Monday Morning Memo: A Wall? Not Required!

As I reflect on our recent trip to Israel, I am still amazed and humbled that I even had the opportunity to see the places I read about in the Bible.  I never thought that this would ever be a possibility and at times it still feels like a dream and not reality.

Israel was nothing like I expected.  Honestly, I’m not really sure what I thought it would be like…but it didn’t take long to realize that it was so much more than I anticipated.  The sights, sounds and people were at times overwhelming, as I was taken back to those days when Jesus walked where I was walking.  As I sat in the Garden of Gethsemane, I imagined Jesus praying to His Father, knowing what was ahead for Him.  As we made our way through the Old Jerusalem market, I pictured Jesus making his way through the area as people jeered, spit on him and yelled “Crucify Him”.  And as I sat by the Garden Tomb, I was forced to grapple with the truth of what He did for me on Calvary. 

Then, there was the Western Wall…also known as the Wailing Wall.  I’ve heard about it and read about it, but I couldn’t believe I was actually standing at it.  What an experience.  Jewish tradition states that God’s presence rests on this wall which is the last remnant of King Solomon’s original Temple, which housed the Ark of the Covenant over 2,000 years ago.  As a result, people from all faiths travel to this wall to cry out to God to answer their prayers and heal them from their ailments.

As I’m sure you have seen, many also place slips of paper containing written prayers to God into the cracks in the wall.  More than a million prayer notes are placed there each year.  They are written in just about every language and vary from a few words to very long requests.  They are written on a wide variety of papers, including colored paper, notebook paper and even bubblegum wrappers.  It is told that the Rabbi of the Western Wall, also receives hundreds of letters each year addressed to “God, Jerusalem” and he folds those letters and places them in the wall also.

According to Jewish law, none of these notes can be thrown away because they are considered to be letters to God.  So twice a year, the Rabbi and his assistants collect the notes left in the Wall and bury them in the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives.

For me, it was a very powerful moment to be standing at the wall praying for my concerns, along with requests that we had collected from our church family at home.  As I stood there, I felt so blessed to know that even though my time there was indescribable, I don’t need a wall to pray at. I don’t need a place with cracks in which to put my requests on folded pieces of paper.  God’s presence is just as much in my home as I cry out to Him, as it was that day at the wall.  God’s presence is alive and well and no matter where I am or what I am doing…I can call out to Him every single moment of every day.  What a blessing…what a privilege. 

These days we are living through, need to be filled with prayer to our all-powerful God who is everywhere.  We have the opportunity to lift our requests to Him…taking our needs, along with the needs of those around us, to His throne.  We don’t have to mail our requests to Jerusalem for Him to hear us, nor do we have to fly there to place them in a wall.  Our God is alive and well and wants us to cry out to Him today, right where we are.

I will forever be thankful that I was blessed to visit Israel and experience all that it has to offer.  But I don’t want to spend my time basking in those days, neglecting to live in the present, seeking Him to heal our land.  There are so many who need to hear about what Jesus did for them so that their sins can be forgiven and they can spend eternity with Him.  Today is the day to boldly go to the throne of grace.  He is waiting…will you spend time with Him today?

“The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.
He rescues them from all their troubles.”

Psalm 34:17

“In those days when you pray, I will listen.”

Jeremiah 29:12