One of my friends was walking through a difficult time. While I was reading in Ezekiel 22, a phrase from verse 30 tugged at my heart: God said, “I looked for someone among them who would…stand before me in the gap…but I found no one.†The people of Israel were full of wickedness: worshipping idols, acting in impurity, etc. God told the prophet Ezekiel how He looked for someone, anyone to rebuild the wall of righteousness, but no one was found.
Idolatry doesn’t just look like praying to physical idols. There are other ways we can be so consumed with our own lives that we value other things above God. I thought about the busyness of my life, and how even good things could at times keep me from standing in the gap for others who need it. Right then, I chose to lay aside my plans and instead pray for my friend who desperately needed God’s help.
James 5:16 tells us that “the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.†As Christians, we are called to be alert and ready to pray for all God’s people (Ephesians 6:18). We can follow the example of Epaphras, who wrestled in prayer for his fellow believers. We can pray that they “stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured†(Colossians 4:12).
There is One who stood in the gap for us, when we could not save ourselves. In our sin, we needed a Savior, and God sent us Jesus. The prophecy in Ezekiel was ultimately pointing to Jesus, the only One who could live righteously. He paid the ransom for our souls through His own life, death, and resurrection; He is the One Mediator between God and humans. God desires that every person be saved and that all come to know the truth. Let’s stand in the gap for others, remembering how Jesus stood in the gap for us. • Savannah Coleman
• Has someone ever “stood in the gap†and prayed for you in a difficult time?
• Who might God be calling you to pray for today? Take a moment to set other things aside and pray for them.
I urge then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people… 1 Timothy 2:1 (NIV)
Read Verses:
Romans 8:14-17; Galatians 4:4-5; Ephesians 1:5; 3:12
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