Prayer MattersSample

Standing in the Gap

Ezekiel 22:30-31 was written in the days when men fought battles face-to-face, sword-to-sword, and hand-to-hand. There are many ancient legends of small bands of men, and in some instances, a single man standing in a narrow passage and holding off an entire army single-handed. For example, there is the famous story of the lone Viking who brought the whole Saxon army to a halt at Stamford Bridge, or the legend of the Roman hero Horatius who withstood the Etruscan army and saved Rome. If the walls of a city were breached in battle, a warrior would consider it his greatest moment of glory to stand in that narrow gap, face the enemy, and defend the entire city behind him. But God says in Ezekiel 22:30 that when He looked for a man to stand in the breach, he found none. Where were the warriors? Where were the intercessors? When the wall is breached what could possibly be more important than standing in the gap?

The enemy is constantly working to penetrate the walls of our lives and invade the church of Jesus Christ. We see the effects of this onslaught every day; a man of God falls into sin, a family is torn apart, a church is split, someone becomes ill, etc. Yet how often the people of God stand on the sidelines watching the catastrophe and enthusiastically exploit their new conversation piece. But God is not pleased. We have not been called to gossip and gawk, but to jump into the gap, to make up the hedge, and to defend the breach! Our failure to “make up the hedge and stand in the gap” can have dire consequences. That’s why prayer is such a serious issue. It is a matter of life and death. And one man or woman, strategically positioned in prayer, can be used by God to bring about mighty victories for His glory! Will you be that one?