Standing in the Gap

So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. Isaiah 59:19

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

This post is specifically addressed to the faithful saints who have entered into our month long prayer covenant at Agape Christian Fellowship.  It is an exhortation to press in to the covenant that we have made together and not become faint or falter.

Over the past few weeks we have begun to focus on "living in covenant". It is our proposed focus for the foreseeable future.  Pastor Bryan challenged us last week to a month long covenant of prayer with the probing question: "What would happen if God's people would pray?"  Many of you have signed on for the month.  In addition to each one signing the covenant agreeing to pray for at least one hour a day concerning key kingdom issues, we have begun holding Sunday Evening Worship and Prayer services.  

Those three Key Kingdom Issues are as follows:

1.  We agree to pray together for God to move upon us with signs and wonders, that the signs and wonders would provide a platform for the preaching of the gospel in great power.  (The early church prayed exactly this way in Acts 4: "And now Lord behold their threatenings, and grant unto your servants that with all boldness we may speak the Word of God, by stretching forth Your hand to heal that signs and wonders may be done in the Name of your Holy Child Jesus. And when they had thus prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and spoke the Word of God with boldness.

2.  We agree to pray together that spiritual strongholds of darkness would be broken in Brattleboro and the surrounding area that men, women, and children might be released from the powers of darkness and spiritual wickedness in high places, delivered to be free to hear and respond to the wooing of the Holy Spirit, to receive Christ and know forgiveness for their sins. 

3.  We agree to pray together that God's people would begin to walk in the birthright and blessings that are ours through the sacrificial death of Christ upon the Cross, His resurrection from the dead, and ascension to the throne. That we might walk worthy of the calling wherewith we have been called. 

We have agreed that we will not spend these hours of prayer, or our Sunday night Prayer and Praise services focusing upon personal needs, but rather to focus on specific applications of the key kingdom issues outlined above. We are "seeking first the Kingdom of God" and expecting that those very real personal needs will be met by our Heavenly Father who "knows that we have need of these things."

Tonight as we met for the second of our monthly Worship and Prayer services, several things were striking to me: First, we are ALREADY seeing powerful answers to prayer as at least a couple of individuals tonight very clear answers to their specific prayers.  The second thing that stood out remarkably is that we cannot pray in this way; hope to go to sleep and wake up in the morning and see the answers to our prayers.  We must expect that those who pray will be thrust into the very heart of the battle.  If we are going to pray for victory we must expect to be thrust into the warfare.

The third thing that struck me tonight is that what we have begun we must continue until the daybreak comes.  As Pastor Bryan was preaching this morning regarding Jacob's wrestling with the Angel of the Lord, these thoughts began to crystalize in mind.  As Jacob contended with the Lord throughout the night, refusing to relent until the Lord would bless him, so we who have begun this intercession must not relent until the blessing is won.  The end of January may come, and our 'agreement' may pass - I do not believe we can simply say, "That was great, what should we do now?"  We must press in and we must press on.  God said through the prophet Isaiah in Chapter 59 of his prophecy, "I wondered that there was not intercessor."  Again, in chapter 22 of Ezekiel the Lord said, "I sought for a man to stand in the gap for my people that I might not destroy them, and found none."

This is a call to endurance for those who have begun so well, for any man can begin a race, but the one who finishes receives the prize.  We will see signs and wonders as we have prayed, but if we do we shall surely see the opposition of the evil one arise. With each victory will come a new challenge.  In fact, as the Lord God of Heaven begins to move we will find the need to press in all the more in prayer.  Which of us will faint when the enemy strikes back?  Will we wilt under the heat of battle? Will we lose faith when the counter-assault begins?  No, we must "stand, and having done all stand," clothed in the full armor of God and wield the Sword of the Spirit with faith and zeal. 

At whatever time you have set aside to pray, whether it be in the early morning hours, mid-day, or late in the evening - pray from your place in Christ at the "heavenly places" (Ephesians 2, for we are seated with Him in heavenly places), pray with the authority that is afforded you as a condition of your birthright as a co-heir of Christ, and pray with diligence knowing that no war is ever won in a single battle, and few battles are won with a single engagement.  The victory goes to the one who fights from a position of victory, and to the one who will not quit.

Prayer warriors! You have begun a good thing, but there is no victory in beginning for you must also finish. There is no victory in overcoming in an occasional skirmish - for we must not be content with anything less than victory in the battle. Men and women in the Brattleboro area are bound in chains of spiritual darkness and have no power to set themselves free - we must contend with faithfulness and courage and persistence until the powers of darkness are unseated, broken, and cast down. I do not believe a "month long prayer covenant" will get the job done. We must persevere in prayer until we see signs and wonders confirming the Word of God and providing a powerful platform for the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We must persist in warfare prayer until the spiritual chains of bondage and territorial spirits are discomfited and driven out by the power of the Holy Spirit and the authority of God's Word. We must wrestle with God as did Jacob until we are able to live in the birthright blessings that are ours as co-heirs with Christ.  


You are being raised up in this hour as a standard against the evil tide that wants to overwhelm men chained in darkness - do not lay the banner down until the battle is won. 


You are being raised up to stand in the gap before God on behalf of men, and women, and children to contend for them, to intercede for them, to pray in the nightwatch, until victory is in hand.


God Bless You.