Standing In The Gap

Ezekiel 22:30
And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

If there is one thing that has faded over the last few years it is the lost virtue of intercession. Lost souls are still the heart of God and by this scripture we see that topic can be found nowhere in the minds of God’s people. The prophet Ezekiel was communicating the heart and mind of God when he penned that the Almighty was looking for someone to make up the hedge and stand in the gap for the Hebrew nation. Sadly there was none God could find and they would inevitably face judgment. This shows us that our prayers can be the difference between life and death. Or in other words it means that prayer can keep judgment befalling on a person or nation.

Herein lies the awful truth that is hard for this generation to swallow, which is that this world is racing to judgement. It is an absolute fact that this world will ultimately face the wrath of God but individually it can be avoided. If people will repent, confess the Lord Jesus, judgement will not come to that life. Hell will be shunned and Heaven gained. Oh what glory this is! But it will never happen unless someone intercedes. Unless someone tells people the good news of Salvation. Unless someone will show people Christ through their life.

There is something missing in the process. We don’t cry out like we used to for the lost and dying. The imagery of Ezekiel’s text is that of a wall that surrounds a city or a wall that is used as a fortress. Those walls protect the inhabitants of the city but if there is a breach then there is no way to keep the enemy out. God was looking for someone to fill that gap up and He is still looking today. We could be the only thing standing in the way of our family, co-workers, city, or nation from seeing judgement. And when I speak of cities and nations I am not talking about municipalities or governing bodies. I am talking about people and their soul!

We must make up the hedge. Which just simply means in the original language of the Bible to “wall back up”. We repair the gap in the wall by praying and interceding for the lost. What is really interesting about the phrase “stand in the gap” is that in the Hebrew it conveys more of strong posture, fearless stance, or standing firm. We must have a bold posture in prayer if we are to see the lost come to Christ. That bold posture must see its manifestation through asking the Lord to bring the lost to Him at all cost. There was a time in the church that we would ask God to convict the one we prayed for. “Place a hedge of thorns around them” was our rallying cry. Somewhere along the line that became too harsh of a prayer to ask. Even though at Paul’s conversion Jesus intimated that was exactly happening to him Act 9:5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

We must once again must view a soul as the most valuable thing on Earth. Mark 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Don’t give up on whoever your praying for to come to Christ. If you have felt discouraged about the seemingly delayed answer to prayer for that one has been resistant to salvation, start praying again. You are what stands between them and an eternal judgment. When I was younger I remember hearing a story about a church that held regular prayer meetings. An affluent lady visited the church and heard the outright cries bellowing from the designated prayer rooms. She inquired from the pastor, “What is that sound” with an obvious disdain for the practice. The pastor replied, “That is the most beautiful sound you will ever hear, for it is the sound of intercession for the lost souls of this city”.

Be encouraged to stand in the gap once again for the lost!