“But Moses implored the LORD his God . . .” Exodus 32:11

There are those people who have a special place in the heart of God. They talk to God face to face as a friend. Once I met such a person. I was going through an extremely trying time in my life. She came along and said that she was going to pray for me. God had called her to be Moses to me. But Moses needed two people to support him when he was praying for the Israelites while they were in battle because his arms got tired and he was not able to keep them up the entire time without help. So my friend “Moses” got two people to support her in intercession while she engaged in spiritual warfare on my behalf.

What is the Moses factor? Moses interceded on behalf of the Israelites when God was ready to wipe them off the face of the earth. He went to bat for them. More than once. This was not some weak, flimsy type of prayer.

Sometimes we call this kind of prayer “standing in the gap.” I always pictured this as someone standing on a medieval-type castle wall that had the gaps in the constructed wall where the soldier would stand. Standing in the gap according to Ezekiel 22:30 is actually more demanding than that. The Bible talks about “breaches” in the wall. This meant that the wall was broken down and the city was left defenseless. Someone standing in the breach meant taking the place where the wall would have been to defend the city.

Moses took that place for the people of God in the breach, especially when they had sinned. He was the go-between for God and the people. He did it when they were fighting a difficult battle. When they were faced with their first battle after leaving Egypt, the Israelites relied on Moses to hold up his staff. After they had won their battle, Moses built an altar and called the name of it, “The Lord is My Banner, saying, ‘A hand upon the throne of the Lord’” (Exodus 17:15-16).

Sometimes we are called to lift our hands up to touch the throne of God on behalf of others. This is not an easy task. Others can help us in this so that we do not grow weary and tired.

If the Lord has called you to lift up others and their needs to the throne of God, consider this a privilege. Moses was someone of whom it was said, “Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Exodus 33:11).

Moses stood in the gap for the people. You have the opportunity to stand in the gap for others. This is not a thankless job. Whenever Moses would go to God to speak to him, he would remove the veil. When he came out to tell them what God had told him, his face would be shining. When you come away from your time with God, your face will be shining.

By Ralph Veenstra