that the persecuted believers value above all else. Two particular instances in which I was involved by prayer come to mind.

Unacknowledged in the media here is the important role of intercessory prayer in creating a change in the fear levels of the general population in Romania, which led to resistance to the arrest of the pastor, which eventually resulted in the bringing down of the Ceausescu regime in 1989.

The 1994 elections in South Africa were bloodless. Headlines in the South African press hailed this as a miracle attributable to the waves of 24/7 prayer which had preceded it.

The intecessory prayer movement of recent years has focussed much on the need to listen first and then intercede according to the Father’s direction. This two way communication in prayer is certainly an improvement on the “praying my shopping list around the world” type of prayer, with an “if it by Thy will” caveat before the Amen. The Church Resource Ministries Australia, “Intercessor’s Manual” defines intercession as, “Finding out what is on God’s heart, then speaking and living it back to Him through identification and sacrifice until there is release.”

Johannes Facius defines intercession as “a position we take before God in a particular situation and for a specific cause, and not just something we do for a couple of hours.” I think this is the type of prayer that is being sought by those circulating requests for prayer. It is hard to see when the “God bless the missionaries” type of prayer is answered if we haven’t taken time to find out how God wants to bless them and offering specific requests in prayer accordingly.