00:02 Emcee:
Welcome to the Strategic Intercession Podcast, where we share powerful prayer techniques, inspiring stories and tools to help you lead with wisdom and confidence. Hosted by Melanie Boudreau, a seasoned leader in focused prayer. Whether you're leading in church, government, or business, shaping your industry, this podcast is for you. Now, here's your host, Melanie Boudreau.

00:29 Melanie Boudreau:
In this episode, I want to talk about something the enemy uses that's easy to miss.

00:34 Melanie Boudreau:
I call it the spirit of Diminishment. It's a scheme, really, a demonic entity that tries to shrink our prayer life, weaken our sense of calling, and get us wondering if our prayers even matter. The enemy is a master of distraction. He loves pulling the spotlight off Jesus and putting it on himself. For example, I remember being at a leaders conference far from home.

01:01 Melanie Boudreau:
We were in worship when a man suddenly collapsed and started violently manifesting a demon. Instead of moving him to a private space for ministry, they left it right there in the middle of the room. And it went on through the rest of worship. The whole focus shifted, and I could almost feel the enemy's delight stealing attention in a moment that was meant to magnify Jesus. Even seasoned leaders can get caught in moments like that.

01:30 Melanie Boudreau:
We've all let a distraction run longer than it should, but part of growing in discernment is learning how to bring the room back to Jesus quickly. Diminishment works the same way. It's quieter. It may not throw a fit in the aisle, but it'll whisper that your prayers don't carry weight, that your voice doesn't belong, or that someone else could say it better. But that voice of diminishment does not belong at center stage.

01:58 Melanie Boudreau:
Today we're going to talk about how to deal with it behind the scenes and get our focus back where it belongs. On Jesus, who is worthy of all our attention and all our praise. In group prayer settings, the spirit of diminishment doesn't usually silence people by force. It works through comparison. You hear one strong, confident voice take the lead, and suddenly yours feels small, different, out of place.

02:27 Melanie Boudreau:
It's not because anyone told you to be quiet. It's because something inside starts to wonder if you're even made for this kind of prayer. That's the counsel of diminishment. And it's not just something that shows up during group prayer. The spirit of diminishment may come after leaders in a different way for sure.

02:46 Melanie Boudreau:
A leader may know they need prayer covering for their work, but something quietly talks them out of can sound like humility. Those quiet thoughts that say things are going well enough. I don't need to bother anyone. But that's not humility. It's diminishment.

03:03 Melanie Boudreau:
It convinces leaders that only the most urgent needs, the most important people, or the most dramatic situations are worth asking others to pray about. Over time, it makes prayer support feel like a luxury instead of the essential safeguard it truly is. So have you been listening to that counsel? Has it convinced you that a prayer shield can wait? 2 Corinthians 2:11 says we're not to be ignorant of the enemy's schemes.

03:32 Melanie Boudreau:
When we stay unaware, we become vulnerable. And Ephesians 6, verse 11 tells us to put on the full armor of God so we can stand against anything that tries to pull our eyes off the King.

03:48 Melanie Boudreau:
Recently I've been reading the book Hearing God by Dallas Willard. His heart in writing, it is to help people develop a real conversational relationship with God. Mere humans can actually talk with Him. And those biblical accounts we read are meant to be mentors for us now, not just distant stories from history. He pushes back on the idea that only a few exceptional people can hear God.

04:13 Melanie Boudreau:
He reminds us that our humanity, our ordinary, flawed nature, doesn't disqualify us from interacting with Him. Hearing God in many different ways is something every believer can experience. It's a joy that's not reserved for the elite. The same is true for receiving profound answers to prayer. For more on that, you can listen to episode 12 if you want to know how to pray for healing and see God move.

04:41 Melanie Boudreau:
James, chapter 5, verse 17 in the New International Version says Elijah was a human being even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it wouldn't rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Elijah, even though God used him in powerful ways, was just as human as we are. That tells us ordinary people can pray with extraordinary results. The verse before it says the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

05:11 Melanie Boudreau:
So what holds us back from praying boldly and with authority when God's given us this incredible gift? Prayer that truly moves his hand on behalf of ourselves and others.

05:25 Melanie Boudreau:
For me, the shift away from listening to the counsel of diminishment began years ago when I read the book entitled Intercessors Discover your Prayer Power by Tommy Femright. She was the founder of Apostolic Intercessors Network, AIN and Gatekeepers International. Tommy has since gone to heaven, but I still work as an intercessor and team director through ain, serving clients all over the globe. Through the creation and maintenance of custom prayer shields, Tommy was one of my mentors and and through her book I began to see the subtle ways the enemy had undermined my own confidence in prayer. Prayer itself has always come easily to me, but prayer beyond the confines of my closet, especially in group settings, often felt awkward.

06:13 Melanie Boudreau:
I was too aware of the differences in how people pray. Some prayers seemed eloquent, passionate or powerful, and mine didn't always sound like that. It left me feeling spiritually less than others, like my prayers weren't as effective or anointed. In all honesty, I confess this self consciousness revisits me to this day and I remind myself of the very truths I'm sharing with you now. The vulnerability I had to the spirit of diminishment affecting my prayer life waned when I began to understand the concept of different prayer anointings.

06:49 Melanie Boudreau:
Just like there are different spiritual gifts, there are different ways God moves through people in prayer. Once I grasped that, it became easier to stop comparing and start embracing the way God had wired me to pray. The enemy loves to sow diminishing self doubt to convince us that our voice in prayer doesn't matter. But recognizing the diversity of prayer anointings not only builds our own confidence and it also helps us honor others and make space for every expression of prayer in group settings.

07:24 Melanie Boudreau:
Every Christian is called to intercession, but each of you brings a distinctive prayer personality. Whether you're a structured list intercessor, a prophetic prayer warrior, a mercy driven intercessor, or another style. Rather than comparing yourself to others, you can discover your specific prayer gift, recognizing how God uniquely equips you to stay. Stand in the gap. You can bring your own strengths into a united prayer movement, linking arms with others whose gifts balance yours.

07:54 Melanie Boudreau:
To pray over families and churches, to cover projects and communities, even to stand in the gap for businesses, cities, governments and nations. You can embrace your own calling without envy or overwhelm. Recognizing that your intercession is contributes to a larger kingdom focused vision. Honestly, you don't have to pray like someone else to make an impact. God has entrusted you with a role tailored to your heart and gifting.

08:27 Melanie Boudreau:
Each one of us has a power mix that's not earned but enables us to accomplish what God has assigned to us to do. In prayer. Each of you carries a unique anointing, a way of praying, a posture even that God has placed in you for a reason. You might not have thought of it that way before, but just like spiritual gifts or personality wiring, there are different kinds of intercessors, different expressions of the same spirit, like personality traits These anointings have a flip side. There are strengths that build the body and express God's heart.

09:02 Melanie Boudreau:
And there are pitfalls you need to recognize so you can grow in wisdom and unity. Think of it this A person with an adventurous personality might be full of vision, energy and risk taking faith. But without structure, they might forget details or create chaos for others. When you're aware, you can set healthy boundaries, put some accountability in place, or even use simple tools like reminders to help you protect the gifts God's given you instead of accidentally working against them. The same is true of your prayer anointings.

09:38 Melanie Boudreau:
Without awareness and humility, you can cause unintentional friction, especially when partnering in prayer with others. But when you understand your own wiring and make room for other kinds of intercession, that's when prayer becomes a powerful expression of unity, not uniformity. Okay, so next I want to share with you five prayer anointings from Tommy's book that'll help you understand your unique design.

10:07 Melanie Boudreau:
Tommy talks about 12 different prayer anointings in her book, and I found them incredibly helpful. Not as a rigid checklist, but more as a way of recognizing what I've already been doing or understanding why I tend to get discouraged in certain areas. You'll probably spot yourself in one or two of these more than the others, and that's totally fine. It's not about ranking anybody, it's just about recognizing the different kinds of provision God gives for the assignments he's trusted us with. And you know, it's actually pretty common to move in and out of different anointings at different times in your life.

10:44 Melanie Boudreau:
When you know your own prayer identity, you can lean into it with confidence, shut down the enemy's voice of diminishment, and extend more grace to others as you pray alongside them. So let's walk through five of the 12 prayer anointings together. First, let's talk about list intercessors. If you're a list intercessor, you're the organized prayer. You've got prayer notebooks, prayer apps, and even prayer spreadsheets.

11:14 Melanie Boudreau:
I'm not kidding. You make sure nobody gets forgotten. And when you say I'll be praying, you mean it. It's a beautiful gift. You bring consistency and coverage to the prayer movement.

11:28 Melanie Boudreau:
You're often the glue that holds a group together. But here's where it can get tricky. Sometimes the list can pull you into legalism or make you feel like you're performing instead of really praying. If you don't finish the list, you can feel like you failed. Or you can miss what the spirit's doing in the moment because you're determined to get through page two.

11:49 Melanie Boudreau:
God's not grading your completion rate. His heart is for connection, not check marks. Second, let's talk about mercy intercessors. If you're a mercy intercessor, you feel things deeply. You cry for people you barely know.

12:06 Melanie Boudreau:
You pray with tenderness. You notice pain others miss, and you carry it before God like a sacred offering. Your tears in prayer aren't about being overly emotional. They're a sign you're caring God's own heart for someone's pain and need. I have a dear friend named Brooke who went to a prayer meeting where the spirit of intercession came on her powerfully.

12:30 Melanie Boudreau:
She wept through the whole time, not because of personal trauma, but because the Holy Spirit was moving through her with deep compassion for what they were praying about. But instead of recognizing it as God's heart, others made assumptions. Some thought she was having an emotional breakdown. Others assumed she was dealing with deep personal wounds or instability. It was awkward, and she left feeling embarrassed and misunderstood.

12:58 Melanie Boudreau:
And here's the thing. What mercy intercessor wants to walk into a public prayer meeting knowing their tears might be misread as personal problems instead of a genuine prayer anointing that sends an unspoken message. Your tears are inappropriate. Your emotions make people uncomfortable. Compassion is weakness.

13:20 Melanie Boudreau:
Some may even suggest counseling when what you really need is understanding that you're carrying God's heart. Mercy intercessors. Your tears are sacred. They reflect God's compassion for people that are hurting and his desire to bring comfort and healing. So if you're moved to tears during prayer, don't apologize.

13:41 Melanie Boudreau:
The emotional connection you're tapped into isn't weakness. It's a mirror of God's own heart. Even Jesus, when he looked over his people, wept over Jerusalem's spiritual blindness and the judgment that was coming. That's Luke, chapter 19, verses 41, 42. While you're drawn to the overlooked, the hurting and the outcast, be careful not to get pulled into emotional rescue missions that God did not assign to you.

14:09 Melanie Boudreau:
There's a difference between being led by the spirit and being driven by the soul. And don't be afraid to speak the truth. Mercy and truth go together. That's how healing comes. Third, let's talk about warfare intercessors.

14:25 Melanie Boudreau:
Some of you were born for battle. You see past the surface of things and recognize when the enemy's at work and how he's scheming. You don't back down. You step in you pray with spiritual authority, and you know what it means to take ground in the spirit. You fight to establish God's truth where darkness has tried to reign and your prayers make a real difference.

14:49 Melanie Boudreau:
But here's the when every prayer turns into a battle, it's easy to forget God's invitation into intimacy. You're not just a soldier. You're his son. You're his daughter. And you need more than war.

15:05 Melanie Boudreau:
You need worship. Moments of stillness, beauty and rest. Not just rest from the fight, but rest in God's presence. And every warrior needs a battle plan. It's risky to rush in without one.

15:20 Melanie Boudreau:
That means making sure your own life is in order, no open doors for the enemy, nothing left unresolved, and keeping your own prayer shield in place of before you go fight for others, One more caution. You can get so locked into fight mode that you leave no space for gentler gifts when you pray with others. God didn't call you to dominate a prayer meeting. He called you to partner. Your authority is at its strongest when it flows in humility and connection with the rest of the body.

15:51 Melanie Boudreau:
So yes, fight. But fight from a place of peace. Fight with his strategy, and never forget who's leading the charge. He leads from love, and he honors everyone who serves him through prayer. Fourth, let's talk about personal intercessors.

16:10 Melanie Boudreau:
Some of you have been assigned not to a cause or a country, but to a specific person. It might be a leader, a pastor, even a public figure. And it's not for a week or a month. It's long term. You carry them in prayer like armor.

16:27 Melanie Boudreau:
Sometimes you know things in your spirit before they happen. God has trusted you'd to bring them into his throne room to lay their needs at his feet. You cover their protection provision, stamina decisions, even their personal, emotional and spiritual needs as the Holy Spirit reveals them. And maybe you've wondered if anyone even notices what you carry. God notices.

16:54 Melanie Boudreau:
We labor for him, not for human recognition. But with this kind of assignment, boundaries matter. It's easy to start wanting closeness or recognition, or even the approval of the person you're praying for. Or to let their name slip into conversation so others know who you're connected to, or to think so highly of them that you hesitate to speak truth when it's needed. Stay hidden in Christ.

17:21 Melanie Boudreau:
Guard confidentiality like it's sacred because it is. And keep covering in prayer the things God's entrusted to you. Finally, let's talk about prophetic intercessors. You're wired to hear what others might miss to see what hasn't yet come into view. You don't just react in prayer.

17:43 Melanie Boudreau:
You respond to what God shows you ahead of time. He gives you glimpses of what's coming so you can pray it in. Sometimes you feel the weight of something in your spirit long before it happens. That's not your imagination, that's your call. Your role is to take what God whispers and carry it to his throne until breakthrough comes.

18:05 Melanie Boudreau:
But with that calling, there are some real pitfalls. In many Christian circles, people who see and hear accurately are held in high esteem. And it can be tempting to find your identity in your gifting instead of in Christ. Or you might feel pressure to soften or adjust what God said to make it sound safer, less unusual. But that's just a subtle form of people pleasing.

18:30 Melanie Boudreau:
So stay humble, stay submitted, walk under spiritual authority and keep yourself accountable. And always remember, your calling isn't about being in the know. It's about being on your knees, anchored in your identity as his. You're here to carry God's heart in prayer until his purposes come to pass. And that wraps up the five prayer anointings we've talked about today.

18:57 Melanie Boudreau:
If you want to explore all 12 from Tommy's framework, I've put together a free resource that walks you through every one of them. You'll find the link in the show notes. We've only covered part of the picture today, so take time with the rest and see how God's wired you for prayer.

19:19 Melanie Boudreau:
Now let's shift gears for a minute and talk about making corporate prayer accessible. I've ministered in a lot of different nations, and I've seen so many ways believers come together to pray. Every model has its strengths and its challenges when it comes to making room for different prayer anointings. In many churches around the world, everyone prays out loud. At the same time.

19:42 Melanie Boudreau:
It's a powerful sound, like a spiritual volcano with voices erupting together, crying out to God. One of the gifts of this model is that it cuts down on comparison because you can't really hear what anyone else is praying. That gives each person freedom to pour out their heart openly. In a lot of Western churches, it's different. One person prays while everyone else listens in silence.

20:08 Melanie Boudreau:
That can create beautiful moments of agreement. But sometimes it can unintentionally favor people who are comfortable speaking in public or who pray in a certain style, especially warfare intercessors who often end up taking the microphone. More often, some prayer gatherings use a leader directed approach. The facilitator names a topic and either calls on someone to pray for it or invites everyone to pray about that topic at the same time. That can help keep things focused while still leaving room for different prayer expressions.

20:41 Melanie Boudreau:
But here's the real question for any prayer does our model make prayer accessible for everyone? Are we making space for the list intercessors steady methodical prayers, the mercy intercessor's tears, the warfare intercessors bold declarations, and the prophetic intercessor's strategic breakthrough prayers? When we make room for all those expressions, we're reflecting the beautiful variety in the body of Christ. And that leads us right into another part of the conversation. The Difference Between Corporate Prayer Meetings and Prayer Shields One of the beautiful things about a prayer shield is the freedom it gives you.

21:25 Melanie Boudreau:
You don't all have to be in the same place or even on the same call for it to be effective, but a lot of people assume that for it to really work, everybody has to meet at the same time and pray together. That assumption can be a real obstacle to giving leaders the prayer coverage they really need. Coordinating schedules so multiple people can gather regularly, whether in person or online, is incredibly challenging. With a prayer shield, it's much simpler. Members just respond to the updates you provide as a leader.

21:59 Melanie Boudreau:
They pray strategically for you whenever Holy Spirit brings you to mind. It's a far lighter commitment than giving up a night every week sitting with other intercessors and and waiting for your turn to pray. It's personal, and the follow through on that commitment is between the intercessor and God. Your role as the leader is to keep them engaged with updates and with ongoing connection that maintains the strength of your shield. In earlier episodes, I've talked about how a prayer shield intercessor doesn't need to pray for their leader every single day.

22:34 Melanie Boudreau:
Instead, they pray when Holy Spirit prompts them, or for a list intercessor when your name comes up on their list. That's very different from everyone gathering in the same room, laying hands on someone and praying all at once. Your shield can be powerful without ever meeting in one location. What matters is that each intercessor is committed to covering you in their own way, using their specific prayer anointing to give you the spiritual protection you need. Meeting together, whether online, on the phone, or in person, is a bonus.

23:12 Melanie Boudreau:
It's nice to have, but it's not required for a shield that gets real results in the spiritual realm. Now, if you're a leader building your own prayer shield, it's even more important to understand the different prayer anointings and how each one can strengthen your coverage.

23:31 Melanie Boudreau:
If you're a leader looking to build your own prayer shield, understanding the different prayer anointings we talked about earlier earlier isn't just for personal growth. It's the key to building strategic prayer coverage. When you're putting that shield together, think about which anointings will best serve your ministry's specific context and challenges. For example, if your ministry works with families in a neighborhood struggling with gang violence, you'll want a crisis intercessor on your team. Someone who can pray urgently when situations escalate.

24:02 Melanie Boudreau:
You might also need a people group intercessor who understands cultural dynamics and can pray with insight for the exact community you're serving. And a sole intercessor, what some call a midwife intercessor could be invaluable for praying people into salvation. If you're in business leadership facing complex negotiations or major financial decisions, a financial intercessor with faith for provision and breakthrough or would be strategic. Then you might add a warfare intercessor who can discern and push back against spiritual opposition to Kingdom business ventures. Here's the point.

24:41 Melanie Boudreau:
Understanding prayer anointings helps you build a team that's not just willing to pray, but specifically equipped for your unique battles and assignments. It's like assembling a spiritual special forces unit where every member brings critical capabilities to the mission. And this is one of the beauties of becoming a client of Apostolic Intercessors Network ain. When AIN interviews a client to understand their specific needs, the assigned advisor and team director can custom select vetted intercessors with the right spiritual gift mix to give you comprehensive prayer coverage. It's a long term, custom crafted prayer team designed for maximum effectiveness.

25:25 Melanie Boudreau:
Now, I know some of you are thinking I'd be grateful to find anyone willing to pray for me, let alone someone with a specific anointing. And that's valid. Any prayer coverage is better than none. But being aware of these distinctions can help you recognize and appreciate the different ways your team is already praying. And it might help you spot gaps in your coverage that need to be filled.

25:48 Melanie Boudreau:
You don't need all 12 types of intercessors on your team. You need the ones that match your specific assignment and season. And as your ministry evolves, you may find you need to adjust your prayer shield along the way.

26:06 Melanie Boudreau:
Let's pause for a moment and remember something important. You don't have to fit a certain mold to be a powerful intercessor. God designed you on purpose. Maybe you pray from a place of mercy or you worship while you pray shifting atmospheres, or you're a governmental intercessor who can cut through political complexity. Or you simply pray through a list every morning.

26:30 Melanie Boudreau:
However he's wired you, you're anointed for that. Some of you pray spontaneously in the spirit, others quietly journal spirit led prayers through tears. Some get woken up at 3am with an urgent burden. Others keep a steady rhythm at 6am coffee in hand, Bible open each expression is holy. Your written prayer, rooted in scripture and birthed through your time with God, carries just as much power as someone else's fiery, spontaneous declaration.

27:03 Melanie Boudreau:
Your steady whisper, coming from your closeness with Jesus can be just as spirit led as someone's urgent cry. And if you're interceding with great faith for finances to fund God's work from a small apartment, that's no less effective than someone praying from a penthouse with big resources. And vision. Comparison that chips away at your confidence in prayer is nothing more than counsel from the spirit of diminishment, a force devoted to silencing the proclamations God has already ordained to move mountains. God isn't looking for performance.

27:38 Melanie Boudreau:
He's looking for partnership. He anoints us differently on purpose, and the moment we embrace that, we stop striving and start flowing in the goodness of our own prayer identity. The enemy loves to make us feel less than others if our intercession doesn't sound like warfare or isn't loaded with insider details to prove we're informed. But that's just noise. Your prayers matter.

28:05 Melanie Boudreau:
Your anointing carries weight because it came from Him. When we gather with others to pray, we don't have to sound like anyone else in the room. We honor the variety. We stay in our lane, and we trust that God is weaving it all together, every style, every strength into something beautiful and powerful for his kingdom. And when you see yourself the way he does, fully equipped, intentionally designed, you can step into your place in prayer with boldness and joy.

28:39 Melanie Boudreau:
That's when we're ready to take the next step.

28:45 Melanie Boudreau:
Before we wrap up, I've got something for you that'll help you take this further. I've put together a free resource that goes deeper than what we've been able to cover in this episode. It's a guide called 12 Prayer Anointings. It's designed to help you discover your unique prayer identity. In it, I walk you through all 12 prayer anointings from Tommy Femright's book and help you discover your own calling so you can grow in it.

29:11 Melanie Boudreau:
You can download it for free@strategicintercession.com the link is in the show notes your prayers matter and your voice counts. And the way God's wired you to pray isn't just valuable, it's needed for breakthrough right now. Thanks for spending this time with me today. My prayer is that you step into your prayer assignment with boldness and joy, knowing heaven backs you every step of the way. Until next time, keep your eyes on Jesus and keep praying with the confidence that your voice moves his heart.

29:48 Emcee:
Thank you for listening to the Strategic Intercession podcast. We hope you found today's episode inspiring and helpful. Don't forget to subscribe, share this podcast and visit strategicintercession.com for more resources. We're grateful to have you as part of our community. Until next time.

30:07 Emcee:
Blessings.

30:12 Speaker: 3:
SA.