A Wall Of Fire

A Wall of Fire

I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory in her midst. Zechariah 2:5, ESV

MARIE MONSEN WAS A NORWEGIAN MISSIONARY in China in the early 1900s who, though single and often unaccompanied by any trustworthy men, traveled dangerous roads from town to town under God’s protection. One night early in her ministry, Monsen woke up from what she thought were blows to her shoulder and was immediately terrified, thinking she was under attack from robbers. Instead, she saw a momentary picture of a wall of fire around her and felt immediate peace. Zechariah 2:5 came to mind, and she carried that vision and promise with her the rest of her life. She told stories of bandits running toward her transport cart and then suddenly being unable to find it; groups of brigands surrounding her Bible study meetings and then inexplicably walking away without attacking; and even a pirate who pointed a gun at her but couldn’t pull the trigger because she told him God wouldn’t let him. She lived in the safety of God’s presence, even as dangerous and malicious threats raged around her.

God’s promise to be a wall of fire around Jerusalem and the glory in its midst is a wonderfully encouraging promise to grasp by faith and remember in trying times. It also makes an awesome prayer for the people you love. It gives us a picture of enormous flames standing guard around those we pray for and of the fire of the Holy Spirit burning within them. It’s a spiritual, physical, relational, circumstantial, and emotional promise applicable to a multitude of experiences we might face.

We know God encourages us to practice the art of envisioning because he gives us such visual reminders of his wisdom, presence, power, and love. Such pictures fuel our faith and give us a way to express it that captivates our attention far quicker than words ever could. When we pray those images back to God, we feel them coming alive in our spirit and trust him to carry them out. We sense his presence in them and rest comfortably in his faithfulness.

It was as though the roof was lifted off the house and I saw that I was surrounded by fire, a high, impenetrable wall of fire.