Some of the most important things you will ever do for another person may happen in a room they never enter. They may never hear the prayer. They may never know their name was on your lips before God. There may be no public testimony connecting what happened in their life with the morning you carried them in the secret place. Nobody may thank you, applaud you or even realize you were involved.
And perhaps that is part of what makes intercession so beautiful. It teaches us to care about what God is doing even when there is no possibility of receiving credit for it. God said through Ezekiel:
“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.” — Ezekiel 22:30 KJV
There is so much inside this verse, but before we examine the gap, the hedge or even the intercessor, notice how the verse begins: “And I sought…” God was looking for someone.
God Was Looking For A Person
Ezekiel 22 is not describing a small problem. Jerusalem was deeply corrupted. The chapter speaks about bloodshed, idolatry, injustice, sexual immorality, dishonest gain, corrupt leadership, false prophets and priests who had failed to distinguish between what was holy and what was profane. This was not a nation needing a little encouragement. There was a breach. Yet in the middle of God’s indictment comes an extraordinary statement: “I sought for a man…” God looked for someone who would stand. That tells us something about intercession. God can involve human beings in carrying His purposes through prayer.
The intercessor does not become the saviour of the situation. God remains God. But He searches for people willing to stand before Him concerning what matters to Him. This is where Phase Four of Prayer Awakening begins. For the first part of this journey, much of our prayer concerned what God was doing within us. Our altar awakened. Communion deepened. We learned to stand in Christ.
Now the secret place begins looking outward. The awakened woman becomes available. WHAT IS THE GAP? Ezekiel uses the imagery of a damaged wall. In the ancient world, a city’s wall was part of its defence. If the wall was breached, that opening created vulnerability. Someone standing in that breach was standing where protection had been compromised.
God uses that imagery spiritually: “…make up the hedge, and stand in the gap…” The intercessor recognizes that something is wrong and refuses to respond with indifference. She says, in effect: This may not be happening directly to me, but I will bring it before God. That is a major shift in spiritual maturity. It is possible to become so consumed with our own lives that everything is evaluated according to whether it affects us.
Is my family okay? Is my job okay? Is my business okay? Are my plans working? If yes, then everything seems fine. Intercession enlarges the heart until another person’s pain can become a reason for us to pray even when our own life is peaceful.
But Notice Where The Intercessor Stands
God does not merely say: “Stand in the gap.” He says: “…stand in the gap before me…” Those two words change everything: Before Me. The intercessor sees the gap, but her eyes must remain upon the God before whom she stands. This keeps intercession healthy. We are not called to become obsessed with darkness. We are not called to spend our prayer lives studying everything the enemy might be doing.
We are not called to become emotionally consumed by every problem we encounter. Our position is before God. We see the need, but we face Him. We recognize the brokenness, but we speak to Him. We carry the person, but we stand before Him. Intercession is profoundly God-centred.
Intercession Is Not Gossip Wearing Prayer Clothes
We should probably admit that Christians have occasionally discovered very creative ways to share information. One of them begins: “I’m only telling you this so that you can pray…” Twenty minutes later, you know what happened, where it happened, what she said, what he replied, who else was there, what somebody’s aunt thinks about it and possibly what everyone ordered for lunch.
Then somebody remembers: Oh yes. We were supposed to pray. There is a better way. You do not need to expose somebody in order to intercede for them. There are burdens that belong in the secret place, not in the group chat. If God allows you to become aware of someone’s weakness, your first response does not always have to be discussion.
Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is become quiet and pray. An intercessor can be trusted with information because she knows the difference between carrying something and broadcasting it.
Abraham Stood Before God
Genesis 18 gives us a remarkable picture of intercession. God reveals what is happening concerning Sodom, and Abraham begins pleading concerning the city. He asks:
“Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?” — Genesis 18:23 KJV
Abraham continues speaking with God, asking whether the city might be spared for the sake of the righteous within it. What strikes me is that Sodom was not a righteous city. Abraham was not interceding because everybody there deserved congratulations. He was standing before God in a complicated situation and appealing concerning mercy and justice.
Intercession does not require us to pretend wrong is right. We can acknowledge sin while still longing for mercy. We can recognize someone’s failure without becoming excited about their downfall. A heart of intercession asks: “God, what is Your desire here, and how should I pray?”
Moses Stood In The Breach
Psalm 106 describes another powerful example. Israel had sinned grievously, and Scripture says:
“Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach…” — Psalm 106:23 KJV
There is our language again. “Stood before him in the breach.” Moses was not defending Israel’s sin. He was interceding for sinful people. That distinction matters. Intercession is not agreeing with everything people do. It is refusing to allow their failure to remove compassion from our hearts. Sometimes the people who need prayer most are the people whose behaviour makes us least interested in praying for them.
Yet mercy knows how to stand in uncomfortable places.
Jesus Is The Great Intercessor
Before we become too impressed with ourselves for learning to intercede, Scripture directs our attention back to Jesus. Hebrews says:
“Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” — Hebrews 7:25 KJV
Jesus intercedes. Think about that. Intercession is not an unusual spiritual hobby invented by particularly intense Christians. It is found in the ministry of Christ Himself. When we stand before God for others, we are participating in something that reflects His own heart. And that keeps intercession from becoming about our spiritual importance. The intercessor is not the hero. Jesus is.
You Cannot Carry Everybody
This is important. Becoming an intercessor does not mean becoming emotionally responsible for every crisis you hear about. You are not God. That may sound obvious, but sometimes we need the reminder. Only God can carry the whole world without becoming overwhelmed. I am increasingly convinced that one of the most important prayers an intercessor can pray is: “Lord, make my heart available.” Available does not mean anxious. Available does not mean carrying everybody. Available means the Holy Spirit can interrupt your self-centredness and place someone upon your heart.
Perhaps today it is one person. Tomorrow it may be a church. Another morning it may be young people in your community. You do not have to invent burdens to prove you are an intercessor. Let God lead. Intercession is availability, not omnipresence.
“But I Found None”
Perhaps the saddest words in Ezekiel 22:30 are the final four: “…but I found none.” God searched. There was a breach. There was need. But nobody stood there. What would happen if that sentence changed in our generation? What if God searched and found women available? Not necessarily famous women. Not women with platforms. Not women whose names everybody knows. Just available women. Women who can carry a name without broadcasting it. Women who can see brokenness without becoming judgmental. Women who can recognize sin without losing compassion. Women who can hear troubling news and remember to pray before forwarding it.
Women who know how to stand before God. WHERE IS THE GAP? Today, do not begin with: “Lord, what do I need?” Ask: “Lord, where would You have me stand?” Perhaps a person comes to mind. Perhaps a family. A church. A school. A workplace. A community. Someone far from God. A leader. A situation you cannot personally fix. Do not manufacture revelation about it. Do not assume you know everything happening. Simply stand before God with what you know. Pray Scripture. Ask for mercy. Ask for wisdom. Ask for salvation where salvation is needed. Ask for restoration. Ask for God’s purpose to prevail. And when you have prayed, trust Him. Yesterday we learned to travail until Christ is formed. Today God enlarges that burden into a lifestyle of availability.
The question is no longer merely whether there is a gap. There will always be gaps. The question is: When God looks for someone willing to stand before Him, will He find us?
Declarations
◆ My heart is available to God for the ministry of intercession.
◆ I receive sensitivity to recognize the people and situations the Holy Spirit desires me to carry in prayer.
◆ I will stand before God concerning others without becoming consumed by fear, anxiety or unhealthy responsibility.
◆ I refuse indifference when God places genuine needs and burdens upon my heart.
◆ I will protect the dignity of those I pray for and refuse to turn private burdens into gossip.
◆ I receive wisdom to distinguish Spirit-led intercession from emotional pressure to carry everything.
◆ I will acknowledge wrong without losing compassion, and I will pray for mercy, restoration and God’s purposes.
◆ My eyes will remain upon God even while I stand in the gap concerning difficult situations.
◆ I participate in intercession with humility, remembering that Jesus Christ is the great Intercessor.
◆ When God searches for a woman willing to stand before Him, may my heart remain available.
My Prayer For You
May God enlarge your heart without overwhelming it. May the Holy Spirit show you where to stand, what to carry and when to release it, and may you become a trustworthy woman of prayer who can quietly and faithfully stand before God for others.