A Cease Fire has been reached
A Cease-Fire has been agreed on between Islamic Jihad and Israel.

Here are the conditions:

• Islamic Jihad will cease launching rockets into Israel, Israel will cease its counter attacks
• Israel will cease with targeted assassinations of armed Islamic Jihad members
• the IDF will not use live fire against demonstrators during the Friday demonstrations. Islamic Jihad will keep the protests peaceful.

The toll of the two-day fighting:

• 34 Palestinians have been killed, 25 of them were terrorists
• 450 rockets were fired at Israel. 90% were intercepted

Two articles for those who desire a deeper understanding and analysis:

• 1. The Gaza strike and what it means: click here
• 2. The unprecedented security threats Israel is facing: click here

Our Intercessions
Wednesday was the second day of the battle, so we kept praying regarding the conflict, as well as for Israel as we usually do. We read Psalm 47, and Psalm 67

Psa. 47:0  To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
Psa. 47:1   Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples!  Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
Psa. 47:2  For the LORD Most High is awesome;  He is a great King over all the earth.
Psa. 47:3  He will subdue the peoples under us,  And the nations under our feet.
Psa. 47:4  He will choose our inheritance for us,  The excellence of Jacob whom He loves.     Selah
Psa. 47:5  God has gone up with a shout,  The LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
Psa. 47:6  Sing praises to God, sing praises!  Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
Psa. 47:7  For God is the King of all the earth;  Sing praises with understanding.
Psa. 47:8  God reigns over the nations;  God sits on His holy throne.
Psa. 47:9  The princes of the people have gathered together,  The people of the God of Abraham.  For the shields of the earth belong to God;  He is greatly exalted.

Psa. 67:0 To the Chief Musician. On stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
Psa. 67:1 God be merciful to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us, Selah
Psa. 67:2  That Your way may be known on earth,  Your salvation among all nations.
Psa. 67:3  Let the peoples praise You, O God;  Let all the peoples praise You.
Psa. 67:4  Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy!  For You shall judge the people righteously,  And govern the nations on earth.  Selah
Psa. 67:5  Let the peoples praise You, O God;  Let all the peoples praise You.
Psa. 67:6  Then the earth shall yield her increase;  God, our own God, shall bless us.
Psa. 67:7  God shall bless us,  And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.

We took time to declare that the Lord is Most High--this does not mean that God is a little higher than everybody else; He is Supreme. God is in a class of His own! How can He be compared with the creation?! Psalm 113 says that God has to humble Himself to look into the heavens (Psalm 113:4-6,) yet He lifts up the poor out of the dust. How wondrous is our God!  He is awesome, meaning that people are struck with awe and fear when they see the mighty works of God in the earth! Psalm 47:3, but also Jeremiah 33:9

• Lord you are supreme, there is no one like thee in the heavens
• You are before all, and above all, you are the beginning and the end - you are awesome!
• Lord, you have chosen this nation and people for your own purposes, and many are the nations that oppose your purposes. Be thou exalted O Lord in the situation
• Lord use this situation to bring glory to your name — fulfill your purposes despite the terrific opposition to them
• Lord let the situation serve as a catapult to the formation of the government you want for this nation
• Rule over our enemies, take their diabolical wisdom from them, let the darkness they have chosen to imbibe, turn to confusion
• Yours are the shields of the earth dear Lord, protect your people

We prayed for Israel in the light of Psalm 47 and Psalm 67
“God will be gracious unto us, and He will bless us and will shine His face upon us.” So goes the verse in Hebrew. It is an emphatic declaration of faith—our covenant God will fulfill what He has promised. His grace will win the day in Israel and for Israel. 

O’ what a shining this will be! The Glory of God shining in the Face of Messiah, beaming His Holy Grace, and Holy Love, and Holy Judgment on sin and darkness as it appears at the cross. (Rev. 5:6 A Lamb as though it had been slain!)

• Lord shine your face upon Israel. Surely this is the light of the knowledge of the Glory of God in the face of Yeshua the Messiah! Shine, dear Lord, shine the glory and beauty of you Son upon this nation.
• Be gracious unto us dear Lord, destroy our self righteous by the revelation of Yeshua crucified
• Shine the Light of Messiah into the heart of darkness this nation dwells in (Isaiah 9:2)
• Lord, you are the God of the “again”, you will gather us again, cleanse us again, covenant with us again (the New Covenant in Yeshua), sanctify us again, and best of all, you will come to dwell in our midst again!

We prayed for the nations in this light
Especially those nations around us, who do not rejoice but rather hate the people of God and the plan of God.

Note  in Psalm 67 the effect Israel’s salvation will have on the nations, they will know His way; His salvation. Don’t fail to note this simple and wonderful truth: God’s blessing and saving Israel, will make His salvation known in the earth, again. (The world has rejected God and the whole Judeo-Christian ethic, as a myth, and have turned to darkness as their light and understanding.)

“The nations will praise you, O God, the nations will all praise you.” The earth will yield her increase! God will get the harvest He has desired.

• Lord, let Israel become a place of the shining of your glory, beaming your grace, your salvation into the nations that surround us.
• Lord, those nations that are around us have made it their goal and purpose to destroy your work in the land, to destroy the very people who will be the means of blessing to them. Shine your truth, your light, into those nations. Let them see the power of your grace toward Israel and let them turn. Shine, dear Lord, into Gaza, into Syria, into Iran, Into Lebanon and Jordan, into Egypt and Saudi Arabia
• Lord you are the Lord of the harvest (Matthew 9:38), send laborers to those darkened nations and bring Your Light

We prayed for the Body of Messiah in this light

• Lord make us a place of the shining of your face, to Israel
• Trim our wicks, fill us with oil, burn within us and through us dear Lord
• Shine your truth in our midst, let us live out the Word unto you and to one another
• Let us be good ground for the seed of your Word dear Lord, not hard ground, not shallow ground, not thorny soil, but a good soil that you might receive the full grain in the head (Mark 4:28)
• Prepare your body for the harvest that is surely coming, dear Lord
• Prepare the Church in the Arab nations likewise, dear Lord

Thank you, dear friends, for sticking with us in prayer. May the Lord Himself shine His face upon you, revealing Messiah to you in ever deepening ways. May His light upon you be a source of great blessing and great joy, and may you delight in Him as your chief joy and bring Him much glory.

Blessings from Jerusalem,

God's Providence in the affairs of man
God's purposes are often achieved by the most simple events directed by His Providence in ordinary ways that lead unerringly to the fulfillment of His will and purpose.
Take, for instance, the meeting between Saul, the soon-to-be-king, and the prophet Samuel. If you take time to read the account, (1Samuel 9:1-10), you will see that God had already made a choice, this is why the chapter begins with a description of Saul. 
But then, what leads him to Samuel and his anointing as king, begins with the loss of 3 donkeys. Actually, it probably starts with a negligent servant who forgot to tie the donkeys or put them in their corral.

This is Providence: "The continuing and often unseen activity of God in sustaining his universe, providing for the needs of every creature, and preparing for the completion of his eternal purposes." (1) Or, "that continued exercise of the divine energy, whereby the Creator preserves all His creatures, is operative in all that comes to pass in the world, and directs all things to their appointed end." (2)
Although people are free to act as they please, God weaves it all to fulfill His own will and purpose. Ordinary decisions, failures, and even wrath, (See Psalm 76:10 and the comment below (3), are all woven, by the Lord into the story of His unfolding and unfailing Will. 

Psa. 135:6 Whatever the LORD pleases He does, In heaven and in earth, In the seas and in all deep places.

In other words, God accomplishes whatsoever He wants without difficulty. (About that last verse, just ask Jonah re the fish that was there just where they tossed him out of the boat, and just in time to swallow him before he drowned.
Encouraged by this view of God's sovereignty and Providence, we prayed in the faith that God is moving to fulfill His plan, in spite of what it looks like to us.

We prayed for the elections
Most of those who pray for Israel, think they know quite clearly what God's next step should be; we are no exemption many times. But God's Wisdom far surpasses human ways, and we pleaded with Him to exercise His providential interventions in the affairs of man.
Much of our system is corrupt, there is an enormous volume of wheeling and dealing between the parties, manipulation of the media is a daily occurrence. And yet, God is sovereign and though unseen He is working out His purposes according to His Word!

• We thanked God for His Providence in our lives
• We thanked God for His Providence in our nation
• We asked the Lord to work, in and through all of what "man" is doing, and bringing about the right coalition, that will serve the nation best.
• We prayed the manipulations of man will actually end up bringing His will to pass
• We upheld before the Lord His many promises to Israel (you can pick any that are on your heart and mind to pray into.)
• We prayed for God's agenda to come to pass, although each party has its own agenda for the nation
• We thanked God for his amazing Providence in the time of Esther. Ezra and Nehemiah would not have been had it not been for her and Mordechai. We cried out to the Lord for His overruling in all of Israel's affairs. 

We prayed for the security of this nation in the light of Providence.
"The army's Northern Command said Thursday it had canceled all leave for combat brigades on Israel's northern border, just hours after the military's commander in the north warned Israel would offer a "harsh" response to any Hezbollah attack." (4)
"The fact that Israel has found it necessary to attack targets so far from its traditional area of military operations close to its immediate borders is indicative of the alarming escalation that has taken place in recent months in the threat Iran poses to Israeli security." (5)

• We thanked God for the recent successes Israel has had in thwarting a significant terror attack from Syria, and the destruction of a munitions facility in the very heartland of Hezbollah.
• "Let God arise, Let His enemies be scattered; Let those also who hate Him flee before Him." (This was Moses' declaration whenever the cloudy pillar moved ahead to the next resting place, all towards the promised land (Psalm 68). We declared it, thanked God for His moving to fulfill His Word, and pleaded with Him that he will also cause those who hate Him to flee from His presence.
• We asked the Lord to cause our army providentially to be placed in strategic places
• We asked the Lord to providentially, work out Israel's readiness for the promised Hezbollah retaliation
• We prayed for all the intelligence Israel needs regarding the enemy's intentions and plans
• We asked for the Lord Himself to show up on the battle field as in 2Chro 20:22, or Zechariah 12:4, 8-9
• We prayed for God's Providence in protecting the people if and when the rockets start flying
• We expressed our faith and trust and confidence in the Almighty, Sovereign, Merciful Redeemer of Israel

We prayed for Israel's redemption
The scriptures describe a sudden providential opening of the heavens and a colossal outpouring of the Holy Spirit of Grace and Repentance. It will be as shocking as the Day of Pentecost was to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The main feature of this outpouring will be the revelation of the Son of God as the one we pierced, (crucified.) For those of us, who live in the daily grind of this land, it's hard to imagine such a sudden change. Yet it will be!!!
We prayed into this "suddenly" of Zechariah 12:10

• We thanked God for the Grace it will be - such an outpouring!
• In a moment the veil will be taken off our people's eyes
• In a moment we shall see Him, our King and Redeemer
• We thanked God for the coming end of our estrangement from Him
• We pleaded for the heavens to open and for the "rain" to come — we do not want just a "revival," we are not looking for some excitement, we are looking for HIM! It is Yeshua we want, it is for Yeshua we plead
• As the famine drove Jacob's family to the arms of Joseph, so dear Lord let the hunger for the Word of God compel us to your feet
• Lord, the Day of Atonement, Oh let it be a day of desperation, a day of feeling the hopelessness of sin and let this desperation drive us to you!

We prayed for the Body of Messiah

• Lord let the hope of your coming revelation be the vision of the Body in the land
• Let this hope and vision sober the Body up to get ready for such a Day of Revelation
• Lord, bless our congregation (El Roii) with an awakening and anticipation for your coming
• Lord shake the Body awake
• Let the believers take you seriously and prepare by yielding to your spirit, soul, and body.
• Refresh your Body in the things of God dear Lord Psalm 68:9
• Luke 21:34 Lord let us be sobered up to greatly anticipate your coming Glory

Thank you for praying and standing for God's purposes to be fulfilled, all for His Glory!

Blessings,

_____________________________________________________

1. Manser, M. H. (2009). Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies. London: Martin Manser.

2. Cairns, A. (2002). In Dictionary of Theological Terms (pp. 350–351). Belfast; Greenville, SC: Ambassador Emerald International.

3. 'The fierceness of man shall turn to thy praise'. This statement of God's providential control (to have its supreme demonstration at Calvary, cf. Acts 2:23) is the main thrust of the verse.

4. https://www.timesofisrael.com/as-tensions-spike-in-north-idf-cancels-leave-for-combat-brigades/

5. https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14784/israel-proxy-war-iran

Dear Fellow Intercessor and Pray-er: This blog is meant to be a teaching tool, rather than just a list of prayer points. We sincerely pray and hope that you will be enriched by it and provoked to a deeper walk with God. Too, we pray that it will aid you in your own growth as a believer and a pray-er.

1Tim. 1:15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

What this verse seems to be emphasizing is that we must internalize the truth of this statement, that Yeshua came into the world to save sinners; that is what the cross is all about. And as exalted as Paul’s position, and as profound as His experience with the Lord was, he never lost sight of His own need as a sinner saved by Grace. Notice that his statement regarding himself is in the present tense, “I am chief,” not “I was chief.” This does not mean that he continued in sin, but rather, that, once saved,” he never lost sight of the Grace he received at the cross.

Christians often lose sight of this, and as a result, rather than be moved with compassion for those caught in the chains of darkness, they respond in self-righteousness. Paul’s response to the Grace he received, on the other hand, was to give himself to proclaim the good news of the gospel, continuing in the same heart as his master, Yeshua. Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,  Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives  And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed.”

In Luke 9:56, Yeshua said that He “did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” Rather, He came to “destroy the works of the devil.” 1John 3:8

When you see people on the streets of your town, can you hear the sound of dragging chains? Do you see their slavery? Is your heart aroused in an anguished cry to God for mercy? Or do you only congratulate yourself for not being like them, and move on with your life? [Read Lamentations to see how Jeremiah identified with his sinful people.]

We prayed for the “shackled” in the Land
Primarily we were led to pray for those caught in the LGBT movement. Israel is a champion of gay rights, our education system is full of this. The internet and media are so full of confusing messages to youth that it is no wonder that they are utterly confused and bewildered as to the meaning of gender, sex, etc.

• We prayed for mercy on this Land regarding the bondage to sin all around us
• We prayed for the youth of this Land - that God might pour out His Spirit upon them (Joel 2:28)
• We prayed for the education system that seems bent on sowing more “confusion” among children and youth.
• We prayed for mercy and light to come upon those caught in the chains of LGBT
• We prayed for the gospel to go out with power, especially the young
• We prayed from Ezekiel 36:25, “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.” [Water and the Spirit are two aspects of one reality: namely, God’s renewal of the fallen and unresponsive human heart. See John 3:5]
• We cried to God to fulfill His word in Deuteronomy 30:6
• We cried for God to supply our nation with the one thing we do not have: A Spirit of Repentance, but he has promised to supply this too! Psalm 80:3, 7, 20 [The word there in Hebrew is to return us, turn us, bring us back to you. How? By shining your face upon us = Grace.]
• Lord you did this for us
• Lord, you revealed yourself to us, we are no better or different. Have mercy on your people.
• Lord supply the repentance we do not have, give us the brokenness we cannot accomplish by ourselves. 
• Work through the Holy Spirit to bring conviction of sin, and at the same time, He is the power that sets us free! John 16:8-10

We prayed for the Body of Messiah in the Land
Matt. 5:15, “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.”

The Body of Messiah is meant to be a lighthouse for the nation, that people may see the light and come to the “harbor” of salvation and safety. The Light is Messiah shinning through His Body. We, as intercessors, are to be as lighthouse keepers, keeping the “glass’ clean for the light to shine through. Removing the “bushel basket” [Worldliness in the Body, preoccupation with self, sin…etc.]

• Lord cleanse your Body in the Land and make it a Lighthouse for you
• Lord shine through the Body with the gospel in great power
• Lord let your people turn from preoccupation with themselves and dedicate their lives anew to you
• Lord, we want to respond to your call on the mount to “watch” with you at this hour
• Lord let us be imbued with the Spirit of Prayer and Intercession for the people of Israel
• Lord let us stand with you in your own intercessions for this nation and people unto salvation
• Lord teach us how to pray your heart
  

Can you watch "one hour" with your Lord?
Mat 26:40