Standing In The Gap

“I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one" (Ezek 22:30).  If you are a regular church-goer, you've probably heard this phrase before used to encourage us to pray for one another.  And, certainly prayer is an important part of standing in the gap.  But there is more.

Notice the analogy of the wall in the prophet's words.  Between the rocks or between the bricks, mortar is placed in the gaps to support, strengthen and hold them together.  The mortar fills in the gap in a wall as a weld would fill in a crack in one's armor.  We need to turn to God in prayer for protection against the attacks of the Enemy, but God also calls us to turn to each other.

The "more" is how God goes about answering our prayers for each other, He calls for us, like the mortar, to hold on to one another, to support one another, to fill in the gaps in each other's wall of defense or armor against the Evil One.  God does not call us to be lone wolves but flocks of sheep.  A sheep by itself is easy prey, but within the flock, led by the Shepherd, there is safety.

In the song, Lean On Me, by Bill Withers, the refrain speaks to this truth:

"Lean on me, when you're not strong,
I'lll be your friend, I'll help you carry on.
For, it won't be long,
Til I'm gonna need somebody to lean on."

Family, church, community are all built on the God-ordained premise that we need to be involved in each other's lives.  We need to care enough to come along side of each other, standing shoulder to shoulder as we "Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way...fulfill the law of Christ" (Gal 6:2).  Jus' Say'n.