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Never Be Silent

posted by Jonathan Hayward on the 12nd of July 2010

Jonathan Hayward is a 33 year old Christian from Portsmouth, England currently volunteering for Bridges for Peace in Israel.

Here he blogs about his experiences for Isrelate.com ...

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Last Sunday morning I went on a prayer walk on the walls of Jerusalem's Old City.

Bart and Joan Repko have been doing this walk 6 days a week (except Shabbat) for some years now, alternating between each half of the edges of the wall, as you can start from either side of the Jaffa gate and finish just behind the Al Asqa Mosque. You can get a ticket for 16 Shekels and it's valid for two days so you can do the other half the next day.

The aim is to pray over this city and for the frequently volatile atmosphere. Often when we are here, we can hear the sound of the minarets (Islamic prayer towers) boom out loud voices from different parts of the city.

These steps are quite hard work especially with the fierce midday heat, and it is quite easy to slip as they have hundreds of years of wear…

Stunning views into and out of the old city are guaranteed….

It's quite amazing doing this walk as you get to see over into yards, gardens and roofs of all kinds of places. People in both Arab and Jewish cultures use their roofs as yards, which are usually characterised with satellite dishes, old sofas, solar panels (used to run hot water tanks) and various junk.

Gardens are quite popular, whether it's a handful of hanging baskets or something more ambitious. Here this person has their own vineyard. I often see orange and lemon trees on the rooftops too.

The prayer group's name 'Never Be Silent' is taken from Isaiah 62:1 "For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch."

See more about the Never Be Silent old city prayer tour walks here.

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Want to read more from Jonathan? Click here to view his personal blog.