Since God's word exhorts us to "Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem," we should be mindful of this, but what does this exhortation mean."
Has anyone ever asked you to pray for them, but they did not specify why they made the request? Have you ever asked someone to pray for you, without specifying your needs? Scripture puts us in a prayer position concerning Jerusalem, but you know what? We are not asked to pray for Jerusalem. We are told to pray for Jerusalem, and there is a difference in being asked and being told. To ask implies no more than a statement of one's desire to request something of a friend. Told is the past participle of tell, and assumes that one has been ordered or directed to do something. In God's Word we are told to Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem." We are not asked to do so.
Where are we told to pray for Jerusalem, and why should we pray for the peace of Jerusalem? Psalm 122 clarifies this:
"I rejoiced with those who said unto me, Let us go to the house of the Lord. Our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: They shall prosper that love thee. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels" (verses 1-2; 6-7).
Now, the Hebrew word for peace is Shalom, but it means ever so much more than peace in the English tongue means to us. Shalom speaks to the total well-being of one's body with itself and with God. When David penned this Psalm, Jerusalem was not troubled with military concerns, but rather in keeping close to God. Shalom with God was good.
Jerusalem today remains special to God, but there is no Shalom. However, in a future day, God will bless all the earth from Jerusalem. If one goes to Jerusalem today he will not find peace. He will find a divided city in need of God's Shalom. There is tension and all sorts of problems in Jerusalem and Israel today. This is one reason we should pray for Jerusalem. When we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, we are praying for Messiah's second advent, "Even so come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 20).
Isaiah gives good reason for praying for Jerusalem, "I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem, they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth" (Isaiah 62:6-7). This, also, is an "Even so, come"
