Hebrew
Highlights 001 – Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem
Shalom, this is Yuval Shomron in Jerusalem. PSA 122:6 says – “Pray for the peace of
Jerusalem: May they prosper who love
you.”
Let’s look at a few facts.
1. No other city is
remembered in this way in the Bible.
( In fact, it seems that God must
have known this prayer would always be needed, to warrant putting this command
in His eternal word.)
2. Only one other
verse in the bible speaks of praying for the peace of a city:
JER 29:7 'And seek the peace of
the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf;
for in its peace you will have peace.'
In this scripture God promises
peace even to Babylon, for the sake of the Jewish people who were living there.
3. Your prayers have
results!
As bad as
things may seem as you listen to network news, God is at work. Statistically, 88% of planned terror attacks
on Jerusalem, and all of Israel for that matter, have been stopped at one stage
or another, in many cases, quite miraculously.
It is still much more safe to walk around Jerusalem than many American
cities of the same size.
The Lord said about Jerusalem in ISA 49:16 "Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.”
If this city is so important to
God, how can we as believers possibly ignore her. As if to offer an incentive for our spending
time in prayer, God says: “May they prosper who love you.” This promise is as eternal as our call to
prayer. Many of you who may have visited
the city would agree that a blessing sticks with you, even long after you
leave.
By the way, I think this is one of
those cases where we can confidently pray the opposite as well. For instance:
“May those who hate you see their funds dry up.” Certainly, money is one
of the major contributing factors to the proliferation of terrorism. Please pray those funds will stop pouring in
to Israel’s enemies.
As I walk around in downtown
Jerusalem with my wife and children, I am aware of your prayers, as well as God’s
constant vigil.
Pray for our city. Receive God’s blessing.
Shalom, Shalom from Jerusalem