In the gap

When we stand in the gap between heaven and earth to intercede for another, we cannot get stuck in the ditch of thinking it’s our personal power that decides. The decision has been made. We are agreeing with Heaven, and partnering with the Father to bring forth His promises. In our surrender to His will to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give Him thanks, we position ourselves for Him to move. 

We have the unique opportunity to say a blind yes to Him, and let Him direct and guide our steps. The weight of responsibility to believe in His victory over sin, death, and disease must be perceived as joy. He is our source. The enemy would like to clothe us with despair and hopelessness, and partner with lack and an orphan mindset. We get to believe Jesus at His word of victory , and His overcoming of this world. We may get battle scars from working to discern what it is that’s coming against us, but no matter what it is, we win. The enemy likes to counterfeit the weight of sin, sickness and disease with the weight of God’s glory to overcome every circumstance. Deep darkness covers the earth, but the Holy Spirit is hovering above it, invading it with the blood of Jesus and His word made flesh in us to declare the goodness of God in the land of the living. We get to deliver hope and joy with wisdom and confidence. He truly does make beauty from our ashes. We get to participate in the miracles we create with faith and prophecy to bring gobs of heaven to earth. It doesn’t mean we don’t mourn and grieve for suffering. Jesus in the garden suffered alone, when all He wanted was the community He created to mourn with Him even though they didn’t understand. The disciples had the opportunity to stand in the gap with Jesus in the garden as He weighed the sin He would carry. He first shed His blood freely as He allowed the Father to minister to His heart. He longed for friendship from His followers to be in unity with the fellowship He had with the Father. He gave His life up before it was taken. But it wasn’t taken, because He freely gave it. 

I used to cry in pain at my earliest stages of the onset of disease in my body. I was comforted by my mom’s worship and her stacking sheets under the growing curve of my spine to fill in the gap that was ballooning between my body and my bed. She sparingly used pain medicine as a salve. When I had severe earaches, she would pour peroxide into my ear and stroke my head. I found out years later that the action of rubbing my forehead to the center of my head released dopamine. I remember feeling woozy and a little drunk, and falling asleep in her lap out of all pain. The soothing cadence of our prayers in the gap release a supernatural dopamine into the atmosphere of the hearts that we are praying for. We enter into the garden and pray with Jesus when we intentionally pray for those who are suffering. Whether it be our child, a loved one, or a stranger we have never met, when we paint a target of love and compassion for another, we release peace and the love of Jesus. Parents who lose a child, spouses that lose their lover, siblings who lose their childhood friend, and all other losses- a pet, a deportation, and all situations that bring suffering- prayer is the answer. The phrase, “thoughts and prayers” has been dismissed as a cowardly way of responding to a tragedy. But that is a lie. Yes we need to send material support in the way of supplies and medicine. But hope looks like something unseen. Hope looks like taking time out of our day and instead of doom scrolling and tsk tsking at all that is wrong, we can accept the invitation from Jesus and use our time and energy to lift up another soul to receive the love of God through us. We are all image bearers. As hopeless as a situation seems, we have an opportunity and an invitation to use the power and authority we have been given to shift atmospheres with love. Let’s not fall asleep on each other. Let’s fill the gap with our prayers and intercession to unite as the body of Christ to bring heaven to earth. Chaos is lack of control, but we do have self control to be part of the solution. Selah.