Wild times in Israel. I have almost no time to write this and no chance to edit but here it goes…
17 of us find ourselves here in Jerusalem in the midst of what I hope does not escalate into a war. God only knows. For all of our faith family, rest assured, we feel safe. Every member of the group has peace. Israel knows what’s up – sharp people who have been threatened non-stop for thousands of years.
As a few of us met together for prayer this evening I realized how much deeper my passion was for peace in the middle east when I am in the middle east. When my children’s parents are in the middle east. While a missile was aimed at a city I am staying in. It’s really been a gut check for my prayer life. I prayed for Jews. And Palestinians. And Egyptians. And our president. Somehow I found myself praying as if I believed my requests just might accomplish something. Somehow I found myself wishing that believers everywhere would long for peace so deeply that they would pray for and hope for and work for it. FYI – Israel is surrounded by multiple nations that want them wiped off the face of the earth. You’d have to be here to understand just how vulnerable this little nation the size of New Jersey really is. At the international level, they are one of the least of these. Pray for them. And pray for Palestinians – especially the Jesus-loving Arabs inside the Gaza strip.
Can you imagine how much impact we’d make if we prayed for each other like we’d like people to pray for us? If we loved each other the way we’d like to be loved.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Thousands of years later and the words still have meaning. (You can pray for our safety as well.)
Last thought. We decided to memorize a passage together this week: Philippians 4:4-8. Perfect timing. Rejoice. We were there. Don’t be anxious about anything … How? In everything by prayer let your requests be known to God. It works. And the peace of God will guard your hearts in Jesus. So true. Peace.
Blessed are the peacemakers.
You’ll never make peace without prayer.
You will probably never have an audience with the leader of Hamas. Or the Prime Minister of Israel. But you have the audience of the King.
So pray. (Like you’d want to be prayed for.)
Mike
