Gap-standing

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; emphasis added

The recent turmoil in Ferguson, Missouri, has hit national and international news. And while pundits, leaders, personalities, and citizens give their opinions to awaiting microphones and cameras, another stream of focus has hit Heaven—men and women are taking their stand in the gap.

The last clause of Ezekiel 22:30 is terribly sad. “I found no one,” lamented the living God concerning His search for an intercessor. However, the seriousness of our times compounded by the critical events in St. Louis—the heart of America—have brought many sincere men and women to their knees, crying out to the God of all things to intervene with His mighty power and unquenchable love.

And I sought for a man among them…

God searches for people. One type of person for whom He looks is someone who will stand in the gap, praying and interceding for others.

… a man among them, that should make up the hedge…

God looks for a man (or a woman) who will make up the hedge. What is the hedge? According to Strong’s Concordance, this Hebrew word gader simply means a fence or a wall (see http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H1447&t=KJV). Enemies are deterred by hedges, walls, and fences surrounding those they seek to harm.

What is it that God wants the man or woman to do with the hedge? He wants them to “make up” the hedge.Gadar is the Hebrew word for “making up” and means “to wall up, wall off, close off, build a wall [or] to shut off” (see http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H1443&t=KJV).

Effective gap-standing prayer takes place right where the hedge has been trampled down.

Consider societal unrest. Somehow, violence and lawlessness exalts itself over a population, victimizing a community or region with anger, fear, and chaos. The restraining effects of discipline, decorum, and lawfulness have somehow fallen apart, and God wants the hedge of protection rebuilt and repaired because of His great protective love for the people. This is accomplished by walling up, walling off, closing off, and shutting off the community in question from the ravages of the destroyer—sometimes literally (as in the boarding up of broken windows in looted businesses). But this “hedge making-up” enterprise is also—and always—to be enacted in the realm of the Spirit as intercession is offered by someone on behalf of those lacking full hedge-coverage. Effective gap-standing prayer takes place right where the hedge has been trampled down.

…and stand in the gap before me for the land…

God has been talking about a hedge in need of repair. This hedge has a gap. Perets is the Hebrew word which is used, and it means a breach or a bursting forth—similar to when a dam breaks and water spills out (see http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H6556&t=KJV.) In other words, a gap in a hedge is a great big hole. And you know what holes allow: They allow that which is good on the inside to leak out and get lost, and they open the door to let the wickedness outside come flooding in.

What does the Lord instruct His man or woman to do about the gap? Does He lead them to wring their hands and worry? Does He tell them to condemn the hedge?

No. Once the intercessor is made aware of the gap, he is to stand in it. As the trampled hedge is repaired, the intercessor is to remain in the gap, plugging it up until it is rebuilt. This word “stand” is `amad which indicates to take a stand, to remain and endure, and to hold your ground (see http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H5975&t=KJV). As you stand in the gap, you are blocking the devil from gaining continued entrance into a volatile or destructive situation. You are restraining him and his lawlessness as you stand in the hedge’s gap.

God is seeking today for a man among us to make up the hedge and to stand in the gap, and I believe that He is finding an army of us in this hour. In fact, I believe that every living member of the Body of Christ has gap-standing assignments every day on behalf of lost and hurting humanity. And despite the critical nature of those gaps to which you are led, the God before whom you stand is quite capable of shaping your prayers and granting you effectiveness in that gap in the hedge.

You are called to be a gap-stander in this hour. You are a repairer of the hedge. May God grant you effectiveness as you stand before Him.

Dorothy

Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will raise up the age-old foundations; and you will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of the streets in which to dwell. Isaiah 58:12