Before I share this amazing true story, which spans 26 years, let me first explain what a mezuzah is.

Three thousand five hundred years ago there was a commandment in the Torah:

“HEAR O ISRAEL: THE LORD OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE.
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart
and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children,
and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way,
and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand,
and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes.
And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates.”
(Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Jewish Publication Society translation)

The mezuzah, which means ‘doorpost’, is a parchment containing the words from Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (The Shema) and 11:13-21. In order to protect the parchment and the holy words from the elements, decorative cases were made.

The passage from the eleventh chapter of Deuteronomy promises blessing, if we love and serve the LORD, as well as a warning that our hearts not be deceived and we turn and serve other gods. There is a reiteration of Deuteronomy 6:8,9 in the Deuteronomy 11 passage. In Scripture, things are not repeated randomly…rather for emphasis.

Obedience to the LORD’s commandment promised multiplied days (long life) for oneself and one’s children in the Land of Israel. There is also a promise of the LORD’s blessing and protection.

I received a Mezuzah necklace when I was a teenager. It was in the shape of a miniature mezuzah case. Incidentally, while some see such jewelry as a talisman for good luck and prosperity, I wore mine as a reminder of God’s commandments.

Talismen are forbidden in Scripture. It is idolatry to ascribe power to objects.

There is a strong connection between ascribing power to physical objects (idols, talisman, jewelry worn to ward off evil spirits) and demons. Deuteronomy 32:16-17 declares:

“They roused Him to jealousy with strange gods (idols/statues),
With abominations did they provoke Him.
They sacrificed unto demons, no-gods,
Gods that they knew not,
New gods that came up of late,
Which your fathers dreaded not.”

The Hebrew parallelism is clear; the strange gods the Israelites sought after, and sacrificed to, were actually demons.

BACK TO THE STORY:

In 1978, I worked with a man who had previously been a bouncer in the largest nightclub in New York City, and had also been a successful businessman and an anti-Semite. His life was dramatically changed when he found Yeshua as his Savior. He came to love the Jewish people after he read, and re-read, the Bible.

One of our associates, also a believer, apparently had become offended by something we had done. However, we had no idea what that could have been.

The Scripture exhorts us to speedily get reconciled with people.

So, the right thing to do was to call the offended party. As the person lived less than a mile away, I walked over. I spoke with him and his wife, and we cleared the matter.

Then he said, “I’ll drive you to the subway.” I thought to myself: Hey, it’s almost two in the afternoon. Who starts going to work at that hour?

But I let him drive me there.

If he had taken me home instead, I would have walked in on a robbery! Evidently three men had climbed through a sixth floor kitchen window into our basic middle class apartment. There was no fire escape and they got in through a hallway window that was catty-corner to the kitchen window. What they were looking for, I had no idea.

My mother came home to find the place completely ransacked and robbed. She didn’t know where I was.

They took three items…a sentimental, but not particularly valuable, necklace of my mother’s, an unusual gold heart that contained a tree of life with miniature gemstones, and my mezuzah necklace.

Fast forward twenty six years to 2004. The location changes 1,400 miles.

I was making a left turn onto a main road, when I had this thought: Pray for the Jewish people from a particular country, many of whom have come to the States.

I uttered a quick ten second prayer.

Then I thought: That’s an anemic prayer…God’s not going to answer that.

Four days later, my husband met a Jewish man in his late sixties from that country. He took a liking to us and we became friends. He came to love our family and considered himself a member.

Months later, he took us out to dinner for my birthday. He handed me a small box. I thought, what could be inside?

I opened it and gasped!

There was a mezuzah necklace on a beautiful gold chain.

“This had been my grandmother’s in _______,” he said (mentioning the same country whose Jewish population I had prayed for a few months before.) It was obviously very old, as he himself was about seventy.

It wasn’t any mezuzah necklace.

It was the exact replica of what had been stolen twenty six years prior, plus a beautiful gold chain, and was from a place of awesome history!

Every time I wear that necklace I am reminded of the power of prayer, even very short prayers. I also think about God’s promises of restoration.

When we intercede for others, even people and people groups we don’t know personally, we have no idea what is set in motion.

Have you come to a place in your life where you are involved with the most exciting thing in the world? Derek Prince said it best, in the title of his book on prayer: Shaping History Through Prayer and Fasting!

Who are you going to pray for today? What are you going to set in motion?

We’ll find out in eternity…if not before, as I did!