The Pilgrim Prayers Project: Placing notes in the Western Wall from around the world

The Western Wall is more than an iconic tourist site, it is also a special spot where people come on pilgrimage to pray. It’s right next to the place where God chose to put His name forever.

In Psalm 132 David writes, “For the Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place: “This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it.

God also said of the temple, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever” (2 Kings 21:7). 

It is and always will be the geographical spot most precious to God, where He has chosen to dwell. It should come as no surprise then that people experience God in a special way at the Western Wall, which is as close to the original temple as one can get in Israeli territory. 

Pilgrims from all over the world come to post their prayers in the Herodian designed retaining wall which surrounded the second temple, but those living in Jerusalem can easily forget what an enormous privilege it is to be able to go there freely. Now a new initiative has been established for those in the nations who are not able to visit, offering them the opportunity to have their prayers posted on their behalf. 

ALL ISRAEL NEWS correspondent, Kayla Sprague, went to meet Ori Steinberg, one of the founders of the Pilgrim Prayers project.

“We found ourselves a couple of friends understanding that not all Christians can come to Israel, whether it's price, whether it's, you know, danger of war, whether it's COVID,” Steinberg explained. “And yet, they want to be closer to this place… They want their prayers to be elevated from here and we really feel this calling to be a conduit — to be an intercessor."

Two years ago they had the idea of creating a system where Israelis could go to pray in Jerusalem for those in the nations who would like to visit but can’t. 

“There's something unique, there's something special about this place,” Steinberg said, “I come here every couple of days usually.” 

He takes prayers sent to him online from people overseas, then prints them out and posts them in the wall, praying for each one.

“I have about a hundred of them,” he says, showing prayers in different languages. “We will document each and every one of those prayers in video… We fold it and put it carefully inside the cracks of the Western Wall,” he told Sprage, inviting her to see the project in progress. “Come with me.”

Millions of people including world leaders and international celebrities have come to pray at the Wall as a rite of passage when visiting Israel. U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, recently visited, together with Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, praying for peace and healing in the Middle East. 

“This is the place everyone needs to come and pray,” declares Steinberg. “This is our mission, this is our calling. We want to help people bring what's in their heart, what they want to pray about, what they want to cry about. We want to help them using technology, of course, but we physically take it, fold it, pray for them, put it in this magnificent wall, this remnant of biblical times, together with all this praying crowd… and elevate their prayer here in Jerusalem.” 

The project has had many testimonies from happy participants. Ruth Green from Canada shared, "My prayer for a friend's salvation was placed here in the Holy Land, and I saw God moving in an amazing way. Thank you, pilgrim prayers.” 

“I think us as Israelis who grew up here, we don't value enough how much this place means to all the people around the world, all the believers around the world,” said Steinberg, mentioning the numerous pledges and prayers they’ve received from Nigeria, Thailand, Canada, different parts of Asia, the U.S. and many other nations. 

“Through them we understand what this place means to us and I think also to some extent understand our responsibility as people who live here… who were born and brought up here,” he added. 

“Pilgrim Prayers is a beautiful project and it makes it possible for believers anywhere to join us here in prayer in Jerusalem. The process is simple, you write your prayer, you submit it online and their team prints it, carries it here to the Western Wall and gently places it between the stones. You receive a photo or a video of your prayer being set in this holy place, something that you can treasure and it connects us with you from wherever you are.”

Prayers can be sent through PilgrimPrayers.org