Our drive from Tennessee to relocate in Montana was mostly uneventful, at least until we reached western Wyoming. In the middle of nowhere we witnessed a trucker lose control of his 18 wheeler. He careened off the road, his tires plowing through the ground. Clouds of dust billowed around the truck, obstructing our view. We had pulled off the road, both to spare ourselves being in his path should he hurtle back onto the highway, and to be available to check on him when that became possible.
When the truck came to a stop, thankfully without reentering the highway, we went across the road to assess the situation. The driver was badly injured but still conscious. We learned his name was John and he was hauling a load of vodka and margarita mix, which was now leaking out the back. While awaiting the ambulance with him, Terry turned off the truck and assisted in retrieving John’s cell phone, which John used to make the dreaded report to his boss. Cursing with every breath, his back surely broken, he groaned with pain. With every curse he uttered, I breathed a prayer for him, that the ambulance would come soon and that he would receive the help he needed. I quickly posted on Facebook asking for prayers for him.
In Ezekiel 22:30 the prophet writes that the Lord says “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land.” In the ancient world of the Bible, cities had walls surrounding them to provide protection from enemies. When the wall was breached, the city was vulnerable to destruction; the only way to secure it was for people to risk their lives by literally standing in the gap in the wall and fighting the enemy.
When we pray on behalf of someone else we are “standing in the gap” for that person before God. It is a privilege to do so. And so I continue to stand in the gap for John. We are encouraged to do so in Galatians 6:2, which directs us to “Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” I invite you to join me in praying for John, as well as for others who cross your path on this road we travel together.
May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” of Hope’s Café for each other and all those we encounter. Shalom, Kate
Hope’s Café Bonus: Prayers for the energy of healing, for sustenance and restoration of John and others in need.
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