Welcome back, friends, to the Wild at Heart Podcast here in the week of October 16th.

John here, with a second week of Jesus' stories to move and encourage you.

But before we air this episode, I needed to stop and first acknowledge the heartache

going on in the Middle East, and to pray together to unite our prayers.

For the people that are caught up in the war in the Middle East.

Now, I am recording this to you earlier on October 11th.

So if this feels a little out of date because of the escalation of events,

understand that this is when we had the opportunity to record this and drop it into the opening of the podcast.

Psalm 122 makes it very clear.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

May those who love you be secure, may there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.

For the sake of my family and friends, I will say peace be within you.

And so, friends, I thought it would be really appropriate for us to pray for Jerusalem, for Israel, for the conflict.

Lord Jesus, we join the prayers of your people all over the world to pray with the Psalm instructs us to pray.

We pray for peace in Jerusalem.

We pray for security and peace in the nation of Israel and in the Middle East.

Oh, Lord Jesus, your heart broke over Jerusalem when you walked this earth and your heart breaks over it still.

God, we pray that the hosts of heaven, your mighty angelic armies, would come to the aid of your people,

that they would protect and rescue the hostages and innocent men, women, children.

Lord, we pray for a de-escalation of violence.

For again, as the Psalmist said, I have not desired the day of destruction.

Lord, we pray for de-escalation that this does not grow and break out into something larger in the world.

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