Welcome back friends, and thanks for stopping by!  I hope you are here to join me in meditation upon Anne Graham Lotz’s 911: An Urgent Call to Pray for Jerusalem.  The call to prayer was for September 1, but if you missed it, it’s not too late!  Take some time to visit the site linked above and join us as we pray for Jerusalem and her neighbors.

I am encouraging continued meditation on the prayer Anne shared with us.  Today, let’s focus on the “We pray with confidence” section of that prayer.  There are many, many reasons we can pray with confidence, but one that strikes me is the fact that confidence comes in knowing the character of the One to whom we pray!  I am confident because our great God stands as our strong tower, and He stands even more adamantly for His chosen people.  Because of that, Scripture tells us not to be afraid.  When I consider tiny Israel standing up to all her enemies as they press in around her, I see the epitome of God standing in her defense…and Israel’s determination not to be afraid.

The Bible is replete with references of “do not be afraid!”  (Check out this search for evidence.)  One reference is found in Isaiah 44, where we find this passage in verses 6-8:

“Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:

‘I am the first and I am the last,
And there is no God besides Me.
‘Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it;
Yes, let him recount it to Me in order,
From the time that I established the ancient nation.
And let them declare to them the things that are coming
And the events that are going to take place.
‘Do not tremble and do not be afraid;
Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it?
And you are My witnesses.
Is there any God besides Me,
Or is there any other Rock?
I know of none.’”

The Redeemer of Israel declares His eternality…the first and the last…then goes on to challenge any other being to match the omnipotence that only He possesses.  “Let them declare the things that are coming and the events that are going to take place,” He says.  None can, yet from eternity past God has known the events of this day!  Only a sovereign, omnipotent God can do that!  We can have confidence!

Then the Lord tells Israel, “Do not tremble and do not be afraid…is there any God besides Me, or is there any other Rock?  I know of none.”  I love it…don’t you!  Jehovah God comes right out and tells His people in no uncertain terms that there is no other God besides Him!

Friends, our God is jealous for His people and He will be their Rock of defense and their Rock of salvation!  (He is also the Rock of salvation to those of us who are grafted into the line of David!)  We can pray in confidence because we serve a God who is all-powerful and who loves His people with an everlasting love.  Let’s get busy doing that!

May peace be within the walls of Jerusalem and prosperity within her palaces!  (Psalm 122:7)