You may have heard Israel was attacked last night.
Let us pray for Jerusalem.
- Her name means, literally, “city of peace.”
- She is called in Scripture, “the city of God” and “the city of our Lord;” “the holy city” and “the city of righteousness.”
- The devil wants to rule her altar and every conscience, “the mystery of iniquity.”
- The Messiah was crucified there, and he arose from the dead there.
- He will one day return from glory to establish the city in its perfection.
- His eternal throne—the glorious throne of God, Lamb, and the sevenfold Spirit—will be seen there.
- The nations who turn in faith to Jesus will live with him forever and bring in their treasures with joy to glorify him.
- And every knee shall bow and every tongue shall proclaim that the eternal King of Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, the eternally begotten Son of God, Lord of all creation, the crucified-resurrected God-Man, this man, this God, “He is Lord!”
Would you pray for Jerusalem? Would you pray for her peace? Would you pray for peace throughout the world—in Ukraine, in Gaza, and wherever there is conflict? Would you pray for the city of eternal peace to come in God’s good time?
Let us pray Psalm 122 together, then let us have a moment of silence to lift our individual prayers for peace:
I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let’s go to the house of the Lord.”
Our feet were standing within your gates, Jerusalem—
Jerusalem, built as a city should be, solidly united,
where the tribes, the Lord’s tribes, go up to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
(This is an ordinance for Israel.)
There, thrones for judgment are placed, thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the well-being of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure;
may there be peace within your walls, security within your fortresses.”
Because of my brothers and friends, I will say, “May peace be in you.”
Because of the house of the Lord our God, I will pursue your prosperity.
(A moment of silence to pray.)
Father in heaven, please bring the city of your Son its universal peace, and restrain the evil one by your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Malcolm B. Yarnell III
Dr. Malcolm B. Yarnell III is research professor of systematic theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has written a number of books, including The Formation of Christian Doctrine, God the Trinity: Biblical Portraits, Royal Priesthood in the English Reformation and the recently published God, which is the first volume of Theology for Every Person. You can follow him on Twitter.