Standing in the Gap!

I looked for someone to stand up for me against all this, to repair the defenses of the city, to take a stand for me and stand in the gap to protect this land. I couldn’t find anyone. Not one. Ezekiel 22:30 from The Message

This past week as early release for conference week was happening in the schools around our area, my mind went back to all the years we teachers held conferences with parents on these days. Most of the time we were all on the same page when we discussed their student, but sometimes the things we teachers saw at school were not what the parents saw at home and vice versa. It was always an enlightening time, and it was always uplifting for us to see how parents rise to the occasion to stand in the gap for their children.

When we stand in the gap for someone, we literally stand in the middle and offer protection and defense for that person or thing. Just like Abraham stood in the gap for Sodom when God was going to destroy the city because it had turned against him, we have opportunities to do that same thing.

Abraham became the intercessor. God asked him to find fifty righteous people, then ten, but Abraham could find only one, his nephew, Lot. God spared Lot, because of Abraham, but He destroyed the city.

In the ancient world of the Bible, cities had walls surrounding them to protect them from enemies. When the wall was breached, the city was vulnerable to destruction and the only way to secure it was for people to risk their lives by literally standing in the gap in the wall and fighting the enemy.

There are many times when we stand in the gap for others or they stand in the gap for us. In the nineties, our church began a women’s spiritual retreat every year where we would gather for the weekend to study and praise God. One year we were fortunate to have Mrs. Jeannette Cathy as our guest speaker and Babbie Mason as our worship leader. What a dynamic duo!

Mrs. Cathy began her time with us by telling us that she was very nervous, and she needed our help. Every time she faltered or stopped, she asked if we would encourage her by saying, “You can do it!” The group there only had to encourage her a couple of times, but each time, there was a sense of standing in the gap for her. She did a fabulous job of bringing us together!

At the conclusion, Babbie sang her song entitled Standing in the Gap. The words were so powerful and the perfect end to the evening! She ended the song with these words: Just remember someone somewhere is praying for you. Calling out your name. Praying for your strength. I’ll be standing in the gap for you. Written by Babbie

God sends people to stand in the gap for us in this life. He sends those who will pray on our behalf and intercede in difficult times. Sometimes we never know who is praying for us or standing in the gap for us, but God knows and hears. Oftentimes, we hear that someone is facing an illness, a hardship, or a tragedy, and instead of looking the other way, we pray that we can share the burden. If someone we love is hurting, we are hurting too, and we, as Christians, are willing to stand in the gap with them.

Standing in the gap is born from a faith which we acquire through our knowledge of God, which leads to our awareness of it, then becomes belief, and finally trust that He is there for us. Faith isn’t born at a negotiation table, but rather through our good works, good deeds, and times when we stand in the gap for others. This faith never goes out of style.

God comes in our times of greatest need and with Him comes a sudden calming presence. In Ephesians 2:8 we hear these words, For it is by grace that you have been saved and this is not of yourselves. It is the gift from God.

We are great sinners, but we have an even greater God who is ready and willing to stand in the gap for us.