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.
Wouldn’t you like to have someone praying and interceding for you when you are going through hard times? Having someone or a group of people praying for us makes a great deal of difference in our lives. Likewise, there will be times when we need to stand in the gap to intercede for those who are hard pressed on every side too. They could be our loved ones, relatives, colleagues, church members or whoever the Holy Spirit moves us to pray for.
The difference that we feel when we have prayer support and otherwise couldn’t be more obvious. We will experience the grace of God carrying us through a crisis when someone is interceding for us. We will also witness the work of God’s hands throughout the process. We need one another especially when we are going through challenges. Therefore, we should learn to take time to intercede or stand in the gap for one another when the situation warrants it. In fact, whenever a brother or sister goes through an ordeal, God is looking for someone to stand in the gap for them so that He can act justly, righteously and prevent the work of the devil.
We need to know that God has built a hedge of protection around His people because He is a loving, gracious, merciful, and faithful God who watches over His covenant people—there is no evil or darkness in God because He is love. However, it is the sins of man that create gaps or holes in the hedge of protection, and it is the devil who makes use of these gaps to attack the individuals. 1 Peter 5:8 describes the devil as a roaring lion who prowls around looking for someone to devour. If we are aware of the enemy’s scheme, we can pre-empt or thwart his attacks on us or our family members by enforcing the victory of Jesus Christ through intercession.
Prayer and intercession put our faith in God to work in the lives of the people we are interceding for. Even though we can’t always be with our loved ones when they go through hard times, we can intercede for them and pray them out of the situation. Our intercession is powerful and can grant them grace, wisdom, peace, and strength.
Intercessory prayer gives us an opportunity to work with God especially in the age of the New Testament because the Holy Spirit lives in us. He is omniscient and will give us a burden to pray for and will also pray through us.
Sermon Series: Partnering in Prayer with God through Intercession
与神同工
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。
难道你不希望有人在你经历患难的时候为你祷告和代祷吗？让某人或一群人为我们祷告会使我们的生活有很大的变化。同样，有时我们也需要站在破口中为那些四面受敌的人代祷。他们可以是我们所爱的人、亲戚、同事、教会成员或任何圣灵感动我们为之祷告的人。
当我们有祷告支持时，我们所感受到的差异再明显不过了。当有人为我们代祷时，我们将经历上帝带领我们度过危机的恩典。我们也将在整个过程中见证上帝如何动工。我们需要彼此，尤其是当我们面临挑战时。因此，我们应该学会在有需要的情况下花时间为彼此代祷或站在破口防堵。事实上，每当有弟兄姊妹在试炼中时，神都在寻找某人为他们站在破口防堵，让神能公正、公义地行事，并阻止魔鬼的作为。
我们需要知道神在祂子民的四周筑起了围篱，因为祂是满有慈爱、恩典、怜悯和信实的神，看顾着与祂立约的子民——在神里面没有邪恶或黑暗，因为祂就是爱。然而，人的罪导致围篱有了破口或漏洞，恶者就利用这些破口来攻击个人。彼得前书 5:8 将魔鬼描述为一头哮叫的狮子，遍地游行，寻找可吞吃的人。如果我们意识到敌人的阴谋，我们就可以藉着代祷来得着耶稣基督的胜利，从而先发制人或阻止牠对我们或我们家人的攻击。
祷告和代祷使我们相信上帝会在我们为之代祷的人的生命中动工。我们不能总是在我们所爱的人面对困难时陪伴在他们身边，但我们可以为他们代祷，祷告他们能摆脱困境。我们的代祷是大有能力的，可以给他们带来恩典、智慧、平安和力量。
代祷使我们有机会与神同工，尤其是在新约时代，因为圣灵住在我们里面。祂是无所不知的，祂会给我们祷告的负担，也会藉着我们祷告。
讲章系列：通过代祷与神同工