Standing In The Gap

Derek Prince provides a quick and decisive lesson on intercession.

Lesson link: The Teaching Legacy of Derek Prince: Standing in the Gap.

Excerpt:

"Ezekiel 22:23–31 records a different scene - similar to the last one in that it portrays the sins of God’s people, yet it is different in that no intercessor was found to stand between the sin of the people and God’s judgement.

And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, say to her [the land of Israel]: ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst... Her priests have violated My law... Her princes in her midst are like wolves... The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy... So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found no one. Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them.”

All sections of the population had utterly failed— prophets, priests, princes, people. Each of these stands for a certain element in society. The “prophets” are those responsible to bring a message direct from God. The “priests” are the leaders of institutional religion. The “princes” are the secular rulers. The “people” are the rest of the population, the common people. The order in which these four
elements are listed is significant. The process of decay began with the spiritual leadership; then the secular government was corrupted; finally the whole nation was affected. (This has been the order in modern America and many other nations.) Even though every part of society was corrupted, the situation was not yet hopeless. God looked for one man, an intercessor, to stand in the gap and make up the hedge so that He could spare the whole nation. But because He could find none, He poured out
upon them His indignation and “consumed them with the fire of [His] wrath.” One man—one intercessor— could have saved an entire nation from judgement!"

Scripture References:
1 Timothy 2:1
Isaiah 53:12
Luke 23:34
Hebrews 7:25
Genesis 18:20-33
Exodus 32:7-14, 32-35
Psalms 106:19-23
Numbers 16:41-47
Ezekiel 22:23-31