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A Storm Over Us - Prayer and Intercession March 20, 2020

3/20/2020

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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

****
A storm over us
This last week, we had a very violent storm in Israel. The forest right by our home looks like a war zone; trees have fallen, the paths are strewn with branches, everything seems so devastated. Our electricity was out for hours, and sitting in the dark with candles just added to the already apocalyptic feel of things.

How symbolic of the coronavirus storm that has broken over us.

You are no doubt amid your own country's struggle with the coronavirus. You are no doubt challenged in your faith and in sorting out how you should be responding, as a believer, to this enormous challenge that has come upon the world.

Here is how we have felt led: 

The Believer's calling

Trust and believe 
Psa. 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

That word 'be still' in Hebrew means to make your hands slack (HALOT) it would mean something like this: Don't use your human reasoning or strength, let it go and know the Lord. Rely on His wisdom and strength at this time, turn to him, and know that He is God. He promised to be exalted among the nations and in the earth. 

In panic or sorrow and fear, one can be tempted to react out of one's own human understanding and strength. Read the whole psalm: God is more than sufficient, He is a very present help in trouble. 

Seek His Face 
Psa. 24:6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
Psa. 24:7 Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
Psa. 24:8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!
Psa. 24:9 Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
Psa. 24:10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah

What a cry for the return of the Lord! This should be coming out of those who are God-seekers. It's time to turn away from the world. It's time to reassess our walk with God, it's time to turn to Him wholeheartedly, it's time to renew our commitment to the Word of God, to His ways, to His values. It is time to call on Him! Let us be preoccupied with Him and call on Him. It may be that we will not return to what we have considered 'normal' until now. Or if the world does return to normalcy, and we haven't changed our ways, then we have lost in a big way! I am not a prophet, nor claim any foreknowledge, I do believe though that the Word of God indicates that this is just a harbinger of things to come, perhaps worse.

Let us also Hope and wait for the Glory God rather than hope for the good in this world only. 1Peter 5:1, 1Peter 1:4-5

Be a praying priesthood
1Pet. 2:5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

We are called to be a spiritual house for God. That is what God has desired for us to be. That is what His Body is meant to be. We are considered by the Lord a holy priesthood, that we might stand before Him for the world, for our nations, for His plan, and proposes to be fulfilled. That we might pray for Israel as a critical component to His end-time plan. This is not real to most of the church today at all.

Pray as never before: 
"Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven". Lk 11:2  

Pray through the whole Kingdom prayer, for yourself, for your nation, for the world at this time! 
Ask the Lord to arise greatly in the earth, according to Psalm 46, proclaim these verses that express that deep desire and longing for the gates to be lifted and the King of Glory to come in.
Ask the Lord to complete His purposes on the earth. 

Praying for Israel

God's purpose for Israel
All the scriptures point to an amazing fulfillment of God's promises to His people Israel. Ezekiel 36:23-38 are especially appropriate at this time. They are for today, and they do not mention devastation but blessing instead. 

God's purpose is to bring life to the earth through Israel's restoration, Romans 11:15 As Israel's rejection of Messiah was reconciliation offered to the world, Israel' restoration will be an offer of LIFE for the world; to those who turn. 

The offer from God is Life! Will you pray?

There is so much more, but this is at least a good start…. Perhaps we will be led to share more next time (who knows what will be next week?) 

Praying for God's promises is vital! 
The Word of God will be the ultimate factor in what God does on the earth. We should not be just preoccupied with the current situation (although we must pray, of course), but we should give the greater weight to the promises. It will be the fulfillment of the Word of God given as promises, that decided the way the world goes. 

Please stand before the Lord for Israel during this coronavirus storm. 
  • The government is taking extreme measures, some of this out of fear that our run-down and neglected health care system will collapse if this plague goes unchecked. 
  • Please pray for the sick and dying
  • Please pray for our medical teams who are on the front lines of the battle. They are without proper gear (Israel had to use the Mossad to get some testing kits!) 
  • Please pray a government will be formed! We have no real government in place yet! 
  • Please pray for our economy - it is being shattered by all of this
  • Please pray our people will comply with instructions, we are notorious for not giving heed

Please pray for the Body of Messiah in the land
Our congregation has gone on to meet virtually on Zoom, and other means to keep praying together, hear the Word of God together, and to encourage each other. 

These are the verses the Lord put on my heart as guidelines to what I should do:
1Pet. 5:2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, …..1Pet. 5:3 …..but being examples to the flock;

We are to shepherd the flock (feed them with the Word), oversee (take care of them), and serve as an example. For this, we need God's help! 
  • Please pray for the leadership of the congregations, that we will be enabled and strengthened to be these things to God's people
  • Please pray for wisdom, and inspiration to fulfill God's call 
  • Please pray for God's provision for the congregations
  • Please pray for believers not to just mark time, or seek only entertainment but for grace to turn to God and seek His face.
  • Please pray for those with small children who need extra help, strength, and energy to care for their kids.
  • Please pray for those among the believers who have lost their jobs and those whose businesses are struggling.
  • Please pray that we as a Body will be a light to our people; and a source of comfort to our neighbors, a blessing to those who are down, and depressed, and frightened.

Let us pray for one another in these difficult times, and let us above all take our place before God — this is the time, this is our call, this is the moment.

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Reality Check - Prayer and Intercession March 13th, 2020

3/13/2020

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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

****
Reality check
Luke 21:25 "And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;
Luke 21:26 men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken."

We were sent a very appropriate message, by David Wilkerson, spoken or written in 1998. Although the circumstances are not exactly the same, and the threat then was economical only, its message is clear: Are you given over to God in every way? As David writes: "True freedom from fear consists of totally resigning one's life into the hands of the Lord."

You can read it here: http://www.tscpulpitseries.org/english/1990s/ts981026.html

Blessing - Yes, Commitment - No? (Where is the hiding place?)
Too often, many of God's people expect His benefits, and promises to be fulfilled in their life, but without living in a genuinely resigned or consecrated way at all.

The word "if" appears ten times in John 15; four times, it is a conjunction introducing a conditional clause. (John 15:6,7 10, 14) 

Let us put it in the positive light it is given in that chapter because it is actually an invitation and wisdom given by the Lord. Yeshua is giving us the understanding we need so that we might share in the fullness of His life.  

John 15:4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
John 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
John 15:6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

EBC comments on it thus: "Jesus is setting before us the prospect of the mutual indwelling of Jesus and those who will abide in him. So central is this mutual indwelling to what it means to be a Christian that Temple (name of commentator quoted by the one writing this -- OA) can say, "Whatever leads to this is good; whatever hinders this is bad; whatever does not bear on this is futile."
 
"……or believers to bear fruit, they must remain in Christ. All spiritual power for living out the Christian life comes from God. There is only one way for a believer to receive this power, namely, to remain in unbroken fellowship with the source of power. Paul pictures the relationship in terms of a spiritual death and resurrection: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal 2:20). (1)

What an invitation from Messiah! how few there be that avail themselves of pursuing such an abiding! Is it not time, dear friend, that we quit our friendship with the world and enter our true hiding place, the secret place of the most high? (Psalm 91:1)

It is there and only there that we shall experience the fullness of the life described in Psalm 46

Too, loving Him with one's whole heart is directly related to loving others as He loved us. Our challenge at times like these (and is always) is to think communally and not selfishly. The panic-shopping in Israel, has demonstrated this quite clearly. The atmosphere of everyone-for-himself is growing in the land. May we in the Body of Messiah rise to the challenge and live with a communal mindset.

Praying during this time of challenge

Pray for your country: 
Obviously, your country needs your prayers at this time, more than ever! It is the believers' moment to intercede. 
  • For the proper handling of this crisis in your country, beyond any other consideration (Political, economical, social, etc…)
  • For the medical teams that are dealing with an overwhelming situation at the hospitals
  • For those who have contracted the virus
  • For those who are suffering economically, (massive loss of jobs)
  • For the poor and needy who have no cushion against such times as these
  • For a greater openness to the claims of the Lord, and for the spread of the gospel
  • For the Church - that this might be a great wake up call to seriousness with Messiah (not only for its own sake but for the sake of the nation you live in. Only when those around you see a genuine life-testimony to the claims of Messiah, will they even be challenged to consider it

Praying for Israel
Israel has taken some stringent measures. People on all incoming flights from anywhere are now to quarantine themselves for 2 weeks. Schools and universities are closed, gatherings are limited to 100 people.
  • For the government to make decisions based on the welfare of the people
  • For balanced decision making without regard to politics 
  • For our medical teams (over 900 are in isolation right now)
  • For the nation to respond without panic or fear
  • For communal thinking (people are panic-shopping, leaving little for others)
  • For the Lord to intervene in Israel's situation and bring a stop to the virus' advance
  • For our economy (many people have lost and will lose their jobs)
  • For the poor in the land and those who are vulnerable
  • For the Body of Messiah in the Land, that it might shine with the gospel (not in words only but with the testimony of life)

Praying for a possible Emergency Unity Government in Israel
There are now talks on the way of setting up an emergency unity government.
Read here. This, in my opinion, will be very good. We need a stable, united government that represents the whole nation. Maybe the virus will do what no one else has been able to, and that is to give us a government (at last!) that will be good for the whole nation.

Praying for the Messianic Body 
This emergency situation is proving to be a challenge to the leadership in the land; it has created pressure on the pastors. Some of our people are very fearful and even panicky, others are careless and don't really show concern for others. As leaders, we have a need to find the Lord, to see the 'big picture" from God's point of view, to enter a place of faith and trust, to receive wisdom to know how to handle situations, to know how and when to suspend activities, how to lead our people to prayer and intercession. As leaders, we need to be men of God who stand before Him for the nation and for our congregations. 
  • Please pray for the congregations with the various needs that this situation is presenting
  • Please pray for the congregational leadership - for wisdom, faith, trust and sensitivity both to the Lord and to the people
  • Please pray for believers in the land to awaken by this the claims of Messiah on their life
  • Please pray for a great response of people to the call for prayer and intercession
  • Please pray for God's grace in provision for the congregations and for the people
  • Please pray for the Lord's hand on the Body to keep in in health — that it might respond in worship, devotion, prayer and love to God and to each other 

Let us give our all to Him who is worthy to receive our heart's complete attention, love, devotion, and service.

Blessings from Jerusalem, 
 

____________________________________________________________


1. Expositor Bible Commentary, Robert Mounce Volume 10, pg. 575




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Challenging Times and Our Call - Prayer and Intercession March 6, 2020

3/6/2020

1 Comment

 
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

****
Standing Before the Lord in challenging times
Israel feels a bit apocalyptic at this moment. Besides the election results, the coronavirus dominates the news. Announcements of new cases, directives to go into isolation for those returning from different countries; France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, have just been added. Lists of places where those infected have been are being published with orders for those exposed, to quarantine themselves. Large events are being canceled…you get the picture. So far, people have not panic-shopped, but it is coming. 

Such times test how we have been living…have we been walking with God, or loving the world instead? Have we been trusting in Him or the economy? Such times are also a chance to awaken to our need for God and turn to Him wholeheartedly. Such times also demand a response; of prayer and of intercession. 

Gen. 18:22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.

In a time of judgment, Abraham continued to stand before the Lord in prayer and intercession. 

More than ever, we are called to continue to intercede for the fullness of God's plan. Especially is this important in light of Israel's role in this plan. 

We looked briefly at Israel's condition, Israel's role in God's redemptive plan, Israel's need — prayer

Israel's condition and status before the Lord:
Romans 11:28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.

Although "from the perspective of God's eternal choice, Israel will always be His covenant people," (MacArthur), and although His gifts and calling are irrevocable, yet for the gentiles' sake, they are (temporary) enemies. 

Some, who pray for Israel, tend to pray out of an unreal or romantic feeling for Israel. Take this in: Israel, although beloved of God and called of God, is in enmity with God, as far as His Son Yeshua, is concerned. We are in a state of war with God over the Son of David, the Son of God.

Israel's calling and role in God's redemptive plan 
Although this enmity has lasted two thousand years, nevertheless, it is temporary. Israel's place and purpose in God's plan are enormously important and central to His plan. God, in His faithfulness, has committed Himself, irrevocably to our forefathers by covenants! Of this, we are most unworthy; gracious is the Lord! 

Rom. 9:4 who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises;
Rom. 9:5 of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.

It seems like this includes just about all things that pertain to God's unfolding redemption in the earth. But we looked only at the first one mentioned: adoption. "To them belong the adoption as sons" (NET Bible)

What is the adoption?

Rom. 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
Rom. 8:23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.

Briefly, the adoption is the fullness of salvation, which culminates in the resurrection and eternal life of our physical bodies. Can we say it this way? It's the fruit on the tree of Calvary.

What Paul is saying is that Israel is central to the completion and fulfillment of His plan of redemption! This is alluded to in the Old Testament, see Isaiah 25:6-8, and Paul teaches on this in 1Corinthians 15:51-58

According to Paul, Israel's restoration, first the physical and then the spiritual, is the move of God towards the fulfillment of His eternal plan to restore all things (Acts 3:21)

Rom. 11:11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.
Rom. 11:12 Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!
Rom. 11:15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

This may not be all real to you, but if God has committed Himself to fulfill His plan in connection with His covenant commitment to Israel, praying for her restoration should be of the highest priority of the Church! 

Israel's need — Prayer
Rom. 9:1 I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit,
Rom. 9:2 that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart.
Rom. 9:3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh,

The view of Israel's place in God's plan, as it is expressed in Romans 11, is the reason Paul expressed such a passion for Israel's restoration, even to be willing to be accursed from Messiah! Wiped out of the book of life, and into the lake of fire! (Remember that Paul was taken up to the presence of God after his conversion. He knew what He was willing to give up! (2Corinthians 12:2)

What Paul is expressing in these verses is God's own passion. It is what is burning in the heart of God! That is what drove Yeshua to the cross; the desire to see His Father's will fulfilled. And He did become accursed! See Galatians 3:13

We prayed for Israel
  • For the breaking of Israel at the foot of the cross
  • For God to release us from the chains of unbelief and rejection of our King
  • For light to dawn on Israel, and for the opening of Israel's "eyes" as the Lord has promised: "They shall see Me, whom they have pierced."
  • We prayed for God to bring us from death to life, in Him
  • We prayed for Israel's reconciliation with her Savior and Lord
  • We asked for awakening and revelation to whole communities, neighborhoods, people groups in the land
  • Lord, this is your desire, you are married to Israel, she is beloved by covenant, for the fathers' sake - come for your people dear Lord, and draw them to you once again
  • Lord you are Faithful, Long-suffering, Patient and Kind, you are Truth and Justice and full of Mercy and Compassion - Let your Grace fall upon this nation as a great flood, to sweep Israel into your arms
  • Lord, you met Saul on the road to Damascus, You turned his hatred into a passion for You and Your people, you can do so again massively with many. If you can turn one such man, you can turn many, who now hate you, and make them lovers of Messiah
  • Lord, bring Israel to Peniel…Let Israel prevail in wrestling with you, till you win! (See Hosea 12:4-6)
  • We implored the Lord for His return, for His reign on the earth, for His salvation to come, from the reign of Man
  • We asked the Lord to finish the mystery of Israel and unfold His eternal plan for the earth
  • We asked the Lord to look at the suffering of the whole earth (according to Romans 8:19-22) and be moved to restore Israel for the world's sake.

We prayed for the Body of Christ in the world
  • We asked the Lord to restore Israel for the sake of the Church (Romans 11:11-12, 15) As Israel's fall was a means of bringing salvation through the gospel to the ends of the earth, so Israel's restoration be the means of God's completing of His Body. We called on the Lord to fulfill His Will in this way.
  • We asked the Lord to use this "apocalyptic" time of the coronavirus to awaken many believers out of "sleep."
  • We asked the Lord to call many of His people in the Body to Himself, to His Word.
  • We asked the Lord to awaken people to their need and call to prayer and the seeking of His face.
  • We asked the Lord to call His people and awaken them to their need to live by faith and trust in Him.
  • We asked the Lord to call His people to stand before Him in intercession. 
  • We asked the Lord to turn many churches in the west from their programs to Himself
  • We asked for the revelation of God's eternal plan, as it regards Israel's role, and what is at stake
  • We asked the Lord to visit the Church and call her to stand before Him. 
  • Lord give your Body a passion for you, as Paul expressed in Romans 9:1-4 

We prayed for Israel's government
  • Lord, we don't know what to say….bring order where there is political chaos, show mercy where there is such unmercifulness in the political wars, bring truth where there is corruption.
  • Lord establish a government that will serve the people
  • Lord we cry to you for an answer to the country's need for true leadership
  • Raise up champions to battle corruption, on all levels, state and municipal
  • Do something extraordinary 
  • Rein our leaders in, O' God, they live on borrowed authority, we pray for the best combination of political parties for Israel's good. 
  • Lord give us competent ministers in their field, rather than just political appointments of unqualified people. 

Thank you for praying. In such serious times as these, let us take God seriously, so He takes our praying seriously.
But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.
1Pet. 4:7 
Blessings from Jerusalem,
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Stand Before The Lord --Prayer and Intercession February 28, 2020

2/28/2020

0 Comments

 
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

****
But Abraham still stood before the LORD

Is praying the same thing seem monotonous and boring to you?
Most of today’s believers, get bored with praying the same scriptures and the same promises week after week. Some prefer to pray a list and check it off, sort of like on a To-Do list: pray, mark it off, move on. But this is not the biblical view of intercession and prayer.

Consider this: 
Abraham prayed and waited before the Lord for 25 years until God fulfilled His promise to give him a son. Genesis 12:4, 16:3, 21:5
Isaac interceded for his wife, for 20 years, until God gave them the son of promise. Genesis 25:20, 26
Daniel prayed for 70 years before he saw the answer to his cry for the restoration of Israel. Daniel 1:4, Daniel 9:1-3. (He was probably 15 or so when he arrived in Babylon in 604 BC, which makes him 85 years old when the Lord revealed to him that it was time!)
How about Anna in the NT? Eighty-four years, she was in the temple, praying and fasting day and night till she saw the One she had been praying for. Luke 2:36-38

How about Simeon? Luke 2:25-32 

If you look carefully in the Word, you will find that the prayers of all these were about one thing: The fulfillment of God’s ultimate plan to bring His Son for the redemption of the world through the fulfillment of His covenant promises.

Dear friends, what we need is God’s passion—to be so imbued by the Holy Spirit—that we can do nothing else but pray and call upon Him to bring His Will to pass. That is what prayer is all about. Yeshua taught much about prayer, but taught only one prayer — “Pray then like this: “.....Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven...” Matt. 6:9-10

This is how God will glorify His name. And this passion comes through praying. How so? Because when you pray the Word of God, the promises of God, you are touching His passion, His fire, His desire and will, and when you do that, well, you are going to be affected. The more you pray in this way, the more it will be so.

And how does God see those God-fearers, those who esteem Him and His will thus?
Mal. 3:16 Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name.
Mal. 3:17 “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

This is the sweetest thing, is it not? If you esteem His name, by minding His Will, living unto Him, standing before Him in prayer like this, you “shall be His,” you shall be a ‘treasured possession.”

We prayed for Israel’s restoration
Psa. 102:13 You will arise and have pity on Zion; it is the time to favor her; the appointed time has come.
Psa. 102:14 For your servants hold her stones dear and have pity on her dust.
Psa. 102:15 Nations will fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.
Psa. 102:16 For the LORD builds up Zion; he appears in his glory;

(Read the whole psalm and see — the first 12 verses describe such a one imbued with the passion for seeing Zion restored.)
  • You will arise O’ Lord, you will not despise our prayers
  • Lord, our faith is that you are building Zion, we believe you are about to rise. 
  • Lord, this is the set time for favor Zion, O’ let thy sweet will be done!
  • Jeremiah 31:31-34 Lord, you promised! You have done it on the cross, and now we ask you to execute it in Israel, ratify your New Covenant. 
  • Help us O’ Lord not to grow tired to uphold your Word.
  • Help us, Lord, to be faithful in our days as those who have gone before us.
  • Psalm 126 - Lord restore the fortunes of Zion. 
  • Lord, bring the King! We want to be ruled by our King, dear Lord; the government shall be upon your shoulders, Yeshua. 
  • Lord you are faithful to your Word
  • Help us, Lord, to be as wise virgins (our prayers were mixed with prayers for the Body in this session.) 
  • Lord help us to mind your Word, to live it, and to pray it.
  • Lord Thank You for what we see already as part of your restoration of Zion. There is a Body in the Land. There is the worship of Yeshua in the Land, there is preaching of Yeshua in the Land. But, dear Lord, bring on a flood of grace and save your people.
  • Pour out your spirit, awaken the “dead,” unstop ears.
  • We confess that as a people, we are hard-hearted dear Lord. Send the rain of the Holy Spirit to soften our hearts.
  • Lord, break the heart of Israel
  • Lord, we cry out to you from the earth, we are buried in sin, resurrect your people O’ Lord
  • Lord, there are so many “suddenlies” in your Word. Come suddenly, reveal yourself suddenly, pour out your grace suddenly
  • We ask for all that needs to be done for your move in the Land, to be done and in place
  • We ask for faith to believe, to pray, to remind you of your promises.

We prayed for God’s plan on the earth among the nations
What effect will the Corona virus have on global issues? No one knows yet, but viruses have changed the course of history and have played a strategic role in determining the outcome of wars.

Consider this:
“Fifteen centuries before the Scottish tried to colonize Panama, the Romans tried to colonize them (the Scots -O.A.) and were thwarted by a strain of malaria local to Scotland which is estimated to have killed half of the eighty thousand Roman soldiers sent their way. Endemic strains decimated Hannibal’s forces as they made their way through Italy, turned the armies of Genghis Khan away from southern Europe, prevented European crusaders from conquering the Holy Land (malaria killed more than a third of them), and sided with North American colonists and Latin American revolutionaries in their rebellions against armies brought in from a distant, ruling continent.

“Military strategists, from Saladin to the Nazis, used mosquitoes as direct weapons of war. At Walcheren, Napoleon breached dikes to create a brackish flood—the ensuing malaria epidemic killed four thousand English soldiers—and declared, “We must oppose the English with nothing but fever, which will soon devour them all.” (1)

So the Corona virus may prove to be of much influence in the coming year, at least. And although we don’t yet see the whole picture or understand the global implications, we prayed that the Lord, who is in full control of the universe, and the earth, would do his will through this. 

Too, Anti-Semitism as arisen greatly  
We were astounded this week by the sudden open display of gross anti-Semitism. Just look at some of the headlines.

“Anti-Semitic Belgium parade features costumes of Jews with insect bodies” Read here
“Top Spanish diplomat ‘horrified’ at Holocaust-themed carnival parade” Read here
“Brazilian Carnival parade featured costumes with swastikas….” Read here
“1 in 5 Europeans say secret Jewish cabal runs the world’ Read here

No doubt as God presses the restoration of Israel forward, especially spiritually, the enemy will agitate nations much, to resist it. (read psalm 2)

We prayed from Isaiah 40, as we considered these two plagues: anti-Semitism and the virus.
  • Lord your reign supreme, you are the redeemer —Let Your Kingdom come and your will be done dear Lord, on the earth.
  • Isaiah 40:5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” — Lord, your goal is to reveal your glory in the earth, and Israel is so much a part of this work.
  • Lord work out your redemptive work throughout this time. Borders are closing; economies are shaking, political alliances are being tested — do your will O’ God. 
  • Use this time to turn the hearts of your people in the Body to you, let their minds stay on you, let them be kept in perfect peace
  • Lord, use the situation to accomplish your will on the earth.
  • Dear Father, you do not need counselors, you are wise in your acts (Isaiah 40:14) Let your counsel and wisdom do all things as you work out Israel’s salvation in the realm of man and the nations. 
  • Lord, let all opposition to you and your plan for Israel dry up (Isaiah 40:6-8)
  • Blow on the earth by your Holy Spirit dear Lord and “dry” the flesh up
  • Lord, let these circumstances (virus) bring nations to you (Iran is the second-largest center of the virus outside of China. The number of those infected is much larger than Iran lets on. )
  • Preserve Israel during this outbreak, dear Lord. 

Israel’s elections on March 2nd
As Purim is just around the corner, we reflected on God’s providential placing of people in strategic places to accomplish His will. What are the chances, for instance, that an exiled orphan girl, belonging to a defeated nation, and raised by her uncle, would become the queen!? God providentially worked to prepare for the fulfillment of His purposes for His people. 

In the same manner, we can pray for God to place, in His providence, the right people, the right coalition—even a unity government, all, as preparation for what is coming upon Israel, whether she knows it or not. 
  • Lord, what can we ask for but that you should have mercy on Israel at this time!
  • Lord you see the crisis of leadership in the Land — please move on our behalf 
  • Lord, give us a government! (This is our third election in a year)
  • Lord give us a good government, that is healthy, the is not corrupt
  • Lord give us a government that is for all the people, that is pro-Israel, for Israel
  • Save us, dear Lord, from religious coercion 
  • Give us a government that is good in every way — militarily, economically, with integrity, balanced, healthy.
  • Deliver us, dear Lord, from all that is not in line with your will and purpose for Israel. We ask that you intervene in Israel’s affairs, for the sake of your name.
  • Lord, is it your will to give us a unity government?
  • Let your will be done on March 2nd as people go to the ballot
  • Father, we ask that you providentially place the leaders of your choice, who will be able to lead Israel through the challenges that are coming.
  • Let the next government be aligned with your purposes for Israel at this time. 

May the Lord preserve you, and keep you and fill you with Himself, as you seek His face and stand before Him, in these last days.

Blessings from Jerusalem,

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Prayer and Intercession February 20, 2020

2/21/2020

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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

****
I cannot do anything until
Gen. 19:22 Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

This is a remarkable verse!

God notified Lot that He could do nothing until he, Lot, was safe. “I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” The Lord withheld the execution of His judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah until Lot reached safety.

This is indeed remarkable; how far is God willing to go in answering Abraham’s prayer for Sodom, and for his nephew?!

How gracious and merciful is our God, how great and powerful and necessary is prayer!

This amazing view is seen again in the book of Revelation: Rev. 7:3 saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”

In both cases, the redemptive purposes of God are the determiners of events as they unfold on the earth, whether local or global. Furthermore, from Revelation 7:3, we understand that whatever unfolds on the earth is subservient to God’s work in His elect.

The Corona Virus
As we contemplated the effects of the Corona virus on the world right now, we could not help but think about what will eventually come upon the earth, as it is judged. Yet, it is God’s redemptive purposes that are central to events on the earth, and not the judgment itself.

The virus is a kind of harbinger of the times that are coming on the earth. After all, the book of Revelation speaks of great plagues coming upon the earth. 

Yet, as In the times of Lot and of Noah, it is the great redemptive power of God that is the theme of the story, not the destruction. In the Book of Revelation, it is the Revelation of Yeshua, the Messiah that is central, and God’s final great victory on the earth, not the plagues.
 
God is absolutely sovereign: Psa. 29:10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever

It is with this in view, that we prayed for God’s purposes on the earth for the nations, for Israel and for His Body world wide.

We prayed for the Body of Messiah in Israel and worldwide.
  • We prayed for the completion of God’s purposes for His Body in the nations
  • We asked God to bring many in the Body to the fullness of His purposes. “Transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2Corinthians 3:18
  • We continued to pray for God’s purposes for His Body from Romans 8:29
  • We prayed that believers everywhere would wake up to the times they live in
  • We prayed for a great earnestness to come upon the Body in the matter of seeking the face of God and returning to His Word
  • We prayed that the Church would heed the voice of God calling it to come out of Babylon Rev. 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. (We come out, by going in, into Christ!)
  • We prayed that the Church would wake up to God
  • We prayed that the Church would wake up to prayer
  • We prayed for great repentance and a turning to God in the Body of Christ 
  • We prayed that the Church would wake up to service and evangelism
  • We prayed for the Church in China that it might shine at this time with great light
  • We prayed for the Church in China that it might break out in great blessing and testimony to the Chinese nation, 
  • We prayed that the Church in China might break forth out of persecution and unto proclamation. 
  • We asked the Lord to use this time in China to open multitudes of hearts to the gospel
  • We prayed for the Lord to move in the Body in Israel to turn it from the World, and the Flesh, unto Himself

We prayed for the nations
  • We acknowledged God’s supremacy over the nations, over evil, over plagues over the enemy himself. 
  • We acknowledged that it is the Lord, the creator, who also holds the universe together (Colossians 1:17) 
  • We asked the Lord to continue to unfold His redemptive purposes on the earth amid all these things. (Meaning not to leave the earth to the will of man or the enemy). 
  • We “reminded” God that He so loved the world, that He sent His Son — and asked that His light would shine amid the deep darkness the world is descending to
  • We upheld before the Lord His own program to reach the nations via what He does in and with Israel — Isaiah 2:1-4, Jeremiah 33:9, Psalm 2:10-12 (God’s good advice to a rebellious world.)

We prayed for Israel
In 11 days, Israel will have another election. The third in one year. There are indications that the results will not be different than in the last two elections.

The state of leadership in Israel is a sad one. We have a former president in jail, a former prime minister who sat in prison (Olmert), asking the current president to clear his record so he could run again. We have a minister in the Knesset (parliament) who was in Jail (Arye Deri). We have a current prime minister who has been indicted. 

What makes good leaders or bad leaders in the eyes of God?
Ezekiel 34:1-10 describes bad shepherds as God sees it: They did not care of the sheep, did not strengthen them, did not guard them, did not gather them, used the sheep for their own purposes.

Ezekiel 34:11-31 describes good leadership in the eyes of God: good leadership seeks and gathers the sheep from where they have been scattered (Ez. 34:11-13), good leadership feeds them (Ezekiel 14-15), cares for them and heals them (Ez. 34:16), maintains justice and established equity (Ez. 34:17-22), guards them both locally and internationally (Ez. 34:22, 28)

Although in the final analysis, God Himself, in Messiah, will be all that to us, nevertheless, this is the kind of leadership God wants for His people, and He promised to provide it! Jer. 3:15 And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

For this, we cried to the Lord.
  • We asked for leaders who have integrity, sincerity, selflessness
  • We asked for leaders who care for the sheep, not themselves
  • We asked the Lord to fulfill His will in giving us leaders who will cause Jews in the Diaspora, including ex-pats to desire to come back to Israel
  • We confessed to the Lord our corruption as a nation and begged for mercy
  • We asked the Lord to reveal all things that are hidden
  • We prayed for His will to tip the scales and bring about his decree regarding his choice of leadership for Israel at this time.  
  • We asked God to give us leaders who would further his redemptive plan for this nation
  • We asked for leadership we can believe in and support
  • We asked for leadership who would be just, and do right for the whole nation not just their supporters
  • We asked God to give us leaders who would build Israel and not abuse it
  • We asked for leaders who would be wise to strengthen Israel and to protect it and to love it.(2Chronicles 26:9-15)

Blessings from Jerusalem,



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That They May Know That I Am the LORD - Prayer and Intercession February 14, 2020

2/14/2020

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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

****
That they may know that I am the LORD

We prayed along three lines: Israel and God, Israel and the nations, God and the nations.In all cases, the outcome of what God does is the same:  They shall know that I am the LORD!

Israel will know that He is the Lord through salvation, the nations will know that He is the Lord when they see His great works in Israel, and the nations who resist God will know that He is the Lord through judgment.

Israel and God - You shall know that I am the Lord
Ezek. 20:42 Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I raised My hand in an oath to give to your fathers.
Ezek. 20:43 And there you shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled; and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils that you have committed.
Ezek. 20:44 Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have dealt with you for My name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel,” says the Lord GOD.’ ”

Israel shall know that He is the LORD; how? By the mercies He does; He will return them to the land, will grant them repentance, will sanctify them, (Ezekiel 36:23) Each of these are all the work of the pure mercies of God

Read the whole chapter, and you will find those mercies shining like jewels on the background of the dark and evil condition of our people. We rebelled (repeated three times), we despised, profaned, provoked. Yet he spared us, withdrew His hand of punishment, and pleaded with us. Oh, how gracious, lowly, and merciful is this God. How patient and kind.

But to fully gain sight of this, we must take in that it is in Yeshua crucified that these mercies become ours.

2Cor. 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

The word ‘pleading’ in the verse quoted means: to summon to one’s side in order to admonish and console. Can you believe it? God is consoling us, who have rejected Him?! Yes, pleading with our nation to come to Him by faith and receive salvation by Grace! O’ what a God is this?! How gracious and merciful and kind is His holy love!

Israel needs to be reconciled to God through the Messiah, and it is coming. Soon the Day will dawn of His appearing. Soon the Day will dawn of the Revelation of the Son of God, our King, and Messiah

Nevertheless, as it is now, Israel stands on the wrong side of the cross. And for this, we cried to the Lord on her behalf.

  • We thanked God for His utter and unfathomable lowliness in which He is pleading with Israel and beseeching her to be reconciled to Himself.
  • We cried out to God that in His lowliness, He would pour out The Spirit of brokenness and repentance upon us. (Zechariah 12:10)
  • We prayed that His promise to come to us would be fulfilled - It is Him we need, it is Him we want
  • We prayed that His promise to give us a new heart and a new spirit would be fulfilled
  • We acknowledged that although we have been resurrected physically as a nation, we are dead spiritually. 
  • We cried for the spiritual resurrection of our people. See Ezekiel 37:8-9
  • We prayed for the religious in the land, who are so bound by fear and works that they might see Yeshua crucified for them
  • We prayed for the secular who are bound by the fear of being restricted. They see anything that has to do with God as limiting rather than freeing! O’ that they too might see the crucified one and know what true love is!
  • We prayed for the children of the land - growing wild and free of all sense of God. We cried to the great shepherd, our good shepherd to come to the children of the land, to gather them, to save them in His great compassion
  • We asked the Lord to send laborers, ambassadors as it were, who would plead with the people for God
  • Help us, O God of our salvation, For the glory of Your name; And deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins, For Your name’s sake! Psa. 79:9




Israel and the nations - They shall know that I am the Lord
Is. 62:1 For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, And her salvation as a lamp that burns.
Is. 62:2 The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, And all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD will name.

A great light will shine in the earth when God saves this nation. A light that will shine and pierce the deep darkness this world is steeped in. 

What Light is this? The Light of the Glory of God in the face of Yeshua the Messiah. It is the Light of salvation and of the pure mercies of God, the Light of justification by faith and salvation by grace through faith!

What will be Israel’s righteousness? (She has none of her own.) It will be His imputed righteousness in Messiah. It will be that in Israel, God will demonstrate the unimaginable power of Grace and Love. The power of His cleansing blood.

Israel’s salvation will fill the world with Light! God will be seen as He is in Himself. God will be seen in what He does in the Land. Perhaps it will be the greatest act of evangelism the world has ever known. The nations will know that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah is the LORD

Ezek. 36:23 And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD,” says the Lord GOD, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes

Why this demonstration? Because God loves the world. It's not that He loves Israel more than the other nations, its that Israel is His special, chosen vessel to reveal God’s nature, character, and power on the earth!

  • We prayed for Israel’s restoration in this Light of her calling to be a light in the earth
  • We pleaded with God for the sake of the peoples of the earth to not delay any longer 
  • We asked Him to turn the Light of salvation on! 
  • We asked Him to glorify Himself in Israel that the peoples of the earth might turn to Him
  • We thanked God for His plan of mercy for the nations
  • We asked God to turn many in the nations to Him
  • We remembered that the queen of Sheba was drawn the land to see for herself the works of God through Solomon. Yet, there is a One who is greater than Solomon. 
  • O’ may even our enemies see the Grace of God in action and be astounded and confounded 
  • May many in the nations, especially Iran, see such a great light that they are freed from the darkness they are in and turn to the Living God.
  • May, the Church in the Arab nations around us, believe the Word and pray these things so as to be a light even now in their nations
  • May many in the nations come asking: Who is this God who shines this way? What is this, Mercy? What is this, Grace? Who is this Messiah, the Son of God?

God and the nations — they shall know that I am the LORD
Ezek. 28:22 and say, “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I am against you, O Sidon; I will be glorified in your midst; and they shall know that I am the LORD, When I execute judgments in her and am hallowed in her.
Ezek. 38:16 You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.”
Ezek. 38:23 Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD.”

God is made known, not only in His grace and mercy but also in judgment.
Those nations who respond with hatred and rebellion to the display of God’s goodness to Israel (as a testimony to His gracious offer - see Psalm 2:10-12) will have to find out that God is the LORD by another means - Judgment.

We already see this hatred and evil against Israel’s physical restoration, what will the reaction be to her spiritual restoration? Just read the latest expression, for instance, of this hatred, coming from Iran: “Top Iranian official: We’re looking for a pretext to raze Tel Aviv to the ground” read here

But even judgment can bring life if that nation relents.

Psa. 83:16 Fill their faces with shame, That they may seek Your name, O LORD.
Psa. 83:17 Let them be confounded and dismayed forever; Yes, let them be put to shame and perish,
Psa. 83:18 That they may know that You, whose name alone is the LORD, Are the Most High over all the earth.

  • We prayed in this Light for the nations of the earth, especially where there is such a rise of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel hatred
  • We prayed for the Lord’s defense for Israel against those immediate neighboring countries who are animated by a Great Hatred for God and Israel. 
  • We prayed into the situation in Syria — the situation on the Golan is tense
  • We prayed for God’s defense against the growing tide of anti-Israel and anti-Semitism (same really) in the nations. 
  • We thanked God for Israel’s military but pleaded for God to defend her

Thank you for praying and standing with us for the whole counsel of God to come to pass.

O’ that each of one us will pursue the LORD and cry to Him: “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” (Phil. 3:10) So that we may be conformed to His image. (Romans 8:29)

Blessings from Jerusalem,
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Troubled Times: Prayer and Intercession February 6, 2020

2/6/2020

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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

****
Who can truly estimate the mighty power of Intercessory prayer?!

When D.L. Moody went to London to “learn from the Bible scholars”, he was invited to preach in a London church. “Everything about the service dragged”, and Mr. Moody wished he had “never consented to preach.”

“There was a woman in the city who had heard of Mr. Moody’s work in America and had been asking God to send him to London. This woman was an invalid. Her sister was present at the church that Sunday morn­ing. When the hearer reached home, she asked her sister to guess who had spoken for them that morn­ing. She guessed one after another of those with whom her pastor was in the habit of exchanging, never guessing aright. Her sister said, ‘No, Mr. Moody from Chicago.’

“The sick woman turned pale and said, ‘This is an answer to my prayer. If I had known that he was to be at our church, I should have eaten nothing this morning but waited on God in prayer. Leave me alone this afternoon: do not let anyone come to see me; do not send me any­ thing to eat.’ All that afternoon, that woman gave herself to prayer. As Mr. Moody preached that night, he soon became conscious that there was a different atmosphere in the church. ‘The powers of an unseen world seemed to fall’ upon him and his hearers. As he drew to a close, he felt impressed to give out an invitation. He asked for all who would accept Christ to rise. Four or five hundred people rose. He thought that they misunderstood him, and so he put the question several ways that there might be no mistake. But no, they had understood. He then asked them to go to an adjoining room. As they passed out, he asked the pastor of the church who these people were. He replied, ‘I do not know.’ ‘Are they your people?’ ‘Some of them.’ ‘Are they Christians?’ ‘I do not think so.’

“In that adjoining room, he put the question very strongly, but still there were just as many who rose. He told them to meet their pastor the next night. Next day he left for Dublin, but no sooner had he reached there than he received a telegram from the pastor saying that he must return and help him, for a great revival had commenced, and there were more out the second night than the first. Hun­dreds were added to the church at the time.”

“That was the beginning of Mr. Moody’s work as an international evangelist. Out of that work came the religious quickening of Great Britain and Ire­land, and the salvation of thousands upon thousands of souls throughout the world. Well was it for England and all Europe that the invalid woman did not cease to pray for the ministry of God’s world.”

(Quoted from: "A Mighty Means of Usefulness - A Plea for Intercessory Prayer", James McClure. The book was written before 1923 as far as I can tell….)

So central is the place of prayer in the economy of God that Samuel saw it as a sin against the Lord not to pray for Israel, in a time of great failure and need.
1Sam. 12:23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way..

The Christians in Wuhan are awaking to their need to turn to God in prayer
Just two days ago, I received a message from a dear sister in Hong Kong, in which she wrote about someone who had been in touch with a Christian in Wuhan. Among other things, the person in Wuhan said this: “The lukewarm believers who never pray are now crying out to the Lord. And the nonbelievers are coming to seek salvation.”

Far from being cheered by this, I was saddened that it would take a threat and a danger to awaken Christians to their need of God. Lukewarmness is not normal! It should not be normal. And who is to say that the believers won’t sink into their material life and forget God again?

So it was after 9/11 in the US. For a while the churches were full of inquirers, shaken by events, but then, it all subsided to ‘normal’.

O’ dear ones, Yeshua still asks: “Could you not watch one hour?” (Mark 14:37)

And again, Luke 18:7-8 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

Israel
As might have been expected, the Peace Plan so called is brewing much opposition and trouble from many sides. It is possible that we may see a significant spike in terror attacks. It may be that this year becomes a year of great trouble, not of peace.

But we will continue to do as Abraham who “stood yet before the LORD.” (Genesis 18:22)

These times of trouble and of judgments are yet also times of fulfillment.
God is committed covenantally to the physical seed of Abraham to make yet them a blessing in the earth. Read Romans 11 if you desire more light on this. It was clear to the apostles that the fulfillment of all of what the prophets said, was coming!

Acts 3:24 Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.
Acts 3:25 Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.

(Read Acts 3 if you wish to gain a better understanding of the background)

We prayed for Israel’s redemption and fulfillment
  • We Acknowledged before God that He is the God of the covenant who will fulfill His promises now and in the future.
  • We acknowledged before the Lord that although we are, as a nation, far from God, yet we are inscribed on His hand! (Isaiah 49:16)
  • We prayed for the physical seed of Abraham that they might also become the spiritual seed of Abraham. 
  • We Prayed from Ezekiel 37:11 that God and only He can, will bring us out of our graves and breath life into us 
  • We reminded God that these are His covenant people
  • We asked God to come to those who feel furthest from hope, from the faith, from seeing God and who think He has forsaken us
  • We asked God to send His Holy Spirit and breathe on His people. In Joel 2:28, He gives vision, in Ezekiel 37, life, in Zechariah 12:10 His Spirit opens the eyes of Israel to "see". And He gives  repentance and brokenness that cries out for Mercy.
  • We asked that He would make Israel’s offspring a blessing on the earth, to the world, and to the Church. 
  • “Your people are desperate, Lord, they are Lost! Lost! Hell-bound without you! Intervene O’ God and save your people.”
  • We cried from Mark 10:46-52 "Have Mercy on me" (our nation), open my eyes that I might see YOU, dear Lord…. 
  • We cried out to God for the diaspora Jews - the He might draw their hearts and do for them all that we are asking Him to do for our nation.
  • “Lord, let those who live in the diaspora flee to you for refuge…. Let them also come to Israel as the only refuge left for the Jewish people.”
  • Lord call on your lost sheep, and let them hear your voice once again!”
  • “Thank you, Lord, that your Word through the prophets is 100% true and sure. 

We prayed for Israel’s security at what seems to be the beginning of troubles
We reflected on the astounding fact that all it took to stop a nation as great as China in its tracks, is one small virus. History is full of examples such as this: the mosquito has changed the course of history. And the hornet was used by the Lord to drive out the Canaanites in some places. (see Deuteronomy 7:20, Joshua 24:12) In other words, it doesn't have to be some big-deal drama or weapon or any such thing.
  • Lord, do whatever is needed to stop the mad hatred of Iran against Israel
  • Lord, do the same with Hezbollah, and Hamas and all those who are driven by the madness of this hatred
  • We prayed the Lord would use whatever means he deems fit, natural, supernatural, or human, such as diplomacy and politics (He did that with Truman, for instance.)
  • “Lord preserve, protect Israel beyond its natural ability.”
  • “Defend Israel from this demonic passion for destroying and obliterating the Jewish people, you preserved the nations for centuries, and you have not brought us back to be destroyed.”
  • We prayed that Israel will not agree to anything that is not of God in His plan for her.”
  • We asked the Lord to give guidance to our leaders, even at this uncertain time before the elections
  • We cried in desperation that the Lord would overrule in the affairs of state in Israel and give her a government that is of His own will and for His own purpose.
  • We lamented the fact that Israel is lacking in good leadership at this moment, but acknowledged our faith and trust in Him to lead us unto the fulness of His Will

We prayed for the Body
  • We prayed for the Body in Wuhan that there will be a true revival and renewing of passion and love for God and not just a passing turning because of fear
  • We prayed for the Christians in Wuhan that the Lord would preserve them and make them a light to their neighbors, and that many would turn to the Lord and be truly saved
  • We prayed for the Body here in the Land for revival
  • We prayed that the Holy Spirit will pass by on the “streets” and be as the town crier who cries: “Awake, Awake.” 
  • We prayed for every believer to awaken from the sleep of the love of the world. 
  • We prayed that in every believing home, people would respond to the Crier to awaken.
  • “Save the Body from lukewarmness, dear God.”
  • “Draw us deeper into you, O’ Lord.”
  • “Have Mercy upon us, Lord, save us from ourselves!”
  • “Ignite in our hearts a passion for your Word.”
  • Lord, make us true, real, steadfast believers, transformed, and obedient to you.”
  • “Lord, help us to live out your word.”
  • “Lord help to live in the reality of your presence.”
  • “Quicken your Body Lord, we want to live and know and experience Your Life!”

Thank you for standing with us in there challenging times. May you too be stirred to call upon the Lord and find Him more than enough for every need, and for every challenge.

Blessings from Jerusalem,


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But our Eyes Are Upon You -- Prayer and Intercession January 30, 2020

1/31/2020

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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

****
“But our eyes are upon you.”
This has been quite a week for the world and for Israel. The recent discovery of the Wuhan virus, the dramatic unveiling of the “Deal of the Century” peace plan, and the indictment of Israel’s prime minister, Bibi Netanyahu. Wow...

No doubt, rivers of digital ink are going to be poured out, with analysis, opinions, and explanations. Not only is Israel’s government and people are divided about the plan,   Christians too will be divided if this is from God or not, and how it fits into the prophetic calendar.

But the only “opinion” that really matters is the Lord’s.

What matters for us as intercessors and pray-ers is the Word of God. We may have many opinions, thoughts, interpretations of the Word, about the times, the season, the hour, whatever we may call it. But God is interested in His own opinions and not ours. As I have shared before, once when I was greatly moved by some terrible event that happened on the Gaza border, the Lord sternly cut my prayers short with this warning, “Ofer, don’t pray your opinions to Me!” I was responding to events in a sourish manner, praying emotionally, rather than standing before the Lord for His Word (will) to be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

And so we want to keep our eyes on the Lord Himself

Dan. 6:10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.

Do you notice that? “as was his custom since early days…”

Daniel had been going along with God’s program, without really being moved by threats, decrees, events.  And guess what? It was his praying over the words of Jeremiah that changed history, not the politicians of the day.

Isaiah 40 - What a view of our God — Our Limitless, Infinite God
The view I need, the view you need is of God as He is in Himself. Being human, we limit God in our own minds and heart, and “man” becomes a great thing, for good or bad. We need a sight of God to correct that. And the only safe, reliable, and true revelation of who God is, as He sees Himself, is found in the Word of God. And if you’re and my God does not fit what He has revealed Himself in the Word to be, either we are worshiping the wrong god, or our God is not God enough, as someone said.

Isaiah 40 gives us a view of God that we need, especially now. We must get a hold of this Word of God, we must regain the sight of our supreme God, infinite in all His attributes, limitless, unbound. Our great God.

“God’s will cannot be thwarted. So invincible is his power that no one, not even the greatest king or nation on earth, can “stay his hand.” No one, absolutely no one, has the right to question him, asking, “What have you done?” He alone is Lord of heaven and earth; he does as he pleases; he answers to no one but himself.” (1)

The wonder of it all is that this infinitely powerful God, is also infinitely good! His intent and purpose in this chapter are to bring salvation to His people and to reveal His Glory in the earth.

I highly recommend that you read this chapter devotionally. Thank God for who He is as He reveals Himself to be in this chapter. I guarantee you that you will be uplifted, your sight will clear up, and the things of earth will regain their proper size (Isaiah 40:22-23)

We prayed from this chapter.

We thanked God for His great greatness:
  • As the creator: Isaiah 40:12, 21-22, 25-26
  • For His infinite Spirit, knowledge, justice: Isaiah 40:13-14
  • For His authority and dominion: Isaiah 40:15-17, 23

We thanked God for His Sovereignty and prayed
  • That He would carry out His own plan for Israel, and not her own vision of herself
  • That He would carry out His own plan in spite of the nations resistance and rebellion
  • That He would carry out His own plan in spite of the Church’s view and plan that is otherwise
  • We prayed that God will disappoint all wrong opinions of Him, and establish His own purpose for, in, and through Israel.
  • We prayed for His Glory to shine forth as He comes to redeem His people
  • We prayed that whatever is not of the Lord in the peace plan, He will obliterate and remove
  • We prayed that whatever is of the Lord in these plans, he will establish…
  • We cried out for the Will of God to be done now on the earth and in Israel.

We thanked God for our Savior-Shepherd-Comforter Isaiah 40:1-2, 10-11
The expressions in these verses are breathtaking. Here God is saying to a stiff-necked, rebellious people who have rejected Him, “It is hard for you, sin has caused you great sorrow. I am coming with saving mercies, which will comfort your heart!” To a wayward people who have gone their own way (see Isaiah 53:6), He says, “I will look for you, I will find you, will gather you in my arms, I will bring you to myself.”
  • We cried out to God to come and comfort His people in great saving mercies
  • We cried out to God to bring the comfort of His presence once again in this land
  • We asked the Lord to send the comforter, who would reveal our savior to us as a nation
  • We cried for the gathering of our people from the diaspora
  • We asked for God to retrieve us from all the ways and byways where they have been aimlessly walking in their lost condition.
  • We prayed for the healing sight of The One who was lifted up on the cross.
  • We prayed for the drawing power of the cross and the sight of the crucified one to draw the hearts of Israel to God (John 12:32)
  • We asked the Lord to open the eyes of the Jewish people, to His great goodness, His great tenderness, Hi great forgiveness in Messiah, and His great glorious Being. O’ that we might, as a nation, know the I AM, the great God of Israel and the Father of our Messiah Yeshua

We prayed for the Body of Messiah to be brought again to a great high view of God
  • We prayed for a revelation of our Great High God as Isiah had in Isaiah 6
  • We prayed for God’s coal from the altar of the cross to be applied to our mouths!
  • We prayed for ministry to flow out of this kind of revelation of Yeshua both crucified and reigning supreme
  • We cried out to God in repentance that we, as a Body, walk in a different spirit than the Holy Spirit.
  • We cried out to God in repentance that we as a Body walk by a different or changed Word, rather than His Word. (Our will or His Will?)
  • We asked the Lord to rise up in great authority in the Body and to bring His Body to be under Himself as the Head
  • We asked for true worship to arise out of a renewed sight of Him as He is.

“Oh O Lord Jesus, how long, how long, Ere we shout the glad song, Christ returneth! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Amen. Hallelujah! Amen.”

May the reading of Isaiah 40 bring you a new revelation of the greatness of God, of His great love and tenderness as our Shepherd and Savior. May you have a renewed appreciation and joy of your salvation and redemption. May you be revived in your walk after God with renewed passion and desire to give yourself to Him again and entirely. May you give your life to seek His face. May you give yourself to intercede for His Kingdom, for Israel, and for the Church.


Blessings from Jerusalem,






_________________________________________________________________
1. Barrett, Matthew. None Greater (p. 187). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.



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A warning to the nations, a wake-up call to the Jewish people and to the Body of Christ

1/23/2020

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Fifth World Holocaust Forum - The largest diplomatic event in Israel’s history!
The Forum this year will commemorate the 75th liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp.

It theme is: “Remembering the Holocaust, Fighting Antisemitism,”

The peculiar thing about this year’s Forum: 
It was hoped that 10 or 15 world leaders would agree to attend. Instead, it has become the largest diplomatic event in Israel’s history. 

Delegations from 49 countries, including 41 heads of states, are in Israel at this moment. The US vice president, Mr. Pence, Russia’s president, Mr. Putin, Prince Charles of Britain, French president Mr. Macron, and many other kings and heads of states.

Why is this significant - A  warning to the nations
First: We are in a time of growing denial of the Holocaust, and an alarming increase of anti-Semitism in the world. Significantly, the leaders of the nations are acknowledging it.

Second: We are living in the time of Israel’s restoration, and this could be God, calling the nations to warn them before they descend into deeper darkness and further rebellion against God, His people, and His unfolding plan. It will be very destructive, Psalm 2:10-12


Here is why I think this is the case
Last night, on Wednesday, Prominent Holocaust scholar, Professor Yehuda Bauer, delivered the keynote address at a festive dinner held for about 45 heads of states that were present. (Putin and Pence came only this morning on Thursday.) 

He claimed (rightly I believe) that the deadliest military conflict in history, claiming anywhere between 70 to 85 million lives, including 6 million Jews, was caused by hatred for the Jews!

He was given eleven minutes to do this, eleven Minutes! They spent far more time eating than listening to what I believe is, a warning from God.

The most chilling part is Prof. Bauer’s quote of Hitler: “Today I will once more be a prophet: If the international Jewish financiers in and outside Europe should succeed in plunging the nations once more into a world war” – as we all know, World War I was caused by the Jews, right? – “then the result will not be the bolshevization of the earth, and thus the victory of Jewry, but the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe” Die Vernichtung der jüdischen Rasse in Europa. So, the Jewish capitalists rule the West, and what they want is the victory of Bolshevism. The result will be the annihilation of the Jews.“

And here is the warning: “Anti-Semitism is not a Jewish illness, but a non-Jewish one; it is a cancer that kills and destroys your nations and your countries.” And, this, “…..fight anti-Semitism. Not because of the Jews, but to protect your societies from a deadly cancer.” 

The caption for the text in the Times of Israel was: Holocaust scholar’s speech to world leaders: Anti-Semitism destroys your nations

Read more about it here

Will it be heeded? Will the nations respond? Have they read Psalm 2? Will your country  respond!

Personally, I believe that although diplomatic activity regarding these things is important, these efforts will never win the battle against Israel-hatred, and antisemitism. It is a spiritual battle that is leading to the final confrontation between the nations and God. We as believers have an important role to play, we are called to stand before the Lord and call upon His name.

"Israel is God’s Spectacle to all the world, by which HIS MERCY SHALL BE MADE KNOWN - a Visible Demonstration in The Last Days - to “the nations of them that are saved,” Rev. 21:24. Israel - The Mystery Nation - carries through into The Revelation Prophecy. THERE appears those who are SEALED IN THEIR FOREHEADS, and “who follow the Lamb, whithersoever He goeth.” Redeemed? Yes. Washed in The Blood of The Lamb? Yes. Saved by Grace through Faith? Yes. BUT the ONLY NATION mentioned BY NAME among the Ransomed Throngs in The Revelation Vision. For these very reasons, we declare that the anti-semitic spirit - HATE THE JEWS - is one of the most deadly spirits in the world." (Rex Andrews, The Mystery of Israel")


We must pray!

But this is also a warning to Israel and the Jews of the Diaspora 
In March of 1939, weeks before Britain published the ‘white papers’ (May 1939) effectively slamming shut the doors of Palestine to the Jews of Europe, the Jews of Poland, sent a desperate telegram to London, begging the British to keep the doors of Palestine open! 

It went unheeded. You can read about it here.

[I thank God that my grandmother, a dentist in Poland, saw the dangers already in 1933 when Hitler came to power and pushed the family out of Europe. By 1935, her family was already in Palestine. Just four years later, the doors were slammed shut!]

Just as most of the Jews of Europe delayed dealing with leaving Europe for Palestine, so today, millions of Jews are refusing to read the signs of the times and are delaying their decision to come to Israel. 

We must pray!

The Body of Christ must wake up!
Instead of being so taken up with their comfort, welfare, and seeking of blessing as their highest goal in life, Christians should awaken to the dangerous times they are living in. Dangerous to their nation, dangerous to the believers, and dangerous to Israel. 

Christians must learn to seek the face of God, make the Bible their primary book, and learn to pray with understanding!

While some focus on praying for the political side of these things, I prefer to pray the scriptures. There is no indication that Daniel, for instance, ever used his political ‘connections’ to try to influence the king of Babylon to restore the Jews. He prayed from the Word (Jeremiah). Neither did Esther. Her act was not a political one but an intercessory one. They prayed according to the Word of God, and even risked their lives to do so! So should we, (pray I mean.)

Pray for the gathering of the Jews from the nations. There are many other scriptures and promises regarding God’s gathering of the Jews from the lands where they willingly remain in exile. Take some time, find them, pray them, I urge you. See for instance Ezekiel 39:21-29

Pray for your nation. God’s warnings are not idle threats. Remember the devastation of Germany in WWII. Take a look at the condition of the nations around Israel at this time. See how the cancer of the Jew-hatred and Israel-hatred has devastated their lands.

Psalm 2 is an example, See also Zechariah 12, especially Zech 12:10

Pray for the salvation of Israel Ezekiel 39:21-29, Zechariah 12:10-13:1

Pray for the Body of Christ in the nations. You can find many places in the scriptures that speak of the spiritual condition of Israel; there are great parallels to the condition of the Body today. 

Read Malachi. Is the Church offering God worthy sacrifices? Is the Church wholeheartedly serving the Lord in the Word? Is the Church faithful to God’s view of marriage, money? Is the Church faithful to God and serving him wholeheartedly? 

Will you pray for the purifying work of the Lord in your own life? In your fellowship’s life - Malachi 3:1-5. 

Will you trust the Lord to work in this fiery way in your own life. Do not be afraid to yield to His nail-pierced hands as He works to sanctify you and prepare you for the things ahead.


Blessing from Jerusalem,


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Prayer and Intercession January 17, 2020

1/17/2020

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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

****
Mercy
Rom. 11:30 For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience,
Rom. 11:31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy.
Rom. 11:32 For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.

God’s Love regarding Israel is expressed in three ways
It was in His sovereign Love that God chose Israel - Deuteronomy 7:7
It was in His Love that God covenanted with Israel - Jeremiah 31:3, 31:31-34
It will be in His Love and mercy (mercy is ‘love acting’) He will restore them - Hosea 14:4, Romans 11:28

Our understanding of God’s Love
Our understanding of Love is so hopelessly entangled by the ideas of the world, that we need revelation from the Word of God as to what it is! Will the anti-Christ seem loving, caring? Will he offer false mercy and grace to the world? Indeed it seems so. (See the beginning verses in 1John 4.)

We must get a profound and real revelation of the Love of God as it is in the cross of Yeshua, His redemptive death. It is there where we see the true light and begin to understand what Love actually is. And it is there that we start to understand Yeshua’s call to follow Him. 

1John 4:9 In this the Love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.
1John 4:10 In this is Love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (or as JFB paraphrases it: “Not that we did any act of love at any time to God, but that He did the act of love to us in sending Christ.”)

At no time has Israel ever achieved or deserved God’s love, choice, covenants. We have failed miserably so many times, and yet! God will have His day and say and way. Romans 11:31 says that the same mercy that came to the gentiles through calvary will be the mercy that restores Israel.

God’s Love is unconditional, and His purposes incapable of failing.

In the power of the cross: 
God the Son will reveal Himself to us - Zechariah 12:10
God the Spirit will come upon us to give us repentance - Zechariah 12:10
God the Father will gather us to Himself to be with Him forever - Jeremiah 24:7, Zephaniah 3:14-17, Ezekiel 37:26-28

Israel’s restoration to God through Messiah seems to me to be the most important (not the only important) point of prayer. The longer we pray for her salvation and restoration, the more aware we are of the battle in prayer over this point. The stakes are enormous for the world and the Church: Romans 11:11, 15
  • O’ for the Redeemer to come out of Zion and turn away ungodliness from Jacob (Romans 11:26)
  • Save now O’ Lord, we pray, Save NOW, send success O’ God and redeem your people (Psalm 118:25)
  • Turn us, and we shall be turned O’ God Lamentations 5:21
  • Purge us with hyssop (sprinkle thy blood upon us), and we shall be clean (Psalm 51:7)
  • Hide your face from our sins, and look upon your own Son at the cross dear Lord (Psalm 51:9
  • Create in us a clean (pure) heart O’ God (Psalm 51:10)
  • Restore to us your presence dear Lord, let our King come and reign
  • Lord send upon Israel a longing for you and for your Word (1Samuel 7:2)
  • Send upon us a hunger for your Word and your Word only )Amos 8:11)
  • How long O’ Lord will you have your people sit in darkness (Isaiah 9:2)
  • Lord make Israel a praise in the earth (Isaiah 62:7 - without salvation, how could Israel be a praise on the earth for God?) 
  • Restore your reputation in the earth by the salvation of Israel dear Lord (Ezekiel 36:22-27) 
  • Open Israel’s eyes to the fountain for cleansing that has been opened since calvary (Zechariah 13:1)
  • Rule over us, our Great King, with an outstretched arm (Yeshua revealed - Ezekiel 20:33-34)
  • Draw us to yourself O’ Lord by the Love of God in our crucified King (Jeremiah 31:3)
  • Lord, we so long for yourself, your presence in this land, we cannot stand it. Return O’ God into our midst as you have promised (Ezekiel 37:27)

Pray for the Body of Messiah
Pray for the Body in the same way. There must be a revelation of the cross, a hunger for the Word, a longing for Yeshua Himself, an overwhelming revelation of our need for Him as believers! See Psalm 42:1-9, see (and pray) Psalm 63:1-9

Pray for the new situation in the ME
It seems quite providential that the US has taken out such an arch-terrorist as Sulimani. Is this God’s way of bringing the US into the fray? Many analysts are saying many things, but we firmly believe the future is in God’s hands, and He is sovereignly leading events. 
If you need inspiration to pray into these matters, pray from Isaiah 40, especially Isaiah 40:4-5, 12-18

There is no doubt: God is sovereignly leading events to His desired ends, although it may seem as if everything is out of control. Yet, this leads us to a greater vigil rather than laxity in prayer (Luke 18:1-8)

It is our sincerest hope that these communications will serve to develop your own prayer life and call to intercession. That these communications will stir up your Love for God and a more deep-seated desire to seek His face over His Word.


Blessings from Jerusalem,








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