They say dehydration is the #1 cause of illness for Israel’s tourists. The temperature hovered around 110 degrees while we were there, so we understood the need for water.
Long ago the psalmist wrote, “As the deer pants for flowing streams, so my soul pants for you, O God (Psalm 42:1).”
Hot, tired and thirsty souls earnestly desire communion with God through prayer.
Picture courtesy of artist Dr. John E. Weise.
We got into the boat and sailed across the Sea of Galilee. There was no storm. The sea was calm.
But we spoke of the great storm that made the disciples afraid. We remembered that Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea and there was a great calm (from Matthew 8:23-27).
I’ve always liked that story. Jesus still calms any storm. Cry out to him. He hears.
He stood on Mount Arbel, overlooking Galilee, remembering that Jesus, when he lived here, “went up on the mountain by himself to pray (Matthew 14:23).”
And standing there, he prayed, because Jesus said, “Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full (John 16:24).”
There were children at the Wailing Wall, being trained by their elders.
May we who know Jesus as Messiah teach “the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders he has done (Psalm 78:4)” by praying for and with our children.
When King Solomon dedicated the temple he prayed, “When a foreigner comes from a far country, for your name’s sake . . . and prays toward this house, hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you (1 Kings 8:41-43).”
People who know of Solomon’s prayer come from all over come to pray at the Wailing Wall; some tuck their prayers into the wall. God sees them. He hears.
But as we left the Wailing Wall, I felt grateful that God answers prayers no matter where we are. You don’t have to travel to Jerusalem to pray.
We were touring Israel together. One man used a cane to steady himself. After 2 days of walking on uneven and rocky terrain, his cane’s rubber bottom wore thin. Our guide suggested we look in tourist shops for something that might work until we got to Jerusalem, where we could get a new cane.
Our next stop was the ancient city of Bet She-An. As walked through the ruins, we came to what once had been stores. 
Empty of merchandise, with no shop keepers in sight, my husband noticed a rubber disc. It fit perfectly on the bottom of the cane. We used medical tape to hold it in place. It lasted until we arrived in Jerusalem.
God still provides for his people. That is why we pray.
“A glorious throne set on high from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary (Jeremiah 17:12).”
We enter God’s throne room and know love beyond measure. We see His glory, above all else. That is why we pray.
