Move People Through God Aloneනියැදිය

God seeks men and women to stand in the gap

Sometimes it can take years for an answer to come. However, there will undoubtedly be answers to all our prayers. The answers may not always align with our expectations, but God will answer in His wisdom with what is right.

In Ezekiel 22:30 (BSB), we read that God announced His intention to judge Jerusalem. However, He stated that if His people would stand in the gap, pray, and ask, He would turn away His judgment: “I searched for a man among them to repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, so that I should not destroy it. But I found no one.” Because no one prayed, God had to carry out His judgment.

Ezekiel's message emphasises that when there is "someone", someone who prays, God will move and turn away His judgment.

In Amos 7:3 and 6 (BSB), we see God announcing judgment, and Amos pleading with Him not to judge. Twice, we read: "So the LORD relented from this plan." God allowed Himself to be moved by Amos.

Moses' prayer saved the Israelites. For forty days, he stood before God, pleading for mercy for the people. When Moses began to speak to God, He said, "Now leave me alone" (Exodus 32:10; BSB).—as if to say, "Let Me be; don't talk to Me." But Moses persisted in prayer, and eventually, we read: "Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened" (Exodus 32:14; NIV).

What was Ezra's preparation for the dangerous journey when he led a group of Jews back to Jerusalem? He prayed and asked God to protect them, but did not seek protection from the king (Ezra 8:21-23).

What was God's instruction for the restoration of Jerusalem and peace? "I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest" (Isaiah 62:6-7; NIV). Only through constant prayer could Jerusalem be restored.

At the Jabbok River, God came to Jacob and wrestled with him. Jacob realised it was God and refused to let Him go until He blessed him, knowing he could not live without that blessing. Only when God blessed him did he finally let Him go.

In Genesis 32:28 (NIV), we read that God said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome." Jacob had prayed and wrestled with God, and the remarkable outcome was that he had prevailed over both God and men.