I was sitting in my living room one afternoon when I saw a FedEx truck pull up in front of my house. When the driver got out and opened the back door to his truck a strange thought popped into my head. I thought within myself, “I wonder if this guy has anyone in his life that is praying for him?” As I had that thought a scripture verse came up inside me: “I looked for a man to stand in the gap….” (Ezekiel 22:30). I determined at that moment to quietly pray for that young man, that God would bless him and his family, that he would be safe and protected, and that he would find success in his life.
There may be people you meet today who don’t have a single soul praying for them. No one is standing in the gap between Heaven and hell, between life and death, between success and failure, lifting them before the Father in Heaven, seeking His blessing for them. I know the reason I’m blessed, healthy and experiencing abundance is because someone “stood in the gap” for me when I didn’t have even the smallest spiritual inclination inside me. Someone else’s prayers upheld me.
It’s an awesome thing that a devoted Christian can do for his or her world. To see a random stranger on the street and say a prayer for them. To reach Heaven in their behalf. To stand in the gap, even though that person has no idea of the intercession going on for them. I don’t mind telling you, there was a certain sense of satisfaction I experienced as I reflected on the thought that my prayer for this young man might be the very thing that keeps him safe during the next season of his life. He might have been in a downward spiral that morning when he woke up, but that afternoon prayer was lifted to Heaven for him… prayer that can bring change to his life.
What a blessing to be one of God’s “secret agents.” What a blessing to know that I can make a difference in my world by quietly praying for those around me… for people who aren’t even aware that I exist… much less that I am standing in the gap for them.
Isaiah 59:16
And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor.
