The Bible describes prayer as “Standing in the Gap” or “Bridging the Gap” the channel through which God’s will is brought to earth. We are going to look in God’s Word to see some examples of people he used to stand in the gap so his purpose could be accomplished.

God chose or appointed Moses to stand in the gap between His people, the Israelites and Pharaoh. Esther stood in the gap for her people, the Israelites with prayer and fasting when Haman wanted to destroy the Jews.

After God created the earth, He said, “It was very good.” (Genesis 1:31) There was no gap between God and the earth, however, after Adam and Eve sinned, sin created a gap between God and what He had planned for the earth.

Fortunately, God stood in the gap for us by sending His Son, Jesus to the earth to live as a man, die for our sins, and arise from the dead so we could have a personal relationship with Him.

God is our source of power and He chose us to be intercessors, a channel for His power to bridge the gap between himself and the earth. Daniel knew that prayer was the means that would bring God’s will from heaven, causing His will to be activated, releasing His power for His purpose on earth.

God chose us, as grandparents to partner with Him in behalf of our children, grandchildren and future generations to share in His work and blessings.  Jennifer Kennedy Dean writes in her Bible study, Live A Praying Life, “Prayer is the most aggressive, offensive, pro-active, invasive work you can ever engage in.” ?

Paul writes in Ephesians 6:10-18, we are to be strong and firm in our relationship with the Lord. We are to stand firm against Satan’s well- thought-out plans and agenda for our children, grandchildren, and ourselves.

Just as Jesus, Moses, Esther, Daniel and many others in the Bible stood in the gap, we as grandparents have the privilege to stand in the gap with prayer for our families.  Satan is very active in the world today; he knows his time is short. Let us urgently and intentionally pray for God’s will and protection for our family members.

It is not only important to pray for our families individually, it is important that we meet with other grandparents to pray together for our families in these crucial times. As Prayer Coordinator for Christian Grandparenting Network, I would like to encourage you to meet with other grandparents to pray for your families. At CGN, we call it “Grandparentrs@Prayer” Please email me and I will send you some guidelines to make it easy to pray together.

As grandparents, let us be the channels through which God’s will is brought down to earth for our children, grandchildren, future generations and ourselves.

? Jennifer Kennedy Dean, Living A Praying Life, (Birmingham, AL: New Hope, 2003); p 60.

© 2010 Lillian Penner