A Call to Stand in The Gap
ICS Daily Devotions
As Christians, we have the full armour of God to help us stand against the flaming arrows of the evil one. But what if someone we know is currently experiencing oppression, affliction, suffering, and tribulation brought about by the devil? What can we do for them?
Ezekiel 22:30 (NKJV) So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.
This passage of Scripture from the Old Testament talks about standing in the gap between God and someone else through prayer. We live in a different time and dispensation from the people in the Book of Ezekiel. The people described in this passage were evil, and their hearts were far away from God. It was a sad day when God commanded Ezekiel to prophesy against the sin of Jerusalem, declaring that He had to bring judgement to them because of their sins. Because God is holy, righteous and just, He cannot tolerate sin, but since He is also a God of mercy and love, He first sought for a man to pray and to stand in the gap so that the people would not be destroyed. God needed someone to pray for them in the hope that He could spare them from destruction. Sadly, He found no one.
In this New Testament time, we Christians are blessed to live in the dispensation of grace. We now have peace with God after the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. We see from Scripture how God is on our side whenever we go through a difficult time because He has already dealt with the sin issue that separated us from Him. Nevertheless, we need to watch out and be aware of the lure of the devil and the work of our flesh. The devil will use the same method with us as when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness, offering the world in exchange for us to give up our faith in God. He wants us to worship money and will cause us to doubt the Word of God or twist it to cause us to fall into temptation. The devil will attempt to kill, steal, and destroy us through tribulation and persecution. It is during these times that God continually looks for Christians to intercede for others. We can intercede and pray for others to get them out of the situation. It will help them by granting them grace, wisdom, peace, and strength while they are going through a difficult period in their lives.
The prayer of intercession is very powerful because we are standing in the gap and lifting up the shield of faith to shield others against the fiery arrows—the persecutions attacking them. Intercessory prayer grants us an opportunity to work with God. We are called to be a people of prayer who stand in the gap to pray on behalf of individuals, the church, the government, our company, and our loved ones. God moves when we pray and intercede.
Sermon Series： Intercession
