Peace and Prosperity

I pray daily for the peace of Jerusalem and Israel. I believe that when the Bible says, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6), it also means that we are to pray for the peace of Christ’s body. We should be concerned not just about our own little area, but for the total needs of the body of Christ. We are not to judge other Christians; we are to pray for them.

Psalm 122:7 says:

“Peace be within your walls, prosperity within your palaces.”

I believe that this verse illustrates the divine order: when we have peace, we will have prosperity. When we are at war with one another — criticizing one another, turning against one another, and undermining one another — we will not know prosperity. First, peace; then, prosperity.

Verse 8 reads:

“For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, ‘Peace be within you.’”

I want to add one more basic principle. We need to escape from the tendency to be self-centered. Self-centeredness is the devil’s prison. The more the devil gets you centered in yourself, the more he has you at his mercy. I have dealt with hundreds of people in deliverance from evil spirits, and I have found one almost universal feature of people who need deliverance —they are self-centered. By deliberate effort and choice of our own wills, we must break loose from being self-centered.

What I love in verse 8 is the phrase, “For the sake of my brethren and companions.” It is not enough that things are going well for me. I need to be concerned about the needs of my brothers and companions — Christians from other backgrounds, other denominations, other prayer groups, and so forth.