Standing in the Gap

Early last year when I came down from Ranau after ending my stint at the Bible College, God comforted me with the reading of Ezekiel whom He commanded to stay at home, in fact laying on one side for a hundred days or more and then on the other side for many more days, each day representing Israel in their transgressions. In a nutshell, Ezekiel’s prophetic act was a sign of Israel’s transgressions and now we are enjoined to stay home due to the Covid19. On the face of it, it may appear that this stay home order is brought about by a public health concern but what about the underlying spiritual causes? Has the church sinned that we can’t even openly worship the Lord and that the public places of worship are closed? Perhaps it is our transgressions and the sins of our fathers (leaders), basically so powerless, weak and unable to rise up as intercessors and that God could not find a single man or a leader to stand in the gap.

Perhaps this time I could be forgiven as I am not a leader; I am not even the chairman of the church council. Perhaps like Ezekiel I am like a singer of songs; people come to listen to me preach but they do not do what God declares through the preaching of His Word. When SARS came in December 2002, I was appointed pastor of my home church and was made the chairman immediately which means I had a measure of authority to set the agenda and lead prayers. Now I just do the preaching but I am not a leader; I had led prayer meetings only twice in 3 months and the last time was the last day before the MCO came to effect. When I was in Ranau, I was also the chairman of the church council and I held a minor position as Chairman of the Pastors’ fellowship. And it was this fellowship that organised the all-night prayer meeting on Malaysia Day 15-16 Sept 2015 attended by 340 adults from 20 SIB churches in Ranau. But this time throughout this Covid19 crisis and before that the political tumult of late February, I waited and waited for those who are in leadership to call for prayers but there was none forthcoming even as the Lord says, “If only I could find a man to stand in the gap....I would not have destroyed the land”.