Being Blessable

In my previous article called The Blessing of Abraham, I explained from Scripture how the blessing the Lord gave to Abraham applies to those who are in Christ. In this article, I'd like to explain how to be eligible for these blessings and all the Lord's blessings. 

Let me ask you a question: Does the Lord bless us, regardless of how we live, even if we are disobedient, wicked, and rebellious?

Obedience Opens the Door
Listen to what the angel of the Lord said to Abraham, after he willingly offered his only son on the altar in obedience to the Lord:

The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me." (Gen 22:15-18)

Abraham’s single act of obedience opened the door for God to 1) bless him, 2) make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, 3) allow his descendants to take possession of the cities of their enemies, and 4) bless all nations on earth through his offspring.  All of this happened “because Abraham obeyed God.”

This same principle is true for Abraham’s descendants. In order for God to bless them and fulfill His promise to them and through them, they must keep his ways.

Then the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him." (Gen 18:17-19)

This passage tells us that we as children of Abraham must keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him. All of these promises that God made to Abraham are contingent upon the children of Abraham keeping the Lord’s way by doing what’s right and just. Then the promises will be fulfilled, including the promise that “Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.” 

This teaches us that the blessings are conditional and require our obedience. It teaches us that we must remain blessable, in order for the Lord to bless us. 

Of course, there is grace for our failures, weaknesses, and shortcomings. But the Lord blesses obedience, not disobedience, rebellion, and wickedness. You will not find any place in Scripture where it says God blesses disobedience, rebellion, and wickedness, or rewards those who live that way. There is no place in Scripture where that is taught, but rather the opposite. Scripture says we must live our lives in a way that is blessable. This is in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

Also see Deut 28:2-8; Psalm 37; Jer 17:7; Mal 3:10; Prov 22:9; 28:20; Js 1:12; Gal 6:7-8.

"Praise the LORD. Blessed are those who fear the LORD, who find great delight in his commands. Their children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed." (Psa 112:1-2)

"Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord." (Psa 119:1)

"For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless." (Psa 84:11)

Even Jesus said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it." (Luk 11:28)

The same is true in the opening of the book of Revelation, where the blessing is conditional:

He says, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” (Rev 1:3)

Likewise at the closing of Revelation it says, "And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book." (Rev 22:7, NASB)

Look at the beatitudes in Matthew 5. The Lord pronounces blessings upon those who are blessable. Blessed are the meek, blessed are the pure in heart, blessed are the peacemakers, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the merciful, etc. You don't see one that says, "Blessed are the drunkards, blessed are the liars, blessed are the adulterers, blessed are the ungodly..." etc. 

As the apostle Paul said, the wicked shall not inherit the kingdom of God:

"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Cor 6:9-11)

Offering Your Body as a Living Sacrifice to God

The apostle Paul said:

“I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual act of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Rom 12:1-2)

Just as Abraham offered up Isaac on the altar to God in obedience to Him, just as the Lord Jesus offered Himself in obedience to the Father on the cross for us, we must offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God. This is acceptable to God as a spiritual act of worship. This is how we worship and serve God.

Helen Roseveare, former missionary to the Congo, said the Lord taught her that it is a privilege to serve the Lord and even to suffer for Him. "All He wants is the loan of your body." She learned that the Lord wants us to thank Him for trusting us with the opportunity to suffer, even if He never tells us why.

Matthew Henry wrote: “The presenting of the body to God implies not only the avoiding of the sins that are committed with or against the body, but the using of the body as a servant of the soul in the service of God. It is to glorify God with our bodies (1Co_6:20), to engage our bodies in the duties of immediate worship, and in a diligent attendance to our particular callings, and be willing to suffer for God with our bodies, when we are called to it. It is to yield the members of our bodies as instruments of righteousness, Rom_6:13…it is a proof and product of the dedication of our souls to God.”

We must not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. It’s a life transformation (Gr., metamorphoo) like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. Only then will be able to prove (Gr. dokimazō) what the will of God is. 

To prove (Gr. dokimazō) what is the will of God means to discern it, distinguish it, try it, test it out, and judge it to be worthy.

One way that we will be able to clearly judge His will to be worthy is when we do His will and see how blessed we are when we do. We are blessed inside and out, through and through, when we obey God.

Apart from Jesus We Can Do Nothing

Don't try to obey God apart from Christ, because without Him you can do nothing. He said, "Apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5). 

This means you should not try to live a life of obedience to God apart from Christ and expect to receive blessings from God, because you can do nothing without Him.

Remain in His Love By Obedience

We must keep the Lord's commands in order to remain in His love and the Father's love. Jesus said, "If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love." (Joh 15:10)

God Rewards for Doing Good and Punishes Sin

The Lord always rewards everyone for whatever good he does and punishes wrongdoing. 

As Paul the apostle wrote: "He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you." (2Th 1:8-10)

Moreover, he said, "because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free." (Eph 6:8). 

"There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile." (Rom 2:9-10)

This principle of reward for doing good and punishment for following evil is not only applicable in this life here on earth, but in the afterlife once we die. How we live now affects us both in this present life and the life hereafter.

"God will repay each person according to what he has done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger." (Rom 2:6-8).

This is why we all need to repent of our sins and have faith in Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. 

As David wrote: "Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit." (Ps 32:1-2)

Faith is a Key to Being Blessable

Faith is another key to being blessable. One example of that is Mary, who was blessed, because she believed.

"Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!" (Luk 1:45).

The same is true of all those who have faith in God. Hebrews 11 is the biblical Hall of Faith that tells of so many ancient people of faith who were rewarded, such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Samson, Barak, Gideon, Moses, and many others.

Closing Words 

These keys to being blessable, which I have outlined in this study, are not only applicable in this life here on earth, but in the afterlife once we die. Let us pray and ask the Lord to make us blessable, and then let us trust and obey Him, so that we may BE blessable.

Attribution notice: Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. Other Scripture taken from NASB, where noted, copyright Lockman Foundation, used by permission.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, please also see the following: The Blessing of Abraham, The Afflictions of the Righteous, God Exalts the Humble and Brings Down the Proud, and The "Never" Promises to the Righteous. Also see What's Wrong with the Prosperity Gospel? You may find the Main Directory for this blog at Home, and you may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." 

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe. 

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

The Blessing of Abraham

I would like to show you what the seven-fold blessing of Abraham is that God gave to him and how it relates to you as a believer in our Lord Jesus Christ.

The LORD had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." (Gen 12:1-3)

He took him outside and said, "Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." (Gen 15:5)

I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me." (Gen 22:17-18)

Components of the Blessing
Let's look at the seven components of the blessing:

1. The promise to bless Abraham

2. The promise that he will have a great name (reputation) 

3. The promise that he would become a great nation (have many descendants)

4. God will bless those who bless him

5. God will curse those who curse him
6. Abraham will be a blessing

7. All nations will be blessed through Abraham

Fulfillment of the Blessing
Here are some biblical examples of how the blessing of Abraham is fulfilled:

1. Abraham 

a) Great name: Had a great name and was considered a mighty prince among the people (Gen 23:6)

b) Many descendants: Had many descendants through Jacob and Esau/Edom his grandsons. 

• Ishmael became a great nation and had 12 sons who became chiefs
• Isaac’s son Jacob had 12 sons, who became 12 tribes
• Esau had 12 male descendants (among his 5 sons and 10 grandsons) who became chiefs of 12 tribes in Edom (aside from Amalek born to his concubine)
• Esau’s descendants had a part in the founding of Ancient China and Japan, and played an important role in Russian history.
• Abraham had 6 sons through Keturah: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Of course, from Midian came the Midianites, who lived in the Arabian Peninsula.

c)   Became extremely wealthy (Gen 13:2)

2. Jacob 

a) Had good relationships with the Canaanites among whom he lived as a stranger

b) Became a nation called Israel that possessed the land of Canaan

c) God blessed Jacob’s unusual breeding practices

d) Laban was blessed through his association with Jacob (Gen 30:27,30)

e) Became exceedingly wealthy shortly after Rachel his wife gave birth to Joseph (Ge 30:43)

3. Joseph 

a) Joseph prospered while in Egypt (Ge 39:2)

b) The Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in everything he did (Ge 39:3)
c) Joseph found favor in the eyes of his Egyptian master Potiphar, who put him in charge of his entire household and entrusted to his care everything he owned (Ge 39:4)

d) From the time Potiphar put Joseph in charge of everything, the Lord blessed his household because of Joseph, and the blessing of the Lord was upon everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field (Ge 39:5)
e) While in prison, the warden put all the prisoners under his authority (Ge 39:21-23)

f) Became ruler of all Egypt (Ge 41:37ff)

g) Saved Egypt, Israel, and other nations from perishing during famine.

4. Judah became a tribe from which the line of David and many kings descended, included the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

5. Solomon son of David became a very wise, wealthy and great king that was sought out by other rulers like the Queen of Sheba. God promised him wisdom, riches, honor, and a long life if he continued in righteousness, and it was fulfilled. (2 Chron 9:13-29). He was so unbelievably wealthy that he "surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches" (I Kings 10:23).

6. Esther became Queen of Persia (Est 2:18) and all the Jews in the Persian realm were blessed through her, because through her intervention they were not annihilated.

7. Mordecai became a high official of King Xerxes as well, and the same is true of him that all the Jewish people were blessed by him, just as King Xerxes was blessed when Mordecai reported the two, would-be assassins that intended to kill the king.

8. Daniel became ruler of the province of Babylon 

a) The head prefect over all the wise men there. 
b) He remained through the reign of 5 kings

c) Influenced those kings for the glory of God, and they were blessed through him.
d) He wielded tremendous power and influence
e) He served with great honor and distinction

9. The Lord Jesus - The blessing of Abraham is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the “Seed” of Abraham (Galatians 3:16).

10. The apostle Paul brought the gospel to the entire known Roman world of the first century (Rom 15:19), many people came to know Christ through him, many were healed, delivered from demons, and many churches were planted through him. Many people in Israel also received support from the Gentiles during the famine through the collection that Paul took up and the offering he brought to Jerusalem.

How This Applies to Us Today
This blessing continues today in the life of every true disciple of Jesus Christ, possessing the faith of Abraham that led him to obey God, since we are descendants of Abraham, the children of promise (Gal 3:7,14, 29; 4:31).

1) The promise to bless us 

a) Blessed spiritually with justification and with every spiritual blessing (Eph 1:3)

b) Blessed in every area of our temporal and eternal lives

c) Note that the land God promised to Abraham is the type of the better land; the nation is a type of the spiritual nation, the temporal blessing is a type of the eternal blessing.

2) The promise that we will have a great name (reputation) 

3) The promise that we would have many descendants, especially spiritual ones

4) God will bless those who bless us

5) God will curse those who curse us 

a) “Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned.” (Psa 34:21)

b) Also see Ps 35:1-8, 26

c) “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.” (2Th 1:6-7)

6) We will be a blessing to others whom we associate with

a) Not merely a recipient of blessing, but a medium or conduit of blessing to others.

b) Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” So this is not a “bless me” message, but one that clearly has others in mind.

7)    All nations will be blessed through us

Your life has a ripple effect, like a pebble when it drops into the still water, causing blessings to ripple from one person to the next across the whole world. Each and every word -- even unspoken -- and action of yours causes a ripple that spreads throughout the entire world. It's time to take that seriously.

Closing Words
This is the gospel that was announced to Abraham. “The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’ So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith,” (Gal 3:8-9).

This is what we were redeemed for. “He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promised of the Spirit.” (Gal 3:14).

Attribution notice: Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. Image courtesy of Jan van 't Hoff Dordrecht, copyright 2023 Gospel Images, www.gospelimages.com, used by permission.

Author's Note: If you enjoyed this message, you may also like other articles about prayer, like Being Blessable, Prayer Promises, which you can find on the Home page of this blog, as well as other articles of mine Bowing Low in Worship. Also see What's Wrong with the Prosperity Gospel? I also invite you to visit my collection of blogs at Writing for the Master. Now let me ask you a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Standing in the Gap

Today I want to talk about standing in the gap.  I’d like to define what that is, and show the basis for it in God’s Word, including some biblical and modern day examples of those who’ve stood in the gap.  First let’s look at some Scriptures about standing in the gap.

Scriptural Basis for Standing in the Gap
The Lord looks for a man who will stand in the gap. He told Ezekiel, "I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one." (Eze 22:30).  There have been times when the Lord could find no man to stand in the gap.

"And He saw that there was no man, And was astonished that there was no one to intercede; Then His own arm brought salvation to Him, And His righteousness upheld Him." (Isa 59:16). 

Nobody went up into the breaches in the wall, and stood there on behalf of the nation. "You have not gone up into the breaches, nor did you build the wall around the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the day of the LORD." (Eze 13:5).  Nobody would intercede for the nation to create a spiritual wall of protection around the house of Israel. Therefore, the enemy was free to come right in to steal, kill, and destroy.

If a wall becomes broken down at certain points, these are breaches or gaps.  In Nehemiah's day, they had to stand in those gaps, as they did the work of rebuilding the wall, many with a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other (Neh 4:15-23).  They were rebuilding and guarding at the same time.  They were standing in the gap and building up the wall. These gaps require someone to stand in them to keep out the enemy, and the wall must be rebuilt, as well.

First there is the natural, and then the spiritual (1 Co 15:46).  The Lord prophesied that there would come a time when He Himself would raise up David’s fallen tent and wall up its breaches: "In that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David, And wall up its breaches; I will also raise up its ruins And rebuild it as in the days of old." (Amo 9:11).  The apostle Peter says that the Church made up of Jews and Gentiles is David’s fallen tent that God is rebuilding (Ac 15:16).

The Lord spoke through Isaiah saying that if we do the kind of fasting that pleases Him, then He will hear our cries, and repair the breach in response to our prayers: "Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell." (Isa 58:12)

The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” (1Ti 2:1-2).  This teaches that we must carry the needs of others before the throne of God.  This includes all men, especially kings and those in authority, such as your employer, president, pastor, or elders.

Lastly, the apostle John taught that we should intercede for any brother we see committing a sin that does not lead to death. "If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this." (1Jo 5:16)

Biblical Examples of Those Who Stood in the Gap
There are some great examples in God’s Word of those who stood in the gap for others.

Jesus
Our greatest example is the Lord Jesus Himself.  We know that He stood in the gap for Peter.  When the devil asked to sift him like wheat, the Lord was aware of it and prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail. "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." (Luk 22:31-32)

Following the Lord's Supper, when He celebrated the Passover meal the night He was betrayed, He prayed what has now become known as His high priestly prayer.  He stood in the gap and prayed for His disciples to be sanctified and protected.  And He prayed for all those who would believe through their message (John 17).

He interceded for those who crucified Him.  “When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. But Jesus was saying, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.’” (Luk 23:33-34)

As I have written about in a previous post, called "Who Intercedes for Us?" the Lord Jesus always lives to make intercession for us! “The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” (Heb 7:23-25).  A prophet is one who speaks to man on behalf of God, but a priest is one who represents the people before God.  He speaks to God on behalf of the people.  Jesus was certainly a Prophet, but in this passage we find that He is also a priest.  In fact, He is the Great High Priest, who holds His priesthood permanently.

As the apostle John wrote: “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;” (1Jo 2:1).  Jesus is the One anointed by the Father to the whole office of mediation.  The very one who has the power to condemn us is our Supreme Defense before the Father in heaven. “Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” (Rom 8:34)

The Holy Spirit
It’s important to know that, in addition to the intercession of Christ, believers also enjoy the intercession of the Holy Spirit, too! “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” (Rom 8:26-27).  What a tremendous blessing we enjoy from the Perfect Intercessor, the Holy Spirit.

Moses
One of the greatest intercessors the world has ever known was Moses.  When he went up on the mountain to receive the commandments from the Lord, and remained there for forty days, he said he was standing between the Lord and the Israelites.

He said, “…I was standing between the LORD and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the LORD; for you were afraid because of the fire and did not go up the mountain." (Deu 5:5) He added, "These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly at the mountain from the midst of the fire, of the cloud and of the thick gloom, with a great voice, and He added no more. He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. (Deu 5:22)

He repeated this to the Israelites again later, explaining that because of their rebellion, the Lord was angry enough to destroy them: "Even at Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath, and the LORD was so angry with you that He would have destroyed you. When I went up to the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the LORD had made with you, then I remained on the mountain forty days and nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water.” (Deu 9:8-9)

What provoked the Lord was that while Moses was standing in the gap for them on the mountain, they were engaging in idolatry and pagan revelry.  But Moses did not stand back and allow the Lord to destroy the rebellious Israelites.  Instead, he went back up the mountain and humbly stood in the gap for them and Aaron for another forty days.

Moses said, "I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sin which you had committed in doing what was evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger. For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which the LORD was wrathful against you in order to destroy you, but the LORD listened to me that time also. The LORD was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him; so I also prayed for Aaron at the same time. (Deu 9:18-20)

In another place, Moses said, "I, moreover, stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights like the first time, and the LORD listened to me that time also; the LORD was not willing to destroy you.” (Deu 10:10). The psalmist says, “Therefore He [God] said that He would destroy them, had not Moses His chosen one stood in the breach before Him, To turn away His wrath from destroying them. (Psa 106:23)

Moses described how he prayed to God, as he stood in the gap for Israel: "So I fell down before the LORD the forty days and nights, which I did because the LORD had said He would destroy you. I prayed to the LORD and said, 'O Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look at the stubbornness of this people or at their wickedness or their sin. Otherwise the land from which You brought us may say, "Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which He had promised them and because He hated them He has brought them out to slay them in the wilderness." Yet they are Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have brought out by Your great power and Your outstretched arm.'" (Deu 9:25-29)

In order to appreciate this, you have to understand that Moses had just finished interceding for the Israelites for forty days without food or water.  And when he came down and saw their rebellion, he went back up for another forty days of intercession. He fell on his face once again and stood in the gap for them, which brought the combined total to eighty days of consecutive fasting and intercession before the Lord.

Daniel
Daniel was another great intercessor.  In fact, in my opinion, he is one of the top three intercessors in the whole Bible.  He had searched the Scriptures and found in Jeremiah’s prophecies that Israel would be in captivity for seventy years.  This led him to intercede for his nation.  He said, “So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.” (Dan 9:3)  In order to really get a clearer picture of what it was like when Daniel stood in the gap, it’s best to read the entire ninth chapter of Daniel.

Phinehas
Another intercessor I would like to mention is Phinehas.  The psalmist says, “Then Phinehas stood up and interposed, And so the plague was stayed.” (Psa 106:30).  Moses gives us the full story of what happened (Num 25:3-13).

Because of the immorality of Israel and their pagan idolatry, the Lord was ready to destroy Israel once again.  This was a sin unto death! People were falling dead from a plague that had already killed 24,000 of them.  So the Lord instructed Moses to gather the judges and execute everyone that was involved in this sin. Now there was an Israelite man, who didn’t know what the Lord had just said.  So at that very moment, he brought home to his family a pagan woman in the sight of Moses and all the judges.  Understanding the seriousness of this sin, which made God so angry, Phinehas rose to the occasion.  Being jealous for the Lord, he arose and ran a spear through the man and his girlfriend. This was a type of standing in the gap, which pleased the Lord very much, and turned away His wrath.  This is how the plague was stopped through the valiant action of Phinehas that day, and because of this, he was written up with an honorable commendation in the Scriptures.  The Lord gave him and his descendants a perpetual covenant of peace for that.

Abraham
Abraham also interceded for Sodom, where his nephew Lot lived (Gen 18:16-33), and for King Abimelech, after he returned his wife Sarah to him (Gen 20:7,17-18). 

Job
Job is another good example of an intercessor.  He interceded for his children daily (Job 1:4-5). Then after all his trials, he interceded for his three counselors, and God did not treat them according to their folly (Job 42:7-9).

Epaphras
According to the apostle Paul, Epaphras stood in the gap for the Colossians. He wrote to them, “Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God.” (Col 4:12)

Modern Examples
In terms of modern examples, I think Rees Howells was one of the greatest intercessors of the last century.  I highly recommend reading his biography by Norman Grubb, called Rees Howells Intercessor. 

One other example that stands out to me from our own times is Henry Gruver, who has prayer walked in 70 nations over the decades.  I highly recommend his book, called “A Prayer Walker’s Handbook”, which is available on his website.

Putting it All Together
Standing in the gap means that we go before the Lord in prayer and entreat Him on behalf of others.  We should be very encouraged to know that Jesus always lives to make intercession for the saints, and that even the Holy Spirit makes perfect intercession for us according to God’s will.

But this doesn’t eliminate the need for human intercessors on earth to stand in the gap.  God searches for someone to stand in the gap, yet there have been times when He found nobody that would do so. It’s not a popular job.  Moses, Daniel, Abraham, Job, and Epaphras were good examples of intercessors in the Bible.  They laid down their lives in prayer for God’s people. Rees Howells and Henry Gruver are excellent examples from our modern day.

The spirit of intercession is usually praying for mercy and forgiveness for others.  But there are times when gross sins are being committed openly in the house of God. There are sins that lead to death. And at those times, like Phinehas we need to be jealous for the Lord, and pray in such a way that darkness will be exposed.  Those in spiritual oversight need to judge those within, bring discipline, and remove the wicked man from among the church (1 Cor 5:12-13).

When there is no intercessor, breaches can develop in the wall around the Lord’s people, allowing the enemy to come in. When there is sin in the camp, we become vulnerable to attack.  These attacks always bring trouble, which can be very serious for the Body of Christ.  The spiritual wall of protection is restored through intercession. Is God calling you to stand in the gap?

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's Note: If you enjoyed this message,  you may also like "Who Intercedes for Us?", The Past Defeat and Present Threat of AI, and my daughter's poem, "Our Intercessor."  I also invite you to visit my collection of blogs at "Writing for the Master."  "Prayer Warrior" painting © 2012 by Danny Hahlbohm, all rights reserved by the artist.  Now let me ask you a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.