Trinity Church

Standing the in Gap

Recently a parishoner was explaining to me her call to intercessory prayer for her family.  She had found great meaning in the words of Ezekiel.  As Ezekiel was prophesying against Jerusalem he spoke the word of the Lord saying:  “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.”  (Ezekiel 22:30 NIV)  For some reason I had never heard (even though I am sure I have read) this passage of scripture before, but it struck me in a special way that day. I thought about them a great deal and recognize a powerful message in them.  God is desirous of our asking for his intervention in the life of our families, our church and the world around.  Not only is he desirous of our intervention but the passage makes clear that our intervention can make a difference – sometimes even between life and death.  It puts a powerful spin on the call to intercessory prayer.  It says that our prayers do make a difference and that they are in fact a part of the plan God has for his work on the earth.  It says that without them things that might have been will not be, things that might have been made right will not be made right and things that were lost might never be found. 

I am reminded of another situation in the scripture when someone did stand in the gap. In the desert venomous snakes came among the Israelites and bit the people and many of them died.  Moses prayed for the people and the Lord commanded him to make a snake and put it on top of a pole so that anyone who had been bitten could look at it and live.  The scripture says that anyone bitten by a snake who looked upon the pole lived.  (Numbers 21)