IsraelPrayerCenter
  • Home
  • Weekly Prayer & Intercession
  • TOUCHES
  • "BERÜHRUNGEN"
  • Audio/Video
    • Video
    • Video English/German
    • Audio
  • About Us
  • Subscribe

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,


0 Comments

Prayer and Intercession February 20, 2020

2/21/2020

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

****
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,



0 Comments

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

2/14/2020

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

****
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,
0 Comments

Troubled Times: Prayer and Intercession February 6, 2020

2/6/2020

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

****
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,


0 Comments

    Archives

    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed