Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels."

Christians over the years have held differing views on the nation of Israel. Some believe that the returning of the Jews back to the Middle East and the nation of Israel reforming is part of God's plans for the end times. Others say that the Church has replaced Israel in fulfilling God's purposes.

Whichever of the two views one may hold it is important to pray for the people who live in this troubled land. But how do we pray? What is God's will for the Middle East?

In his first letter to Timothy, Paul says:

"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority...."

So the first thing we can do is to pray for the leaders of Israel and its neighbouring countries. We may or may not like the various leaders in that part of the world, but God has allowed them to rise to these positions. In the Old Testament God used kings who did not know him to fulfill his purposes. Therefore, it is important to pray for them that they will govern wisely and make Godly and just decisions.

The second way that we can pray is to follow David's plea and "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem." Humanly speaking getting peace in Jerusalem is impossible. However, we are instructed to pray for this. One of the advantages of praying this pray is that we can put aside some of our political and religious bias and pray for the inhabitants of that great city. I have found it helpful to pray for the different religious and nationality groupings in Jerusalem: Israelites, Arabs, Palestinians, Armenians, Christians, Jews and Muslims. And we need to keep in mind that God loves all those in Jerusalem and his Son died for all of them. That includes the ones whose views and policies we do not support!

About the Author
Richard Speller is webmaster of http://www.words2encourage.co.uk and author of Christian Comment Blog

Sands of Time Multimedia Creations Home Page

Experience the Difference!