"I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord.' And now here we are, standing inside your gates, O Jerusalem.
"Jerusalem is a well-built city; its seamless walls cannot be breached. All the tribes of Israel - the Lord's people - make their pilgrimage here. They come to give thanks to the Name of the Lord, as the law requires of Israel. Here stand the thrones where judgment is given, the thrones of the dynasty of David.
"Pray for peace in Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper. O Jerusalem, may there be peace within your walls and prosperity in your palaces. For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, 'May you have peace.' For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek what is best for you, O Jerusalem."
(Psalm 122, New Living Translation)
Anyone who knows me knows that I love Israel and her people. If ever there was a time in history that Israel needs our prayers, it is now.
Have you ever wondered why the Lord instructs us to pray specifically for the peace of Jerusalem? There are probably many answers to this question but I would like for you to consider the following:
In the Old Testament, when David wrote this psalm, Jerusalem was the "seat of God", the center of worship, God's chosen place to reside. Every year the Jews made a pilgrimage, ascending the hills to Jerusalem for their yearly feasts. The anticipation was enormous! Oh, to be in the Presence of the Lord, to be cleansed from sin - a chance to recall the goodness of the Lord their God.
So what does this have to do with you and me?
Throughout the world Jerusalem represents the Spirit of God. Do you know what I mean? Even atheists associate Jerusalem with God! Why on earth would evil desire her destruction? Because Jerusalem is precious to the Lord and to her people.
Our prayers for her are imperative. There is a battle waging that would wipe Israel off the map. There is a battle waging that would erase the evidence of God in this world.
How sad...how sad. We must take this seriously, allow God to mesh this mandate with our spirits so that our prayers for Israel are fervent and passionate.
Pray that warring angels would stand guard on her borders.
Pray for the hearts of her people.
Pray for wisdom for her leaders.
Pray for her peace.
Yes, pray for her peace. Shalu Shalom Yerushayalim!
Father God, Help us heed Your mandate. Give us a heart for Israel. Show us how we, as Christians can support and love Your special people. I pray that Your perfect love would cast away all fear from the hearts of our Jewish brothers and sisters. Grant them safety, wisdom. Comfort them in their pain. And help us understand Your heart, Lord. Thank You. Praise Your Holy Name!
Amen, sis. My middle name is Paula and, like Paul, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts on this passage: Shalom is more than what the world understands as peace, just like Shabbath is more than rest.
Shalom, according to Strong's dictionary, includes
safe, that is, (figuratively) well, happy, friendly; also (abstractly) welfare, that is, health, prosperity, peace: - X do, familiar, X fare, favour, + friend, X greet, (good) health, (X perfect, such as be at) peace (-able, -ably), prosper (-ity, -ous), rest, safe (-ly), salute, welfare, (X all is, be) well, X wholly.
IMHO, the peace and wellbeing referred to are the peace Yeshua provides. So, above all, pray for the SALVATION of Jews. May they, as legitimate sons of promise, find in Yeshua everything they need!
Another very relevant and significant Psalm we can use to pray for Jews is 137.
ReplyDeleteBy the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung up our lyres. For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" How shall we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy!
Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem, how they said, "Lay it bare, lay it bare, down to its foundations!"
O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed, blessed shall he be who repays you with what you have done to us! Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!
Many Jews are in Babylon. Confused, not knowing who their Lord is. They are spiritually living very far from the promised land the Lord meant for them. Edom, which represents the flesh, has helped in their current desolation.
They retain memories of a distant land. Some have even forgotten that, or regard it as an utopia, a dream from ages past.
We need to pray that the Lord will SHOW them He is real, and mighty to save. HE hasn't changed. His Covenant with Israel has not been cancelled. But each has to receive the promise personally. Yes, there will come a time when the whole of Israel is saved... but how many will survive the tribulation that is imminent? Only a remnant.
And I see in these Psalms a picture of the Church as well. We must pray for the wellbeing and true peace of each and every one of our brothers and sisters. And pray that they will be delivered from the captivity of confusion and a fleshly lifestyle. Should we forget to earnestly pray for and love our spiritual family, our lives will be empty and meaningless. If we consider our "ministry" an individualistic thing, it will lose its power. Yeshua died that we can be ONE and give up our very lives (including our personal desires, ambitions, dreams) for the sake of our brothers and sisters.
Just one more prayer, from Psalm 128:
ReplyDeleteA Song of Ascents. Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways!
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD.
*****The LORD bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life!
May you see your children's children! Peace be upon Israel!*****
May all these words be true of Israelites and the gentile Church!
Thank you for sharing Carina.
ReplyDeleteThis year in Jerusalem....... :)
ReplyDeleteLove you Mid!
ReplyDelete