Working with God
ICS Daily Devotions
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.
Wouldn’t you like to have someone praying and interceding for you when you are going through hard times? Having someone or a group of people praying for us makes a great deal of difference in our lives. Likewise, there will be times when we need to stand in the gap to intercede for those who are hard pressed on every side too. They could be our loved ones, relatives, colleagues, church members or whoever the Holy Spirit moves us to pray for.
The difference that we feel when we have prayer support and otherwise couldn’t be more obvious. We will experience the grace of God carrying us through a crisis when someone is interceding for us. We will also witness the work of God’s hands throughout the process. We need one another especially when we are going through challenges. Therefore, we should learn to take time to intercede or stand in the gap for one another when the situation warrants it. In fact, whenever a brother or sister goes through an ordeal, God is looking for someone to stand in the gap for them so that He can act justly, righteously and prevent the work of the devil.
We need to know that God has built a hedge of protection around His people because He is a loving, gracious, merciful, and faithful God who watches over His covenant people—there is no evil or darkness in God because He is love. However, it is the sins of man that create gaps or holes in the hedge of protection, and it is the devil who makes use of these gaps to attack the individuals. 1 Peter 5:8 describes the devil as a roaring lion who prowls around looking for someone to devour. If we are aware of the enemy’s scheme, we can pre-empt or thwart his attacks on us or our family members by enforcing the victory of Jesus Christ through intercession.
Prayer and intercession put our faith in God to work in the lives of the people we are interceding for. Even though we can’t always be with our loved ones when they go through hard times, we can intercede for them and pray them out of the situation. Our intercession is powerful and can grant them grace, wisdom, peace, and strength.
Intercessory prayer gives us an opportunity to work with God especially in the age of the New Testament because the Holy Spirit lives in us. He is omniscient and will give us a burden to pray for and will also pray through us.
Sermon Series: Partnering in Prayer with God through Intercession
