The Hebrew Word for Intercession (Paga) Also Means to Strike a Target
Did you know that praying for someone else was described with a word for hitting a mark?
"And I sought for a man… that should stand in the gap before me for the land…" — Ezekiel 22:30 (KJV)— Ezekiel 22:30
The Hebrew word פָּגַע (paga, Strong's H6293) means to meet, to encounter, to reach a target, to lay hold of — and from this, to intercede. The intercessor "meets" God on behalf of another, reaching the throne with someone else's need.
What is striking is the word's range: the same paga can describe meeting an enemy or striking a mark. That gives intercession a deliberate, targeted quality — it is not passive well-wishing, but active prayer that lays hold of heaven for another person.
It is the word behind God's search in Ezekiel 22:30 for someone to "stand in the gap," and it describes what Jesus did when Isaiah 53:12 says He "made intercession for the transgressors."
Why It Matters
Intercession is not a polite wish sent into the air. To pray for another is to stand in the gap — to lay hold of God on their behalf with deliberate, targeted prayer.
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