STANDING IN THE GAP
AUGUST 18, 2025
TOPIC:
TEXT: Genesis 18:16-33
KEY VERSE: “And Abraham drew near and said, ‘Will You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?” Genesis 18:23
One of the most difficult prayers to pray for a person is the prayer of intercession. This is because it involves praying for and seeking the welfare of other people rather than just yourself. In the text under consideration, we saw how our father in faith, Abraham, interceded passionately with God on behalf of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. The land was full of iniquity and atrocities, thereby prompting God to decide to ruin them. Abraham pleaded with God to spare the land if a certain number of righteous people could be found there. He started with fifty (50) and went all the way down to ten (10). But unfortunately, no single righteous person was found in the land, except Lot and his family who enjoyed more of grace than being outrightly righteous.
To stand in the gap means to plead or hold the fort for someone else. It means occupying the office of the mediator. Abraham felt bad about the repercussion that was about to come upon the people of the lands, and he tried to avert it, but as lenient as God was on the issue, it was clear that the people were clearly set out for destruction and calamity.
KEY FACTS
- God can avert a terrible condition that is scheduled to befall a group of people because of one person’s prayer.
- A key ingredient of intercessory prayer and lifestyle is intimacy with God. By interceding, you are technically trying to affect God’s mind. You can’t achieve that easily while being an enemy of God. Abraham was clearly a friend of God as evidenced in God’s statement in Genesis 18:17 where God shared his mind with Abraham about the impending doom upon Sodom and Gomorrah.
- Intercession comes with persuasiveness and respect for God at the same time. You acknowledge His sovereignty and ability to decide things as He pleases, but also try to sway His mind through persuasion. (Hebrews 4:16)
HOW TO INTERCEDE IN TODAY’S WORLD
- Pray for sinners in your closet. Never condemn them, but don’t also allow their habits to negatively influence you. Sinners are sinners because they are ignorant of righteous living. Therefore, it is apposite to put their minds in God’s hands.
- Pray for the country. Seek the peace and progress of the country. If the country is good, our lives will also be good.
- Intercede for the church of God and pray for genuine salvation and revival to envelope the church.
- Intercede for your relatives who are lost or in one form of affliction or the other. We must realize that sometimes, a word of prayer uttered on behalf of a person could be just what prompts God to act on that person’s case.
SEARCHLIGHT:
God is looking for eager men and women to stand in the gap and hold the fort for His people.
PRAYER:
O LORD, empower me to live a selfless intercessory life, in the name of Jesus.
BIBLE READING:
Isaiah 13-15, Matthew 8
PASTOR MICHAEL OMOLE
