Standing in the _______ gap

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...

Ezekiel 22:30

So we are called to be intercessors, but what does it really mean? What does it really mean to "build a wall" and "stand in the gap" as it is mentioned in Ezekiel?

The story about the Gentile woman in Matthew 15 really challenged me. The woman who is NOT a Jew approaches Jesus and believes that He is the Son of God and that HE CAN HEAL her daughter. The way Jesus responded, she could easily have taken offence, but she kept on persisting. Now, I am sure that this is exactly what the love of a mother for her daughter does. It keeps on believing, will not take no for an answer, will not take offence, because it has got a goal before eyes. The mother had a deep, self-sacrificing love and compassion for her daughter and this caused her to be able to STAND IN THE GAP for her daughter.

The challenge here for me is, how am I standing in the gap for "things" in my life. The campusses I am involved in, lost people I've met and family members and friends I'm really trusting God for. Have I got the same love and compassion for these things as the mother had for her daughter. Am I pressing IN, believing that Jesus is the Son of God and that He IS able to bring healing, restoration, salvation etc.

God has strategically placed us in certain areas and among certain people for the very reason to "stand in the gap". Whether it be a family member, your workplace, the security guard who opens your gate every morning, the neighbour whom you just can't quite get or the homeless guy you pass at the robot every morning. We have a responsibility to stand in the gap. It's never been optional...

The Gentile woman didn't give up. She kept on believing. Jesus' response at the end was, "Great is your fatih woman, be it to you as you desire". Maybe the delays we are experiencing in our answers to prayer is not God not wanting to answer us, maybe He is just testing our faith. Is it really our hearts desire for OTHER people's needs to be met. Will we persist and press in and have faith for other people as we would for ourself?

The last part of Ezekiel 22:30 reads like this: "... but I found no one". The result of God finding no one is found in the very next verse. "So now (becuase I have found no one) I will pour out my fury on them, consuming them with the fire of my anger. I will heap on their heads the full penalty for all their sins. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!"

May this not be true in our lives. May we rise to the call and stand in the gap. May our lives be filled with the same love and compassion of the Gentile woman causing us to persist and keep on believing for the people in our lives. And may this be God's response: "Great is your faith..."