Psalm 122:6–7: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: / ‘May they prosper who love you. / Peace be within your walls, / Prosperity within your palaces.'”

May 7th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

A prayer for peace is certainly an appropriate prayer for a city whose very name means peace. The Hebrew word for peace, shalom, means so much more than our English word encompasses. Shalom includes fullness of life, balance, health, God’s active presence in our daily walk, as well as the restoration of the original creation (Eden). Also included is the idea of blessings, which is the result of having a right relationship with the God of peace. Wow! No wonder the word is still used today as a greeting on the streets of that city, just as it has been for centuries. And some day soon God will condescend to make it again the place of residency of the God of peace.

Someone said that the peace that Jesus gives us is not the absence of trouble, but rather the confidence that He is there with us, always. A tribe of early Native American Indians had a unique rite of passage for young braves that well illustrates this peace. On the night of a boy’s 13th birthday, after learning hunting, scouting, and fishing skills, he was put to one final test. He was placed in a dense forest to spend the entire night alone. Until then, he had never been away from the security of his family and the tribe. But on this night, he was blindfolded and taken several miles away. When he took off the blindfold, he was in the middle of a thick wood, and he was terrified! Every time a twig snapped, he visualized a wild animal ready to pounce. After what seemed like an eternity, as dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight entered the interior of the forest, the boy looked around and saw flowers, trees, and the outline of the path. Then, to his utter astonishment, he beheld the figure of a man standing just a few feet away, armed with a bow and arrow. It was his father, who had been there all night long.

“LORD God, our Heavenly Father, we pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for Your peace to be in our lives this day.”