Every Wednesday evening we gather for intercession for the restoration of Israel. The following is shared with you to help you in your own praying and interceding
These are prayer directions rather than prayer points.
We want to leave room for the Holy Spirit to lead you and your group to pray as you are led.
If you would like to receive these Prayer Directions regularly, or
If at any time you want to be removed from the list, please write us at:
ofer@israelprayercenter.org
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Dear Friends, in this prayer points update we share lots of verses and places in scripture that give light and understanding to God's purposes for Jerusalem, Israel, etc. I believe that it is vital to pray from scripture, and as we do that we gain insight, understanding, and more importantly, we gain faith from the scriptures we read and pray. Please take time to read them, or look into them at your convenience. Reading and praying the Word of God will instill in you a sense of His will and give you understanding and give you a solid basis for your intercessions for Israel, beyond just praying for current issues.
Zech. 8:1 Again the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,
Zech. 8:2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.
Zech. 8:3 Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.
The background of this wonderfully comforting prophecy is surprising and sobering. If you read Zechariah 7:11-14 you’ll find it comes in spite of our rebellion against God. “….they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.” Zechariah 7:11-12
Wherefore the mercy promised? Wherefore that zeal of God to restore His City and people in spite of their rebellion?
It is birthed in the heart of God! The word, “again” in Zech 8:1 (KJV), although not in the Hebrew, points to this truth. “Again,” is not just a technical word meaning God spoke again, but shows that, again, God’s grace and mercy and love lead Him to pour grace on an unworthy people who have rebelled against Him. As many “agains” there are of our failure, there are more “agains” of God’s grace.
But this is not the whole story, of course.
Note verse 2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury Zech. 8:2
Since God is declaring here that He will restore the City (and the people of course), this verse cannot mean that his fury is against His people. Zechariah 7:12-14 has already dealt with Israel’s punishment for their rebellion; here restoration is prophecied.
So it must be that God’s great fury is against sin itself. And as we contemplate that, we are left with awe and wonder. For it is at the cross, that God’s great fury against sin is seen. What is being prophecied here is that God would turn His full wrath and fury on His Son, till justice is fully done, until Holiness is satisfied. This is what unfolds in the whole book of Zechariah. The restoration of Israel, the reestablishment of Jerusalem all have their root there, at the cross.
We are reminded of Ezekiel 20:33 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you
That is, “I will assert My right over you in spite of your resistance (Ezekiel 20:32), as a master would in the case of his slave, and I will not let you be wrested from Me, because of My regard to My covenant.” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown Commentary)
We prayed for the Body of Messiah along the same lines
(You can pray this for your own church or the Body in your land)
We prayed for Jerusalem
We prayed for rain
see Zechariah 8:12 ….” and the heavens shall give their dew…”
See our desperate need: https://www.timesofisrael.com/shrinking-sea-of-galilee-sees-rising-salinity-endangering-water-quality/
Pray for Aliya - Zechariah 8:7-8
Blessings from Jerusalem
Zech. 8:2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.
Zech. 8:3 Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.
The background of this wonderfully comforting prophecy is surprising and sobering. If you read Zechariah 7:11-14 you’ll find it comes in spite of our rebellion against God. “….they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.” Zechariah 7:11-12
Wherefore the mercy promised? Wherefore that zeal of God to restore His City and people in spite of their rebellion?
It is birthed in the heart of God! The word, “again” in Zech 8:1 (KJV), although not in the Hebrew, points to this truth. “Again,” is not just a technical word meaning God spoke again, but shows that, again, God’s grace and mercy and love lead Him to pour grace on an unworthy people who have rebelled against Him. As many “agains” there are of our failure, there are more “agains” of God’s grace.
But this is not the whole story, of course.
Note verse 2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury Zech. 8:2
Since God is declaring here that He will restore the City (and the people of course), this verse cannot mean that his fury is against His people. Zechariah 7:12-14 has already dealt with Israel’s punishment for their rebellion; here restoration is prophecied.
So it must be that God’s great fury is against sin itself. And as we contemplate that, we are left with awe and wonder. For it is at the cross, that God’s great fury against sin is seen. What is being prophecied here is that God would turn His full wrath and fury on His Son, till justice is fully done, until Holiness is satisfied. This is what unfolds in the whole book of Zechariah. The restoration of Israel, the reestablishment of Jerusalem all have their root there, at the cross.
We are reminded of Ezekiel 20:33 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you
That is, “I will assert My right over you in spite of your resistance (Ezekiel 20:32), as a master would in the case of his slave, and I will not let you be wrested from Me, because of My regard to My covenant.” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown Commentary)
- We prayed for the mercies and grace of God to carry out His great purpose and plan of restoration.
- We prayed for the revelation of the Son of God in the midst of the Land
- We prayed for the great work of God to restore Jerusalem to Himself
- We prayed for the grace of God to break our rebellion and hard hearts
- We prayed for God to save our nation from religion and form
- We prayed for the vindication of the glory of God in the Land.
We prayed for the Body of Messiah along the same lines
(You can pray this for your own church or the Body in your land)
- We prayed for a renewed vision of the Son of God in our midst
- We prayed for a cleansing of the House of God in the Land (we are in the midst of celebrating Hanukkah)
- We prayed for the pure light of the Word of God in the Body of Messiah
- We prayed for the real and authentic anointing of the real Holy Spirit to be in the House of God
- We prayed for the renewed dedication of many believers to the Lord to walk in His ways, to serve Him, to obey Him.
- We prayed that the Body of Messiah would shine a pure light into the midst of our nation and become a beacon of salvation and hope.
- We prayed for the Body to become a “city of truth” (Zechariah 8:3)
We prayed for Jerusalem
- We prayed that God would proceed with all His plans of restoration of Israel with Jerusalem as its capital
- We prayed for the city in light of Psalm 2, where it is clear that the resistance to this city is mainly against God’s own Son (Psalm 2:6), and is a rebellion against God, not just a hatred of Israel
- We prayed for the security of the city and of the Land
- We prayed into the imminent threat of war with Hezbollah (see https://www.timesofisrael.com/un-chief-warns-of-risk-of-a-new-israeli-hezbollah-conflict/ )
We prayed for rain
see Zechariah 8:12 ….” and the heavens shall give their dew…”
See our desperate need: https://www.timesofisrael.com/shrinking-sea-of-galilee-sees-rising-salinity-endangering-water-quality/
Pray for Aliya - Zechariah 8:7-8
Blessings from Jerusalem