Stand in the Gap

In Ezekiel 22:30 it says,  “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one."

     What does it mean to "stand in the gap"?  In London they have a saying, "Mind the Gap".  You see this statement stamped in bright yellow letters lining the edge of the concrete floor in their subway stations.  It reminds you to stay clear from the edge that drops-off onto the tracts. In short, it prevents you from falling onto the lines and getting pummeled by their super-fast trains. This is a good gap!  It keeps folks out of harms way and protects them from injury. 
     In the story of Ezekiel, he is relaying God's message that the Lord is searching for someone to "stand in the gap".  Someone to be a bridge for the people, to fill-in where there is a need for protection, building back up and righteousness.
     In our personal walk with Christ and our call to be missionaries, we have folks that "stand in the gap" for us.  They protect us with prayer, lift us up, and encourage and support us as we answer God's call to Kenya.   They are our mighty Prayer Warriors!  As missionaries, we get emotionally and spiritually exhausted, like everyone else, and our Prayer Warriors "stand in the gap" for us during these times.
     These individuals have been praying to God on our behalf since He placed this call to be missionaries on our hearts years ago.  We asked 5 Prayer Warriors to pray for discernment, peace and strength as we questioned if this call to be missionaries was God's path for us or not.  They diligently joined us in prayer and through this act, we knew this was what God was calling us to do. 
     We have come a long way since those first prayers of descernment where lifted up to the Lord and we are honored to have our Prayer Warriors praying for us.  They have grown from a small goup of 5 to over 200!  They span churches across Georgia and are as far north as Ohio!  Our Prayer Warriors truly "stand in the gap" for us and we praise God for their selfless requests to on our behalf.  They are a group of individuals whose prayers come together to do BIG things for our ministry and our call as missionaries. We thank God for them and we praise Him that, unlike the words written in Ezekiel, we found someone to stand in the gap.