Ezekiel 22: 30 says, “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.”
Many times, people will criticize the Church and ask what they are doing about the negative happenings within a nation or the world. But we must recognize that we are the Church – every profession – and we have a responsibility individually and collectively, to stand in the gap for nations. We have become a nation of people that have become caught up in our own little issues/problems/situations forgetting that we also have a duty to each other and to our nation. Some are so caught up in showing off their latest ‘self-improvement’ projects – who has the latest clothes or enhanced body parts – and when tragedy strikes then is when they get concerned.
When negative happenings begin – Murder, Rape and Famine and then Hopelessness sets in, it means that there is a break/breach within the spiritual walls of the nation. If someone breaks into a home, if the owner simply adds a burglar alarm without fixing the breach – the broken window/door – then their efforts are wasted. Hence, God wants persons of every profession at every level to make themselves available to Him to be used to rebuild the walls – not the physical, but spiritual walls. We need to ‘Stand in the Gap’.
Standing in the gap is a metaphor for committed intercession. When there is a gap between man and God, someone needs to stand in and intercede so that God can repair the breach for us. Hence we have a responsibility to first identify the breach in every profession and stand in.
When there is a breach in the walls everything comes in – anything takes place. So if we are looking for restoration of the family, a good justice system, good governance and healing within a nation, then it is the responsibility of everyone to stand in the gap that the spiritual barriers will be rebuilt. Regardless of the systems or laws put in place, no change will come if there is a gap in the wall.
Every Profession
In order to be effective, every profession knows its own terminologies and jargon and so, knows the precise words to use as opposed to the ordinary lay person who would not be as knowledgeable in that area. For example, a lawyer knows the jargon and terms that he/she would use for certain matters, like ‘petition’, ‘counter-petition’ ‘recuse’, ‘abrogate’ so they could pray accordingly employing those terms that John Q. Public would not ordinarily know. A person who deals with the economy of a nation need to stand in the gap for the things that of that industry that are affecting the nation – inflation, devaluation of the dollar, fiscal policies and so on. They know the terminologies to use as they pray to stop the negative and ask for the increase of the positive. Doctors would know the diseases that are plaguing the nation and would pray accordingly for them to stop using medical terminologies. They would stand in the gap to minimize sicknesses and diseases that are eating away the nation – cancer, HIV, and others and that God will release medical breakthroughs to heal the nation. Security forces also need to stand in the gap, they can’t simply focus on the physical, but also the spiritual aspect.
Interestingly, there is a name of God – a name ascribed to God which represents every one of these industries in our society.
Effective intercession brings change within a nation, but each person who stands in the gap must realize that we cannot operate the same way that we operated 20 years ago. 20 years ago, we did not have the technological revolution we now have and now as knowledge has increased, so has the technological warfare. There are now games and software that are designed to pollute the minds of our youth and encourage them to commit crimes and do other things; and this is a breach. So, we need people to rise up in the Information Technology arena to use the relevant jargon and references as they stand in the gap and fight for our young people and the future of the nation.
Recognize that the mind and eyes are direct links to the soul and as such whoever will control the mind and eyes will control the next generation.
So, it is the responsibility of every profession to stand in the gap that change will take place.