stand in the gap


"Stand in the gap."

You've heard the phrase.

Do you know what it means?

Like many things, it's a common phrase that goes back to a truth in the Bible:

“I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. Thus I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their heads,” declares the Lord God.” - Ezekiel 22:30

The idea is God gives us many warnings before we face the consequences of our choices, be it from the decaying culture we create or by His discipline to get us back on track. In this passage, He speaks to one of His prophets about the role any willing person can play in changing that - that He's looking for someone to “stand in the gap” so the cycle of destruction can end.

We do this when we bring people to Jesus so that He can work miracles on the inside of their hearts and minds when the outside of their lives feel less-than-miraculous. We also do this when there has been a loss and we become the hands and feet of Jesus in how we comfort and bring Life into death.


So my prayer is that you are able to do that for the people around you.

That through you (and Jesus in you) a cycle can end... maybe something life-giving can begin... to embody the possible hope in any seemingly impossible situation.
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8)