Standing in the Gap (Part 1)

Praying Through the Bible #93

TEXT: Daniel 9:1-8

Early last month, I had the privilege of driving with my family from Texas to Virginia for the graduation of my oldest daughter at Liberty University. As we traveled there, we had to drive across numerous bridges over bodies of water -- some big bridges, some small bridges -- but we had to cross the bridges in order to get to our destination. The purpose of a bridge is to close a gap between one point and another. If you have ever crossed a bridge before, then you already know what it means to "stand in the gap," you already know what it means to be an intercessor. 
  
You see, a bridge is used to get people from where they are to where they want to be or ought to be. The bridge closes the gap between where you are now and where you need to be. In a spiritual sense, that is the job of an intercessor. An intercessor stands in the gap for those who are separated from God either because of their sins or because of the fact that they do not know God. Through prayer, an intercessor brings the lives, the needs, and the desires of people to God. An intercessor provide a direct link to God for those who are unable or unwilling to stand on their own. 
 
In our passage today, we see Daniel as an intercessor for his people, Israel. Daniel, along with his people, is in exile in Babylon. It has been almost 70 years since the exile begun and Daniel is moved to prayer after he reads Jeremiah's prophecies which indicate that the exile is nearing its end. Even though Daniel was a righteous man himself and had a good relationship with God, he takes it upon himself to stand in the gap and to bridge the space between God and his people as he lifts up his nation in prayer.
 
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