The Gap

Last week a friend sent an e-mail to say that she was praying for me as she painted her house. I had tearfully told her the day before that I wanted to be ground into a fine powder and sucked into the heating vent. A little dramatic, perhaps, but a sentiment shared by many a tired soul, I am sure. She said that as she was praying and painting she noticed a long crack in the door that required repair. So she put down her brush and reached for the sandpaper and putty. If she were to paint over the damaged wood, it may have looked acceptable for a while, but eventually the paint would have bubbled and peeled, widening the circle of damage. There was a quick fix, but it would not have lasted long.

She said she spent more time on that two-inch square than on the rest of the door, wearing herself out getting it right. And she thought of me, at the end of my rope, and took seriously her gifting as Ezer, the biblical word for helper used to describe both God himself and Eve. So she prayed and prayed, standing in the gap for me when I was tired.

And I felt it. All day. And I was grateful.

I want to be someone who stands in the gap: for my husband; for my kids; for friends who I run into at the store and the ones who live in other time zones. I want to pray deeply and often, powerfully bending the ear of my Father. I want to be faithful in this because it pleases the heart of God, makes a difference in the lives of those I love and sets my heart at rest in the hard situations where I find myself powerless to do or say anything of use. I want to do unto others as has been done to me. Besides, most things in life are better with a buddy.

“I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land . . . .” Ezekiel 22:30