Bible Study on Intercession: Standing in the Gap

We Will Stand In The Gap

Brethren, hear this with faith. God still looks for a person to “stand in the gap” for the land (Ezekiel 22:30, KJV). We will be that people. We believe prayer is not polite background music. It is the trumpet. It is the wall. It is the rescue line. We will pray for all men and for those in authority as Scripture commands, “first of all” (1 Timothy 2:1–2).

We will come boldly to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ, our one Mediator (Hebrews 4:16; 1 Timothy 2:5). We will join the Lord Jesus who ever lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25). We will yield to the Holy Ghost, who helps our weakness and prays within us according to the will of God (Romans 8:26–27).

We will labor in love, bearing one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2), lifting holy hands without wrath or doubting. Friends, praise be to God. Prayer still turns the tide. Mercy still triumphs.

Incense still rises. Let us stand, speak, weep, watch, and not quit until the bowls in heaven are full and the earth feels the weight of the answers (Revelation 5:8; 8:3–5).

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What Intercession Is and Why It Matters

Intercession is stepping between a need and a Holy God with a plea for mercy. The old definition says it well: mediation, interposition, solicitation in favor of another. Scripture rolls it right into our normal prayer life: “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks” for all people (1 Timothy 2:1). Not a specialty for a few. A priority for the church.

Praise the Lord, this is personal. You have access. In Christ you are part of a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). You do not stand outside the veil. By His blood you enter boldly to find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16; 10:19–22). So ask. Seek. Knock. Your Father gives good gifts, even the Holy Spirit, to those who ask Him (Luke 11:9–13).

Question for the heart: Will you carry someone else into the presence of God this week?

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Old Testament Patterns: People Who Stood In The Breach

Abraham pleaded for Sodom for the sake of the righteous, counting down from fifty to ten (Genesis 18). Was God offended by bold prayer? He listened. Lot was delivered. Friends, do you have a Lot in your life? Pray.

Moses stood in the breach when Israel made the golden calf. He appealed to God’s name, covenant, and glory. Scripture says, “Moses His chosen stood before Him in the breach, to turn away His wrath” (Psalm 106:23). The Lord relented of the announced disaster (Exodus 32:11–14). Moses even cried, “blot me… out of Thy book” if You will not forgive (Exodus 32:32). Love talks like that. Love risks like that.

Samuel treated intercession as duty. “God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you” (1 Samuel 12:23). Not praying can be a sin of omission. That stings a little, does it not?

Daniel prayed with fasting and confession for a returning, rebellious nation, including himself in the guilt, “we have sinned” (Daniel 9). Heaven answered. Gabriel came with understanding. History moved.

Other witnesses:
Nehemiah wept and prayed before building (Nehemiah 1).
Job prayed for his friends, and “the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends,” and restored him double (Job 42:10).
Esther risked her life to intercede before a human king for her people (Esther 4–7).
When plague struck, Aaron ran with incense and “stood between the dead and the living” and the plague was stayed (Numbers 16:46–48).
There are also warnings: God told Jeremiah, “pray not… for this people” when judgment was fixed (Jeremiah 7:16). Windows of mercy can close.

Truth to carry: Prayer changes outcomes. Not because God is fickle, but because He ordained prayer as a means. He sought a man to stand in the gap. Sometimes He found one, and mercy came. Sometimes He found none, and judgment fell (Ezekiel 22:30).

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New Testament Practice: A Praying People

The command is clear. “I exhort therefore, first of all, that… intercessions… be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority” (1 Timothy 2:1–2). Why? “That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” Your prayers touch your street, your city, your nation.

The church prayed for one another. “Pray one for another, that ye may be healed” (James 5:16). They prayed for the imprisoned, and Peter knocked on their door a free man (Acts 12). Leaders prayed for churches by name and need: wisdom, revelation, love, holiness, endurance (Ephesians 1:16–18; Philippians 1:4–6; Colossians 1:9–12). And they simply asked, “Brethren, pray for us” (1 Thessalonians 5:25).

Jesus told us to pray for our enemies and persecutors (Matthew 5:44). Hard? Yes. But that prayer breaks chains on both sides.

The sick were prayed over by the elders for healing, with faith and confession (James 5:14–16). Friends, Praise the Lord. God still heals. God still restores.

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Jesus Christ: Our Great Intercessor and Only Mediator

Behold the pattern and the perfection. Jesus said to Peter, “I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not” (Luke 22:32). In John 17 He prayed for His disciples and “for them also which shall believe” through their word (John 17:20). That includes us. On the cross He prayed, “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34). Who loves like this?

His very sacrifice was intercession. “He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12). Moses offered himself. Jesus actually died. And now, “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). He entered not an earthly tent with the blood of goats, but heaven itself with His own blood, obtaining eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12, 24; 9:15).

And He lives to do it still. “Wherefore He is able also to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25). Paul sings it: Christ died, rose, sits at the right hand, and maketh intercession for us. Who then shall separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:34–39)? Friends, thank You Lord. Your Advocate never sleeps (1 John 2:1).

Question: If Jesus is interceding for you today, will you not join Him in interceding for others?

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The Holy Spirit: Our Divine Prayer Partner

We are weak in prayer. We fumble. We sigh. Good. “The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26). And He “maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:27).

This is comfort and courage. When words fail, tears speak. When focus drifts, the Helper anchors. When you feel a sudden burden for someone, take it as a nudge of the Spirit. Pray it through. He is praying in you.

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Standing In The Gap: Walls, Incense, Advocates, and Burdens

Scripture paints prayer with pictures you can feel.

A wall with a breach. God sought a person to stand in the gap and make up the hedge for the land (Ezekiel 22:30). Moses did it, and wrath was turned (Psalm 106:23). Will you put your feet in the breach for your family?

Incense rising. “Let my prayer be set forth… as incense” (Psalm 141:2). In heaven, bowls are full of the prayers of saints (Revelation 5:8). An angel adds incense and hurls God’s fiery answers to the earth (Revelation 8:3–5). Your quiet living room prayer is not small. Heaven smells like it. Earth shakes because of it.

An advocate at the bench. Job longed for a daysman to lay a hand on both God and man (Job 9:33). Christ is that Mediator. And in a lesser way, you stand beside the broken and plead their case before a merciful Judge.

A shoulder under a load. “Bear ye one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2). Intercession is holy weightlifting. You lift what they cannot. And you both walk lighter.

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Blessings That Flow When We Pray For Others

Mercy and intervention. Lot was rescued through Abraham’s pleading (Genesis 18). Israel survived through Moses’ intercession (Exodus 32; Psalm 106:23). A plague stopped when someone ran with incense (Numbers 16:46–48). God still moves when someone prays.

A quiet and peaceable life. Pray for rulers and neighbors. Scripture says it shapes the climate of a community (1 Timothy 2:1–2). “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17).

Healing and restoration. “Pray one for another, that ye may be healed” (James 5:16). And remember Job: God turned his captivity when he prayed for his friends and restored him double (Job 42:10). Sometimes your breakthrough hides inside their blessing.

Growth and unity. Paul’s prayers release wisdom, strength, and love into churches (Ephesians 1:16–18; Philippians 1:4–6; Colossians 1:9–12). Praying for people you struggle with softens your heart. Try it and watch God stitch the body back together.

Joy and peace in God’s presence. Jesus said, “Ask… that your joy may be full” (John 16:24). Philippians 4:6–7 promises that as we pray with thanksgiving, the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds. Prayer trades panic for peace.

Eternal reward. Your Father sees in secret and will reward openly (Matthew 6:6). Jesus urged persistent prayer like the widow who would not quit (Luke 18:1–8). Keep knocking.

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One Story, One Savior, One People Of Prayer

From Abraham to John, the thread is unbroken.

Same listening God. He hearkened to intercessors then and now. Scripture records times when God repented of the evil He said He would do because prayer rose to meet judgment (Exodus 32:14; Amos 7:2–6; Jonah 3:10). Jesus underlined it with simple words: ask, seek, knock (Luke 11:9–13).

All types point to Christ. Moses offering himself, the high priest entering once a year, the scapegoat, the king praying for a plagued people. All arrows point to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), who fulfilled Isaiah 53 and opened a new covenant where all God’s people know Him (Jeremiah 31:34), with the Spirit poured out on all flesh (Joel 2:28; Acts 2).

New access and wider call. Under the old, the average person could not go behind the veil. In Christ, we have boldness to enter and draw near with full assurance (Hebrews 10:19–22). Now the whole church prays like priests and fights like watchmen.

Even the end of the story is full of prayer. In Revelation, incense bowls brim with prayers and angels mix them with heavenly fire and send them back to earth as God’s acts (Revelation 8:3–5). Your intercession is part of God’s cosmic timetable. Praise be to God.

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A Practical Call: Step Into The Breach

Friends, this is the moment. Knowledge alone does not mend walls. Prayer does. Let’s move from knowing to kneeling.

1) Choose your gap. Family member far from Christ. A friend in sickness. Leaders who need wisdom (1 Timothy 2:1–2). Write the names.

2) Pray Scripture. Use Paul’s patterns for believers (Ephesians 1:16–18; Philippians 1:4–6; Colossians 1:9–12). Pray Jesus’ prayer in John 17 for unity and protection. Pray for enemies as commanded (Matthew 5:44). Pray boldly for mercy like Moses (Exodus 32:11–14).

3) Let the Spirit lead. Welcome His help. When words dry up, let the groanings speak (Romans 8:26–27). Trust His aim.

4) Agree with a brother or sister. “If two of you shall agree… it shall be done” (Matthew 18:19). Set a weekly time. Keep each other at the wall.

5) Keep records. Date your requests. Mark your answers. Watch faith grow. Like Job, expect God to turn some things when you pray for others (Job 42:10).

6) Add fasting when led. Daniel did (Daniel 9). Esther did (Esther 4). Some walls fall when the body joins the prayer.

7) Refuse to quit. Jesus told the widow’s story so we would always pray and not faint (Luke 18:1–8). Keep swinging that hammer. Stones loosen over time.

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A Closing Appeal

Brethren, praise the Lord. Jesus is praying for you right now (Hebrews 7:25; Romans 8:34–39; 1 John 2:1). The Spirit is praying within you (Romans 8:26–27). The Father is listening, ready to give good gifts, ready to fill your life with peace as you ask (Luke 11:9–13; Philippians 4:6–7).

Will you stand in the gap for your family? Will you stand for your church, your city, your nation? Will you carry names like incense until the bowls are poured out (Revelation 5:8; 8:3–5)? Now is the time. Not tomorrow. Now.

Friends, let us pray. “Father, in Jesus’ name, we come boldly. We lift the lost, the sick, the weary, the leaders, the enemies who do not yet know Your mercy. Turn wrath to mercy. Turn fear to faith. Turn captivity as You did for Job. Pour out Your Spirit as You promised. Make us faithful watchmen at the wall. Teach our hands to war and our knees to bend. We thank You for answers already on the way. Praise be to God. Amen.”