STAND in the Gap
We are at war, and because there is a battle raging against us and those who the Lord wants to reach, it is important to know how to pray! “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds” (2Cor 10:4).
When the battles hit us, it is important to calm our spirits in order to fight in the Spirit. The best way is to begin a battle with praise and thankfulness. “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise, give thanks to Him and bless His name” (Ps 100:4). Praising and thanking Him for all of His goodness and reminding yourself of all that He has done for you will bring calmness in the midst of the storm.
An area where I often go into battle is fighting for members of my family who are having difficulties that I can’t help with other than prayer. When my heart is broken and I seem to feel the pain they are experiencing, rather than going under and carrying those heartaches, I see myself as standing in the gap for them!
In old Bible days, cities had walls surrounding them to provide protection from enemies. When the wall was breached, the city was vulnerable to destruction; the only way to secure it was for people to risk their lives by literally standing in the gap in the wall and fighting the enemy! In the situations I pray for regarding family members, I know that their walls are breached! God said to Ezekiel: “I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before Me, for the land (or my family)” (Ez 22:30).
My family members may or may not be looking to the Lord for their own needs, but the Lord is there with them, and my part is to pray in faith! “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord” (Ja 1:6-8). I know the best help I can offer is by going BOLDLY to the throne of God for that battle to be won in the Spirit for their lives. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:16).
It is one thing to pull out the Word for battle and fling it at the enemy, and to hold onto those promises, but it is another thing to truly let go and trust God that He is answering those desperate prayers! If I find myself praying and then still carrying their problems, then I have not really trusted the Lord, no matter how much my heart and mind may be attacked! Jesus explained this concept of trusting Him in prayer through this parable: “And He spoke a parable to them to this end, that men ought always to pray and not to faint….Shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him?…I tell you that He will avenge them speedily” (Lk 18:1-14).
The same as with any warrior in battle, one swing at the enemy may or may not wield the deadly blow you desire to defeat him! It is important to not get lazy, but to keep the vision of the needs at hand and keep wielding the weapon of prayer!! –And it is very important to keep thanking the Lord for the answers even before you see the manifestation. That proves to the Lord that you’re standing strong. Just rejoice in His mighty power to answer those prayers! “Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer” (Ro 12:12).
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints (anyone who needs prayer!)” (Eph 6:17,18). “The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous (righteousness of Christ) man avails much” (Ja 5:16b).
It is easy to become lethargic in prayer, since the problem may be far away and you don’t always know the “play by play” to pray specifically. However, the Holy Spirit, and the Father Himself are right there in the midst of their difficulties and all I have to do is just get quiet and tune in to Their voices to know how and what to pray for, for the continued fight! “Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Ro 8:26,27).
Not only does the Spirit speak to our hearts as to what is needed in the battle, but we can pray in tongues when our hearts and minds are overwhelmed and we have lost a grasp on what exactly to pray. Praying in tongues for these difficult situations is very very powerful! “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place…And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-6).
We have that same power, and we can pray in those tongues “of angels”. “..speak with the tongues of men and of angels” (1Cor 13:1). Let’s use that power today to pray for anyone in need!–And there is always someone in need! So, “Pray without ceasing…For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1Thes 5:17,18).
Linda Dianne