Why are we instructed to pray for the peace of Jerusalem if that city has never had any peace?

Les explains that the question is why we are instructed to pray for the peace of Jerusalem when that city has never had any peace. His answer is that when you pray for the peace of Jerusalem, you pray for the Prince of Peace, for His coming, and to bring this horrible age of the curse to an end. He then points to Ezekiel 37, where the dry bones are a prophecy unique to the nation of Israel. The dry bones represent the Israelites, or the Jews, out in the Gentile nations, which is their grave; they do not have life when they are out of the land of promise. In the vision the dry bones come to life, and the interpretation in verse 11 says these bones are the whole house of Israel, saying their bones are dried, their hope is lost, and they are cut off. They have been out of the land thousands of years, almost without hope. So praying for Jerusalem's peace looks beyond present conditions to the promised revival of Israel.