We read Psalm 122 today. These current psalms are know as "Songs of Ascent" and were believed to have been sung by the faithful making their way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feasts. These commemorate times of hardship which resulted in their deliverance at the hands of the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! They would continue in praise all the way to the Temple. Here is this Psalm:
1 I was glad when they said to me, Let us go to the house of the Lord!
2 Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!—
3 Jerusalem, which is built as a city that is compacted together—
4 To which the tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed and as a testimony for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 For there the thrones of judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May they prosper who love you [the Holy City]!
7 May peace be within your walls and prosperity within your palaces!
8 For my brethren and companions’ sake, I will now say, Peace be within you!
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek, inquire for, and require your good.
Notice the instruction to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. The reward for praying for the nation of Israel and her capital city of Jerusalem is prosperity! The word "prosper" here is the Hebrew word "shalah", which means: to be tranquil, secure and successful! So, as we practice the meditation we are instructed to do in Joshua 1:8, we can say IF we DON'T pray for Jerusalem, then our prosperity will suffer! THAT would not be God's doing, but our own choice! How often do YOU pray for the peace and prosperity of Israel and Jerusalem? Let's be obedient to the things we see in the Word of God to do (general guidance) and then we can count on Him to lead and guide us in every area of our lives (specific guidance)! AMEN! Here is an older song by Lamb called "Pray For Jerusalem":
Shalom in Him!
