Standing In The Gap

​Praying for others matters.
If you have a grandmother or grandfather who faithfully prays for you, you are richly blessed. I am convinced praying grandparents move heaven and hell on behalf of their loved ones.
As a teenager, I was confused, at times rebellious and definitely lost. I made my share of hormone-driven adolescent mistakes. At one point, my waywardness threatened to end my young life. Enter George and Willa Eplin, my prayer warrior grandparents.
These precious people loved me unconditionally. Faithfully they interceded for me in the spiritual gap while their teenage grandson wildly spun out in life. I would not be saved and headed for heaven if my Christian grandparents had not hounded heaven on my behalf. They even asked the Lord to call me to preach! Who would have thought (certainly not me!) that Steve Roll would be a preacher of the Good News of Jesus Christ! Miracles do happen!!!
My grandparents were gap standers.
I believe my godly grandparents spent many hours on their feeble, aged knees at the watchtower, fervently praying for me to come to the Lord and serve Him. On my behalf, they consistently, courageously, boldly battled the enemy of my soul in heavenly places. One day when I see them in heaven, I will give them a huge hug and heartfelt thank you for interceding for me.
Intercessory prayer is praying for others who need prayed for. Who of us doesn’t need someone to stand in the gap for us on occasion?
God is always looking for gap standing intercessors.
In ancient times, God sent Ezekiel to call Israel back to the Lord, rebuke false prophets, and foretell future events. In the Bible, Ezekiel 22:30 contains an ominous word that we need to heed today. “And I searched for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land that I should not destroy it, BUT I FOUND NONE.”
God searched for an intercessor for Israel but did not find one. Not even one. Oh my, no one interceded for the nation. Deliverance from destruction did not come.
Gap standers do not sit in life’s bleachers eating nachos, sipping Coke Zero while watching others pray. They get on the playing field, praying, seeking the face and heart of God. They stand in the gap with faith for people who are struggling in life.
Today, many, many people who feel hopeless, helpless, defeated and desperate surround you and me. They may or may not be praying for themselves.
Prayer to the Living God has the power to touch their hearts and turn them toward the Lord to receive His healing, restoring, renewing strength.
My heart is heavy, burdened for our families, friends, the church, our nation and the world. Gap standers who pray in the name of the Lord are needed more than ever today.

• Standing in the gap for family and friends means praying for loved ones to be saved, to love the Lord, to worship Him, obey His Word, serve Him and be a vibrant witness for Him. Christians are the light and salt of this dark, unsavory world. (Matthew 5:13-16). May our families and friends go to heaven and take a bunch of folks with them!  
• Standing in the gap for the church means praying for the body of Christ to wake up, live holy lives, practice the moral standards in the Bible, share our faith in Christ and stand up boldly against evil in Jesus’ name. Pray for Christ’s bride to act like His bride.
• Standing in the gap for the United States of America means praying that our citizens repent of sins, sincerely return to the Lord, obey the Bible, forsake immoral, corrupt behavior and honor God in everything we do as a nation. America must return to her Judeo/Christian roots or destruction will come upon our land. May that never be. 
• Standing in the gap for the world means praying for the “Multitudes in the valley of decision.” (Joel 3:14). May God break the heart of the church for lost souls. Billions of people on our globe still do not know Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Sadly, many have not even heard about Jesus yet. Proverbs 11:30 declares “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.”

From cover to cover, the Bible is a book of prayer. Jesus prayed (Matthew 14:23). He taught His followers how to pray (Matthew 6:9-13). He told us to not lose heart and pray without ceasing. (Luke 18:1-8).
Who knows what may have happened in my life if the Eplins had not built a wall of prayer and stood in the gap to pray for me?
Do you have some Eplins in your life? Gap standers who seek God on your behalf? Who can you name and thank God for because they have prayed for you?  
The Lord is continually looking for a man or woman to stand in the gap. Will you be that person? Will you be an Eplin to family, friends, the church, nation and world?
Stand in the gap for someone, who like me, was saved because of the intercessory prayers of Christians.
I pray you and me will not be the one who would not intercede for others.
“Pray without ceasing.” I Thessalonians 5:17
A Word For Your Week: Be a gap stander for someone who needs prayer.