Weekly Prayer Thought

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
"May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls,
Prosperity within your palaces.
"For the sake of my brethren and companions,
I will now say, "Peace be within you."
Because of the house of the LORD our God
I will seek your good.
Psalm 122.6-9

Before you get the wrong idea, let me assure you that this is not a political message. I do not want to diminish the difficulty of Israeli-Palestinian relations by pretending to know something about it in three short paragraphs. I know very little about that conflict, or the underlying causes. However, I do know something about God's will as it is expressed in the Bible.

First of all, we are to pray for peace. And although this passage speaks specifically to peace in Jerusalem, I think that it would not be wrong to apply this admonition to all times, situations and places. We should pray for peace. Peace should be on our pray list for the nations and conflicts of the world. You and I should pray for Iraq, Iran, Darfur, North Korea, Georgia, Columbia and more.

And not only should we be praying for peace around the world, we should be praying for peace in our homes, families and communities as well. I believe that it is completely within the will of God to encourage peace in all situations.

Finally, we see that there is a prayer for prosperity. Do not confuse this with some 'get-rich quick' scheme, or a 'name it and claim it' prosperity gospel. This has to do with contentment, with satisfaction and abundant life. Pray that God will meet your needs, and that he will allow you to be grateful for his will.

PRAYER: Good and great God, give us peace. Allow us to be loving and gracious to those around us and surround us with your love. Make us peace makers. Use us to plant seeds of understanding and contentment in our world. Amen.