About a month before our group departed for the Holy Land, we spent time praying corporately as well as on our own. Right from the start we knew that this trip to the Holy Land was not an ordinary tour but a special visit. Each of us have our heart set on visiting the Holy Land as a pray and worship unto the Lord.
This discernment was confirmed when we reached Israel from Jordan. As soon as we got onto the tour bus, our tour guide, Jack reminded us that we were in Israel not for a tour but for a pilgrimage. Some how the way he talked to us was unlike a tour guide, more like a lecturer instructing us what we should do. We accepted this tone of voice as we were there for a pilgrimage and not an ordinary tour. We want to experience the places where Lord Jesus had walked, and also how the other people in the Bible had spent their lives in various Biblical sites we were to visit.
One of the highlights to this pilgrimage was that we had devotion every evening of the tour. Each of us were assigned to take our turn. I must admit that initially I was apprehensive about sharing a devotion. Thank God I learned much more in preparing for the devotion. Before the start of each devotion we sang worship songs. We could feel the presence of our Lord in each of these devotions.
Beside, prayers and worship during devotional time, we prayed in many of the sites we visited. Many of these sites were located in churches, and that were appropriate setting for prayers. Each time we prayed in these locations, the Lord was with us, and many were overwhelmed with emotions, especially feeling of the suffering our Lord Jesus had gone through. One example, was while praying at the pit where Jesus was locked up for a night before His Crucifixion in the house of Chief Priest Caiaphas. It was heart breaking to witness this pit with a hole on top where Jesus was let in, that was the only entrance and exit. It was total darkness in those days. Just imagine that!
Each of us is not the same after this pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Certainly, reading the Bible presented new perspectives and understanding. One could now imagine the places written in the Bible that we also visited in Israel. Awesome! Yes, our God is A W E S O M E!
"Oh God thank you for this touching visit to the Holy Land, we felt your presence in this Land, our lives are changed forever as it is part of your plan for each of us. Thank you Lord, bless you in Jesus Most Precious Name Amen."
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