"I SOUGHT FOR A MAN AMONG THEM WHO WOULD...STAND IN THE GAP...BUT I
FOUND NO ONE." (EZEKIEL 22:30 NKJV)
Standing in the gap
When Chris Milbrath went to work with Co-Mission in the Ukraine, the
last thing he envisioned was being hospitalized. He experienced a
persistent stomach-ache
and his doctor diagnosed a ruptured appendix and told him that without
surgery he'd die. Things didn't go well and infection set in. Halfway
across the
world a lady who was one of Chris's supporters woke suddenly during the
night. She didn't know why, but she knew she had to pray for him. Later,
comparing
notes and making adjustments for the different time zones, they
discovered that her prayer-burden "just happened to coincide" with the
time he was clinging
to life. Within 24 hours a missions group in Moscow heard about the
situation. A small jet "just happened to be available" to airlift Chris
to Geneva where
one of Switzerland's best surgeons "just happened to be available" to
perform additional surgery that saved his life. Chris later said, "I
can't help wondering
what would've happened to me if that woman had just rolled over and
said, 'I'll pray for Chris tomorrow.'"
God says, "I sought for a man among them who would...stand in the
gap...but I found no one." Interceding is a lonely business. You don't
volunteer - God
calls you. True intercessors realize what's at stake and stay on their
knees until they sense they've broken through and God's heard them.
James writes,
"When a believing person prays, great things happen" (Jas 5:16 NCV). So
when God prompts you to pray for somebody, don't wait - do it! Your
prayers may
be the only thing standing between that person and catastrophe.