The Watchman

“What a strangely warped view we Christians have had all these years”, I finally said to myself. “We have acted as though we were sufficient in ourselves, owing nothing to Israel or Jerusalem, and needing nothing from them. And yet the truth is that God‘s plan of peace and blessing for all nations can never come to completion until both Israel and Jerusalem are restored– and He expects us to be his co-workers in bringing this to pass. “I have set watchman upon the walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth”. Isaiah 62:6-7. Watchman – on the walls of Jerusalem – which shall never hold their peace. “That must be a picture of people praying,” I thought, “praying with tremendous earnestness and persistence - their prayers all focused on one place – Jerusalem.” But why Jerusalem? What was there about the city that made it different from all the others?” I began to turn the pages of my Bible looking for an answer. It was like being lifted up into space, and looking down upon the world from God‘s viewpoint. Earth, as I now saw it, had one God - appointed Center: Jerusalem. Out from this center, in the divine plan, truth and peace were to flow forth to all lands; to it would return the worship and offerings of all nations. And the fulfillment of this plan lay earth’s only hope. Apart from Jerusalem there was no other source of peace. I realized, God was speaking to me about service on a higher plane – not to men, but to Himself. During the day of siege, He had opened my eyes to see, beyond all the individual needs, and situations, His own, and changing plan for Jerusalem and the whole earth. The peace of the whole world depended on the peace of Jerusalem. I could find only one explanation for the three millennia of opposition: Jerusalem was the battle ground of spiritual powers. I began to see Jerusalem as the stage, upon which this cosmic conflict between good and evil would come to its climax – a climax, long foreseen by the profits, now seemingly close at hand. That was why the problems of Jerusalem defied all attempts to find a solution on a merely political plane, as the situation, all around me at that moment bore testimony. Neither politicians with their conferences, nor generals with their armies could solve Jerusalem’s problems. The answer must be sought on a higher plane. Spiritual force must be met by spiritual force. There was only one power, strong enough to overcome the opposing forces of evil – the power of prayer. Confronted with this new revelation of God‘s task for me, I felt, as always, weak and inadequate. Yet I had learned by now that it would be His power, upon which I must rely, not my own. “With Your help – I will take my appointed place – as a watchman on the walls of Jerusalem.” From the book Appointment In Jerusalem by Lydia Prince Blessings