Ezekiel 22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
People of purity:
Purity is an aspect of Holiness and Holiness is the primary character of God. God purifies us when we consecrate and dedicate our lives to Him (Rom 12:1-2). But, the Bible also tells us to purify our own lives (1 Tim 5:22; 2 Cor 7:1). Scripture says various things about those that are pure (Isa 52:11;Psa 24:3-4; Matt 5:8). Keeping pure involves every area of our life – personal, interpersonal, business, verbal, thought life, and general living. Paul tells Timothy that there are certain things to purge from our life to be a vessel unto honor for God 2 Tim 2:21. Purity should be a way of life for Christians – it is not for a special class of Christians, all are to be holy, pure.
People of prayer:
Hudson Taylor said, “Prayer is transacting business with God.” Jonathan Edwards said, “Prayer is storming heaven.” A. C. Dixon said, “When we depend on God, we get what God can do.” Prayer is hard work and many fail in this area. People of prayer display four characteristics of prayer.
- Faith – we must pray in faith. James says, “We have not because we ask not.” We must believe that God is able to do what we ask and also that He is willing to do what we ask.
- Claim promises recorded in God’s word. I believe God enjoys us reciting Scripture back to Him in prayer.
- Persist – Jesus told the parable of the unjust judge in Luke 18, telling us that we are to pray and not give up, but persist in our prayers. Paul says to pray without ceasing.
- Fervent – James says the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. We must not just “say prayers”, but actually pray them in sincerity and with meaning.
- Await God’s answer – Isaiah says they that wait upon the Lord shall mount up with wings as eagles. Sometimes it seems long before we receive our answer, but we must always remember that God does not go by clocks or calendars.
People of the Book:
God says in Psalms 138:2 that He magnifies His word above all His name. We must be people of the Book. This means study it (2 Tim 2:15), meditate on it (Psa 1:2), and delight in it (Psa 1:2; 119:46, 47, 97)
Workers:
God calls us to labor and work for Him, not sit back and be idle (Eccl 9:10). Jesus said the night is coming when we will not be able to work, so work now (Jn 9:4; 12:35).