STANDING IN THE GAP
"SO I SOUGHT FOR A MAN among them who would make a wall, AND STAND IN THE GAP BEFORE ME ON BEHALF OF THE LAND, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one."
Ezekiel 22:30 (NKJV)
God would always give a chance to whoever or people going in a wrong direction. God, in this passage, said He was looking for a man to stand in the gap or intercede on the behalf of the land; that He may not destroy It, but could not find any.
Be willing to stand out wherever you may find yourself, be one of the remnants who soils not his or her garment; that you might be considered for God's Use when He needed someone to be used for a particular assignment (2 Timothy 2:21).
It is a thing to be regretted that God could not get a person who can stand in the gap, to intercede on the behalf of the people of the land of Judah.
One might be asking; Why did God need someone to stand in the gap, pray or intercede, before He could do whatever He wanted to do? He should simply go ahead and do whatever He thought to be necessary—the needful.
The rulership or control of the earth was given to Man, Adam, at the onset, and that has not been taken or withdrawn by God (Genesis 1:27-30). Although, the authority was hijacked by the devil, through trickery; but potentially, whatever would be done on earth, in the physical, had to be through the approval of Man or Human.
Thus, God needed someone to stand in the gap, in prayer, and call on Him to intervene in the situation of Judah, Israel, before He could intervene or do anything.
Even the devil and other spirit beings needed humans before they could operate on the earth. Man's or Human's physical body is the entry point to the earth, thus, Human's approval is needed for any spirit being to operate in the world.
Thus, your prayer of intercession is the invitation and a kind of approval for God to intervene and work or operate or do whatever is needed to be done on earth.
God would need believers' prayers for Him to do or operate or carry out whatever He intended to do on earth. This is why believers' prayers are important and pivotal to any change or help that could be received from God.
If God should move in and do whatever He wanted to do, He could be accused of being unjust by the devil. God set the order, that Man should rule and dominate all that He created (Genesis 1:27-30), He would then not turn around and usurp or take over the power or authority which He had already given to Man: "FOR THE GIFTS AND THE CALLING OF GOD ARE IRREVOCABLE" (Romans 11:29 NKJV). This was demonstrated when He, God, gave the honour to Adam, to name all the living creatures—Adam solely named all creatures:
19 OUT OF THE GROUND THE LORD GOD FORMED EVERY BEAST OF THE FIELD AND EVERY BIRD OF THE AIR, AND BROUGHT THEM TO ADAM TO SEE WHAT HE WOULD CALL THEM. AND WHATEVER ADAM CALLED EACH LIVING CREATURE, THAT WAS ITS NAME. 20 SO ADAM GAVE NAMES TO ALL CATTLE, TO THE BIRDS OF THE AIR, AND TO EVERY BEAST OF THE FIELD" (Genesis 2:19,20 NKJV).
Thus, God's intervention in the world or on the earth had to be by Man's invitation. This is the reason why He was seeking for a Man to stand in the gap on the issue or situation of Judah, the nation of Israel (Ezekiel 22:30).
God is still seeking for the believers who will stand in the gap for each nation, city, town or community; Are you ready and available to be used as an intercessor for God's intervention and the liberation of others?
Remember, whoever would be used for such an assignment should meet up with the standard in this passage of the Bible: "NEVERTHELESS THE SOLID FOUNDATION OF GOD STANDS, HAVING THIS SEAL: “THE LORD KNOWS THOSE WHO ARE HIS,” AND, “LET EVERYONE WHO NAMES THE NAME OF CHRIST DEPART FROM INIQUITY" (2 Timothy 2:19 NKJV).
READ: 1 Peter 1:15,16
Peace.