As Christians, we have the full armour of God to help us stand against the flaming arrows of the evil one. But what if someone we know is currently experiencing oppression, affliction, suffering, and tribulation brought about by the devil? What can we do for them?
Ezekiel 22:30 (NKJV) 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.
This passage of Scripture from the Old Testament talks about standing in the gap between God and someone else through prayer. We live in a different time and dispensation from the people in the Book of Ezekiel. The people described in this passage were evil, and their hearts were far away from God. It was a sad day when God commanded Ezekiel to prophesy against the sin of Jerusalem, declaring that He had to bring judgement to them because of their sins. Because God is holy, righteous and just, He cannot tolerate sin, but since He is also a God of mercy and love, He first sought for a man to pray and to stand in the gap so that the people would not be destroyed. God needed someone to pray for them in the hope that He could spare them from destruction. Sadly, He found no one.
In this New Testament time, we Christians are blessed to live in the dispensation of grace. We now have peace with God after the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. We see from Scripture how God is on our side whenever we go through a difficult time because He has already dealt with the sin issue that separated us from Him. Nevertheless, we need to watch out and be aware of the lure of the devil and the work of our flesh. The devil will use the same method with us as when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness, offering the world in exchange for us to give up our faith in God. He wants us to worship money and will cause us to doubt the Word of God or twist it to cause us to fall into temptation. The devil will attempt to kill, steal, and destroy us through tribulation and persecution. It is during these times that God continually looks for Christians to intercede for others. We can intercede and pray for others to get them out of the situation. It will help them by granting them grace, wisdom, peace, and strength while they are going through a difficult period in their lives.
The prayer of intercession is very powerful because we are standing in the gap and lifting up the shield of faith to shield others against the fiery arrows—the persecutions attacking them. Intercessory prayer grants us an opportunity to work with God. We are called to be a people of prayer who stand in the gap to pray on behalf of individuals, the church, the government, our company, and our loved ones. God moves when we pray and intercede.
Sermon Series： Intercession
站在破口中的呼召
作为基督徒，我们拥有神赐的全副武装，可以帮助我们抵挡那恶者的火箭。但是，如果我们身边的某人正经历因魔鬼而带来的压迫、苦难、困苦和患难，我们可以为他们做些什么呢？
以西结书 22:30 我在他们中间寻找一人重修墙垣，在我面前为这国站在破口防堵，使我不灭绝这国，却找不着一个。
这段旧约的经文讲述了通过祷告站在神与他人之间“代求”的意义。我们所处的时代和以西结书中的人不同，当时的以色列百姓心远离神，行恶不断。正因如此，神命令以西结对耶路撒冷的罪行发出预言，宣布祂不得不因他们的罪而施行审判。神是圣洁、公义的，无法容忍罪恶，但同时祂又是慈爱怜悯的神，所以祂首先寻找一个人能为这些百姓代求，站在这破口中，好使他们不至被毁灭。然而，令人遗憾的是，神没有找到这样的人。
在新约时代，我们基督徒有幸生活在恩典的时期。因着耶稣基督的救赎工作，我们如今与神和好。经文告诉我们，每当我们经历困境时，神都站在我们这边，因为祂已经处理了那阻隔我们与祂的罪问题。然而，我们仍需警惕撒旦的诱惑以及肉体的私欲。撒旦会用同样的手法来试探我们，就像当初在旷野中试探耶稣一样，试图用世俗的东西来换取我们对神的信仰。牠希望我们崇拜金钱，甚至让我们质疑神的话语，或扭曲其意义，使我们陷入试探之中。撒旦会试图通过患难和逼迫来杀害、偷窃和毁坏我们。在这样的时刻，神不断寻找基督徒为他人代祷。我们可以为他人代求，帮助他们摆脱困境，在他们生命的艰难时期，为他们带来恩典、智慧、平安和力量。
代祷的祷告非常有力量，因为我们在破口中站立，为他人举起信心的盾牌，挡住攻击他们的火箭与逼迫。代祷使我们有机会与神同工。我们被呼召成为祷告的人，为个人、教会、政府、公司和亲人代求，站在破口中代祷。当我们祷告并代求时，神就会动工。
讲章系列：代祷
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