Jerusalem & Friends
-The Western Wall
Now Think On This
Steve Martin
"When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; and my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple.” (Jonah 2:7, NKJV)
Jerusalem is filled with ancient history, spiritual experiences and people from all the nations who are continually seeking the Living God of Israel. One of the most revered, and most contested place in all the world, is here in the Old City. It is the Temple Mount. This sits on top of Mount Moriah, where Abraham went to sacrifice his son Isaac, in obedience to the testing of the Lord. (Genesis 22:2)
In April of 2000, my heart had become very troubled in regards to a ministry position I held in Charlotte, North Carolina. I needed to desperately hear the Lord’s heart concerning this. When attending a Ruth Heflin Men’s Conference that month at her ministry campgrounds in Virginia, I heard through a prophetic word, ‘Go, loose yourself from things over you.” In further prayer later, I believed the Lord spoke for me to go to Israel, and specifically to the Western Wall.
On Tuesday, May 16, 2000, at 9:15 pm I stood at the Wall (The Kotel in Hebrew). My good friend Martin Berger, a Brit from Brighton, England, who was also GOD TV’s representative for TV placement time in North America, had often flown to Israel. After first contacting him in April as to his time trip to Israel, I met him in London, and together we flew British Airways for a short three days in the Holy City, arriving a day earlier before I made it to this revered place.
I walked up to the Wall and put written prayers into one of the cracks - prayers my friends back home had given me. Then I quietly stood there, wanting to place my hands on the massive stone block, but uncertain if Gentiles were permitted to do this. I looked around. Mostly it was Orthodox Jews praying against the Wall in their full black garb, from head to toe. When it seemed OK for me to touch the Wall also, I did.
Then I put my head against the cold stone, and the anointing of the Lord fell. I wept and wept, while my legs trembled. I said to the Lord, “I have come as You said for me to come.”
With tears streaming down my face, my nose filling up, I stayed leaned against the Wall with my head for 20 minutes. With the anointed presence of Adonai, I spoke out quietly every person’s name I could remember - those of my family, the church worship team (which Laurie and I often led), relatives and dear friends. After five and a half years of being part of the Watch of the Lord, an all-night Friday praise, worship and prayer time our church held in Charlotte, I more fully understood what it meant being a watchman on the Wall. Literally.
I then wrote down on 2” x 2” cards I carried in my pocket the names of all these spoken out loud, plus many more I thought of. By the time I had finished, I counted 70 names.
During this life-changing prayer time, I sensed the Lord Yeshua tell me that my 13 years with the ministry had not been in vain. This was but a firm foundation for the future. He had done a solid work on which He would build upon in the times to come.
Once I returned to the States I gave my seven-month notice that I was leaving this ministry, in order to pursue other opportunities. I was confident the Lord would open doors for me to walk through, after obeying Him by having gone to Israel. Again, it was there at the Western Wall when I clearly heard His voice for my future.
At times the Lord will require you to go to a specific place in order to discern His direction for your life. It may be another city, another state, another country. Or just maybe your prayer chair. Wherever and whenever, it is a good time to obey. Once there, He will speak the Word to you that you need to hear. He did this for Abraham. He did it for King David. He still does it for you and I today.
Jerusalem is an awesome city. The Western Wall is even more so, as a holy place of prayer. And it will be at this location, where the Messiah will return to sit upon His Holy mountain in His glorious temple.
Shalom and ahava (peace and love in Hebrew).
Now think on this,
Steve Martin
Founder/President
Love For His People, Inc.
P.S. You can read further on this special occasion in my book The Promise available in paperback and Kindle.
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Now Think On This #331 - in the year of our Lord 11.15.17 – “Jerusalem & Friends – The Western Wall”, Wednesday, 5:55 pm
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