This has been a stormy week in Israel. Our newspapers and other media outlets have been preoccupied with the many on-going police investigations into alleged corruption, grafts, bribery, misuse of power and manipulations by people close to the prime minister, allegedly involving Netanyahu as well. 

The result has been an atmosphere of uncertainty and insecurity, and a sense of instability; if the government shakes, so does the nation as a whole.

Praying for the government of Israel in the midst of internal turmoil
Since our call is to pray and not to express our own opinions, we prayed from three passages of scripture.

1Tim 2:1-2, Jeremiah 23:1-6, Zechariah 12:5-6

1Tim 2:1-2 These verses speak of order 
These verses urge us to pray for those in authority that we might “lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.”  This speaks of order, stability, good governance.

Jeremiah 23:1-6 These verses speak of Justice and Righteousness. 
And although the ultimate goal of God, is to have His Son as The Shepherd who rules in righteousness and justice, they also express Gods’s desire to give his people, even before the Lord’s return, good shepherds who would not be corrupt and selfish, but rather, just and righteous.

Zechariah 12:5-6 These verses speak of fire
Israel needs “fiery” leaders for her security. (This is the context in which the verses are given). It is clear from verse 5 that there is a cohesion between the people and the leaders, not a separation; the people pray for and trust their leaders and support them, thus giving them strength to carry on in the battle to protect Israel. 

• We prayed from these scriptures into the current situation and for the government.
• We prayed for the truth, plain and simple, to come out plainly, and quickly.
• We prayed for the Lord to subdue the sensationalism of the press
• We prayed for our prime minister and the government to be enabled to continue to lead the nation at this dangerous (militarily) time
• We prayed into the sensationalism and the rabid appetite of the media for headlines
• We prayed for responsible media
• We prayed for accountability and stewardship of our leaders - Jeremiah 23:4
• We prayed people will not lose faith in the country, especially for the young people who are serving in the armed forces — lest they become cynical and become unwilling to fight for this country. 
• We prayed that God would “clean house” and even change the system to bring Israel into a better place in the area of governance.
• Prov. 17:15  He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just,  Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.
• We prayed for the leaders Israel needs as far as security is concerned. Especially as we see the enemies of Israel gathering on her borders! 

Praying for Israel’s salvation 
Ezek. 37:23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God

As we prayed we became more acutely aware of Israel’s lost condition. We were hit (at east I personally was) with the feeling of an enormous catastrophe that has happened to us when we rejected the Son of God, The Word! For two thousand years we have been at odds with God. For two thousand years we have held, as a nation, the position that he was a blasphemer.  I shudder as I write this. 

But thank God, He has promised mercy, grace, restoration and union with HIm. Can anyone fathom such grace?! 

• Oh Father send the Holy Spirit upon your people
• Send upon us the Spirit of repentance, of beseeching
• Send upon us the Holy Spirit and open our eyes to See our Crucified Messiah
• Thrust your arm into our graves and lift us out dear God (Hosea 6:2)
• Bring us back to the Land of promise
• Make us your own
• Cleanse us by thy blood
• Clothe us with your own righteousness
• Bring us to into your Presence
• Rule over us O mighty God
• Death, corruption, darkness in the Land - We are lost O’ God without you
• You created us for your Glory!

We prayed in the same vein for the Body of Messiah

• Lord you have a Body in the Land, visit it dear God
• Pour out you're Holy Spirit and expel every other spirit from you Body
• Lord make us one in the Cross
• Lord make us one in the Blood
• Lord make us one in the one and only Holy Spirit
• Lord make us one in the Truth of your Word
• Deliver us from deception, man’s teaching, mixture, moving in the flesh
• Help us to overcome seduction
• Purge your body from pride, entitlement, and ambition
• Fill your body with hunger and thirst for righteousness, for your Word
• Give your Body a single eye
• Give your Body the desire and courage to humble itself at your feet 

Lastly we prayed for the security situation
Many top generals in the army are predicting a war will break out this year! We want to be on our spiritual “toes” and stand on the walls and watch and pray for the security of Israel.
Because of brevity of time, we were only able to pray for the leaders of the army and the government, that they might be filled by the Lord with fire (according to Zechariah 12:6).

• Fire - Zeal and Vision
• Fire - Light and Wisdom
• Fire - Courage and Inspiration

May the Lord continue to give you the grace and vision to stand with us for His own plan and purpose for this nation, and may it be that as you seek His face, you heart will draw near to Him and you will find Him in a deeper way.

Blessings from Jerusalem,

A quick look at what happened in Syria last week
The short story is: Iran sent an unmanned drone into Israel's airspace. Israel shot it down and attacked the facility where it was sent from, deep within Syria. The Syrians sent anti-aircraft missiles and managed to down one Israeli plane.(Apparently, the missile exploded near the plane and did not directly hit it; else both the aircrew would not have survived.) Israel responded by attacking Syrian anti-aircraft batteries and managed to destroy half or at least a third of Syrian anti-aircraft defenses.

The situation within Syria
Syria has just gone through a civil war. Half a million people died, many butchered by their leader Asad and the Syrian army. Eleven million people have become refugees, half of them are within Syria at the moment.

Present within Syria are the following forces: Russia, Iran, Turkey, the US, Rebel forces both pro and anti-Asad, and there is the Syrian army too. Other countries with intense interests in what is happening in Syria and what Iran is doing are the Emirates, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. Every one of these entities has their agenda and interests, which makes for a very volatile and dangerous situation for Israel. Especially as far as the presence of Iranian troops in Syria.[For further reading on the complicated situation in Syria click here, and here ]

Praying for Israel at this present volatile and dangerous time
It is clear from scriptures that the restoration of Israel would excite great opposition from the nations and world order. Great blessing and grace to Israel unfold in the midst of resistance and warfare.

The Word of God is sure. We are not praying just wishing things would go well for Israel, we are praying into and from the sure Word of God. Still, though, we must battle it out in prayer and take our position as Intercessors.

["Intercession is a position we take before God in a particular situation and for a specific cause, and not just something we can do for a couple of hours at a certain time.".... Intercession is...."an ongoing commitment to remain in position before God until the case has been solved."  (Johannes Facius, Explaining Intercession, pg. 3)]

Not that you pray 24/7 but that you stand in faith for the thing you are interceding, whether you are praying or going about your daily life.

We used Ezekiel 36, mainly to pray for both the restoration of Israel and the resistance of the nations to it. We give here the references, with hopes that you will read through them and then pray with us.

The general division of the chapter

• The enemy's attitude toward the land and the people: Ezekiel 35:10-11, Ezekiel 36:2
• He will redeem the Land: Ezekiel 8-12
• He will redeem His reputation: Ezekiel 36:18-23
• He will redeem His people: Ezekiel 36:24-30
• He will judge the nations so that they know He is God Ezekiel 36:35-35 (for a deeper picture of this: Joel 3, Zechariah 12)

Prayer Time 

We thanked God for the certainty of His Word and promises
Lord how blessed we are to pray into certainties! You have guaranteed Israel's well being and prosperity.

We prayed for the Land - Ezekiel 36:8-12, 36

• Lord give us the rains we need to make this land as a garden of Eden as you promised (Ezekiel 36:36)
• Fill our rivers and replenish the aquifers, the lake of Galilee, the dead sea
• Lord cause your people to settle the Negev and the Galilee, give them your vision for the land.
• Lord, you promised to multiply man and beast on this land (Eze. 36:11), make it happen.
• Lord, we pray you will give the government a clear vision in line with your word, to develop all of Israel and not just the center, where most of the voters are.

We prayed for the return of the Jewish people to Israel - Ezekiel 36:24

• Thank you for approval of 1000 Ethiopian Jews to come back this year (see here for more info. 8000 more Jews are stuck in Ethiopia waiting for approval)
• Bring the Jews of the UK and the USA to their real home in Israel
• Lord, break down the bondage of many Jews that hold them in other nations: Materialism? Fear of hardship? Comfortable lives? Financial security? Attachment to their lifestyle? Businesses?
• Lord many Jews are ignorant of their Jewishness, awaken them, please.
• Lord make Israel attractive to Jews in other lands
• Bring a real revolution in housing so that it becomes affordable to immigrants as well as local young people.
• Lord bless such organizations such as Nefesh b'Nefesh who bring young Jewish people to the land to reconnect them to Israel.
• Lord raise up a Messianic Nefesh B'Nefesh who would reconnect Messianic Jews to the Land.
• Lord, there are still Jews in Arab lands, rescue them and bring them home we pray

We prayed for the redemption and salvation of Israel Ezekiel Ezekiel 36:24-30

• Lord save your people
• Reveal Yeshua to your people (Zechariah 12:10)
• Lord bring down the spiritual high towers and walls that keep your people in the dark
• Lord bring down the religious strongholds that are so antagonistic to Yeshua
• Lord bring down the hight towers of intellectualism that see the cross as foolishness
• Lord bring down the walls of humanism in this country
• Let the Word of God arise in great power to bring salvation and faith to your people
• Let the Spirit of grace and supplication be poured out in such a way that many humble themselves to come to you in repentance
• Lord have mercy on your people and bring them into the New Covenant as you have promised.

We prayed for the  security of Israel in the face of the present danger Ezekiel 36:35-36

• Lord see how the nations around us have plotted to destroy us, it goes against your word, and we ask that you protect our nation and land.
• See the hatred of Iran towards your people...dis-integrate their power and might that they might cease from their evil plots
• Lord keep Russia in check
• We pray for you to use the many clashing interests of nations to confuse and diffuse the dangerous situation.
• Lord, as you anointed Samson and other judges and kings in the past to defend your people, we ask for that anointing on our military and political leadership.
• Give them your strategy and tactics to face their great schemes successfully
• Thank you for the IDF, strengthen it, but we realize that you are the one who keeps us, ultimately. (Psalm 127:1, Psalm 44:4-8)
• Lord fulfill your purposes on the earth and do not let the enemy have his way

We prayed for Israel's government possibly facing a crisis
With the likelihood of an indictment against our prime minister coming soon, we earnestly prayed for stability at this time. It is hard to know what's what in all of the accusations and counter-accusations being flung in the news. So many people with so many different interests.
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• We prayed for the real truth to come out and not some manipulated version of it.
• We prayed for a righteous government to arise in the Land
• Give us, o Lord the leaders this country needs at this time
• Sort out this mess, dear Lord, for the glory of your name and your unchanging Word
• Keep Israel safe during this time, you see the many dangers we are facing
• Expose any agenda from any quarter which is harmful to Israel at this time.

Thank you for standing with us and more importantly, with the Lord in His plan and agenda for the nation of Israel.

Blessings from Jerusalem,

We have not posted bulletins in the last two weeks as we were involved in a prayer conference and prayer tour in the land. This Wednesday we resumed our regular prayer and intercession times. ​

A time of grace and redemption is key to understanding times of judgment
Isaiah 13 and Isaiah 14, are a pronouncement of God's judgment on Babylon. In these chapters, we see that although the prophecy begins with the judgment of the Babylonian empire, it ends up with a pronouncement of the God's judgment on Babylon in the last days (see Revelation 17-18, even 19).

All this was future of course. Isaiah prophesied in the 8th century BC, Jerusalem was sacked by Babylon in the 6th century BC (586 BC). Israel fell to Assyria in 722 BC, Babylon destroyed Nineveh, Assyria's capital in 612 Bc. 
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The key to understanding the Lord's timing is found in Isaiah 14:1-2
Is. 14:1 For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will still choose Israel, and settle them in their own land. The strangers will be joined with them, and they will cling to the house of Jacob.
Is. 14:2 Then people will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them for servants and maids in the land of the LORD; they will take them captive whose captives they were, and rule over their oppressors.

"For" indicates the cause or reason for all of what has been said before this verse, namely the judgment of Babylon. In other words, the Lord's move to do mercy to Jacob and restore Israel to the Land is the reason the time is up for all those powers which oppose God.

From all this we learn: 
God is sovereign. After all, he spoke of Cyrus (Isaiah 44:28, Isiah 45:1), the Persian king who would conquer Babylon, about 200 years before he ever was born! 
God determines the times - see Isaiah 14:1, see also Dan. 2:21
The turmoil in the nations is a reaction to God's move as is clear from these chapters. The devil is not in charge, God is.
The last days - at some point in the prophecy, God addresses the king of Babylon as Satan (Isaiah 14:12) -- thus this prophecy both looks forward to those ancient times and looks even further to the future, to the last days (see Revelation 17-19). The prophecy will be fulfilled in the coming future; indeed it has begun to be fulfilled even in our times.

• We prayed much (for almost an hour) into Isaiah 14:1-2 "Lord have mercy on Jacob."
• We prayed for the Lord to hasten the Day!
• We prayed for bringing back of Israel into the Land
• We prayed for the bringing back of Israel to God
• We prayed from Zech 12:10 for the day Israel will see her savior and understand
• We prayed for different hindrances to the bringing back of our people to the land; such as bondage to comfort and materialism.
• We prayed for the Lord to break the power of the Ministry of Interior which has waged war, practically, on Messianic Jews wanting to come home to Israel
• Some who work with Holocaust survivors in the land prayed for their salvation that they might see the sufferings of Messiah and be comforted and released from any bitterness regarding God.
• We prayed for the Lord to break the stronghold of the anti-Messiah attitude in the land

The Body of Messiah in the land - leaving Babylon
God's advice to His people is: Isaiah 48:20 Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans!  With a voice of singing,  Declare, proclaim this,  Utter it to the end of the earth;  Say, “The LORD has redeemed  His servant Jacob!”
Isaiah. 52:11 Depart! Depart! Go out from there, Touch no unclean thing; Go out from the midst of her, Be clean,  You who bear the vessels of the LORD

See also Jeremiah 50:8, Jeremiah 51:45, Revelation 18:4

There were two kinds of believers in Sodom. Lot of whom the scriptures say: 2Pet. 2:7"....and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked. And there was Lot's wife, whose heart remained in Sodom (the Babylon of the day..) and who perished with it.

What kind of believer do you want to be? 

We prayed for the Body of Messiah in the land

• We prayed for the work of God by the Holy Spirit to sanctify His body and make it bridal (Revelation 19:7)
• We prayed for the work of the Word of God in our hearts -- to divide between soul and spirit (See Hebrews 4:12)
• We prayed into God's promises in Ezekiel 36. That He would cleanse us, give us a pure heart, put His Spirit within us and cause us to walk in His statutes. that He would deliver us from uncleannesses, that he would grant us repentance (see Ezekiel 36:25-31)
• We prayed he would sit as a refiner and refine us His body, that our offering is pleasant to Him. (Malachi 3:3-4)
• We prayed for the Word to take central place within the Body - that it might not be deceived by many deceptions that are arising within the land and coming from abroad as well. 

We prayed for our government and our security situation in the last bit of our meeting 

• We prayed for a wall of fire around Israel to protect it from its enemies.  Zech 2:5
• We prayed for our leadership in both the government and the military for courage, wisdom, strategy, and decisiveness. (Our government's indecisiveness in 1973 to preempt the Egyptians and Syrians who were about to unleash their might against Israel was incredibly costly.) 

Blessings from Jerusalem,