An unexpected wild storm inspires us to pray for the Body of Messiah.

"An unusual spring storm blasts Israel with heavy rain and hail, causing floods and property damage across the country."  Ynetnews

We were inspired by the experience of the violent storm to pray for the Body in the Land. Oh how we need the Lord's storm!  How we need for the Lord to arise in the midst, with power and light! 

Is. 28:16 Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily. 
Is. 28:17 Also I will make justice the measuring line, And righteousness the plummet; The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters will overflow the hiding place.

• Lord we beseech you for a true revival of the Body of Messiah in the Land
• Sweep in O Lord and invade us with your Presence
• Invade us with an insatiable thirst and hunger for your Word
• Pour upon us the Spirit of Grace and Supplication - the Holy Spirit that causes us to humble ourselves and turn to you! 
• Come into our fellowships and sweep away all things that offend you
• Come into our midst and anoint your people afresh to worship you in Spirit and in Truth
• Refresh your people with the rain of heaven lest they become discouraged and become weary
• Shine the Light of your Word so brightly and chase away all deception and seduction, all the false.
• Fill the pulpits in the Land with fire and power and conviction (1Th. 1:5 ESV)
• Give your people victory over the world and all it has to offer
• Give us souls Lord, bring many to faith and fill the congregations with the newly saved. 
• Make your Body a Lamp, a powerful beacon, shining the Light of your name into the darkness that is all around us. 
• Make your Body a place of salvation, cleansing, release, baptism, freedom from sin, victory, healing and the love of God.

The unexpected storm inspired us to pray for Israel's salvation with renewed faith

Psa. 126:4 Bring back our captivity, O Lord, As the streams in the South.
Is. 55:10 “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater,
Is. 55:11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

​Rain in the Negev (southern part of Israel) flows violently in the wadis (dry river beds). The clayish earth hardens up and does not absorb the water. Thus the riverbeds fill up with gushing water. 

Photo from Ynetnews

We were inspired by the suddenness of this storm (which is still upon us at this writing) and its ferocity. Oh how things can change in a moment. How the Lord can open the heavens at any time and cause such a downpour - as He promised to do (Joel 2:28, Ezekiel 36:26:27, Zechariah 12:10). And we are assured by the verses above,  that the Word, already gone out and spoken so many centuries ago, is working its way to fulfillment! The Word is not idle! 

• Lord open the heavens and bring a storm of salvation upon this land
• Let this storm devastate and damage the works of the enemy in so many lives.
• Lord bring salvation, bring deliverance upon this nation
• See Lord, your nation sitting in darkness, see our captivity Lord and bring release
• Send your word and let it be as a fire amongst the thorns, spreading quickly in unimagined mercy and grace
• Let there be such a wave of salvations that it cannot be contained
• Let every Word you have spoken regarding this land be fulfilled
• Let every promise you have made to this nation become reality
• We stand before you to remind you of your promises, claim them and ask you to fulfill them for your glory.

We were reminded of the clouds of war gathering around Israel and were inspired to pray for her security

Is. 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, “My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’
Psa. 135:6 Whatever the Lord pleases He does, In heaven and in earth, In the seas and in all deep places.

How sovereign the Lord is! Whatever God thinks, He also has power and wisdom to carry out! Whatever the Lord pleases - He does! And we know that it has pleased Him to restore Israel to the land and He has been pleased to promise His protection and personal involvement in our security situation! See Isaiah 54:17, Zechariah 2:9, Zechariah 12:9, Joel 3:16

• Father, we stand before you with these promises. We beseech you to move and act in fulfillment of them.
• Father see how the nations rage against you and your people - rise O Lord and cover this land with your wings.
• Frustrate and bring to naught the enemy's sworn declaration to annihilate your beloved people (see here )
• Lord the nations are as a drop in the bucket for you, Isaiah 40:15-17 no nation can defy your will forever. Have your way with Iran. Do your will as it relates to Israel's security, with Russia, Syria, Turkey and all the nations that are a threat to your people. 

We ended our prayer time with prayer for our government
For wisdom to know what to do in the face of the threat in the north, the trouble in Gaza. 

• We prayed into 1Chro 2:32
• We also prayed from Jeremiah 23 for our internal situation in the land. The Lord has promised to give us shepherds who will care for His people. We stood on those promises and words, for the present government. 

May the Lord be very gracious to you and touch your heart, mind, soul, and spirit to give you life, grace and a deep desire to seek His face to know Him.

Blessings from Jerusalem,


​

Ezekiel 37:1-14 

Every year, at the service preceding or following Israel’s Independence Day, I like to read Ezekiel 37 at the congregation; it is the vision of the resurrection of Israel as a nation.

“Can these bones live?” (Ezekiel 37:3) Implies that, “humanly speaking, they could not” (JFB).  Ezekiel was shown that the resurrection of Israel in the last days was not within the realm of the possible, as far as man is concerned.

If you take time to read the whole chapter you will see several things. 

First - God will resurrect Israel as a political entity in the last days. The nations are likened to a grave in verse 12 (Eze 37:12). Exile, in this chapter, is likened to death for Israel. In the same verse, God declares that He (Himself) would open those graves and bring Israel out. 

This implies to me a violent act, just as the bringing out of Israel from Egypt turned out to be, because of their resistance. 

It is interesting to note that although Herzl begged the Prussian Kaiser and the Turkish Sultan (the dominant power in the Middle East at the time) to grant the Jews settlement in the land of their forefathers, they utterly played with him and largely ignored him, mainly for their national interests. Within ten years of Herzl’s death in 1904, both empires were embroiled in the First World War, and by 1918 were no more. Tragic as WWI was, one of its primary outcomes was the Balfour Declaration; granting to the Jews a home in what the world called Palestine. God had opened the graves of the Jews, to bring them out. 

Second - God will bring His people back home (Ezekiel 37:12). Hard as they may try, the nations have not been able to stop Jewish immigration to the land of Israel. Even the Jewish people themselves will not be able to resist it forever. The World is becoming a hostile place for the Jews; they will come home, one way or another.

Third - God will pour out His Spirit on Israel to resurrect them spiritually; this too is out of the realm of man’s ability. But God has promised to do it. (Read also Zechariah 12:10).

Fourth - A Spiritual resurrection means that Israel will turn to her Messiah, on an unprecedented scale! Israel will be saved, Israel will be inhabited again by the presence of God. Read Ezekiel 37:22-28, What a marvelous resurrection this will be! Reunited, in the Land with the Lord Himself. 

Can these bones live - Do you have faith to believe and pray for these things?

“Can these bones live?” is a penetrating question to us as well. Although we have seen the beginning fulfillment of this prophecy--do we have faith to pray for its completion? Having seen Israel’s spiritual condition, do we have faith to believe that the Lord will open the heavens and pour out (give) the spirit of repentance? Can we pray in faith that the Lord will reveal the face of Yeshua and end two thousand years of animosity towards Him?  Can we look at the resistance of the raging nations against Israel’s physical existence and believe and pray for her prosperity and security? 

Let us not be overwhelmed by the enormity of the situation Israel faces, nor by her condition, but rather seeing all these things, turn to see Him, our Almighty God, and believe Him. 

“Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, “ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): Romans 10:6-8

Let us call upon the name of the Lord to fulfill His covenant promises and to glorify His name in the earth. Then the nations will know that He alone is God. (Ezekiel 37:28) 

• Lord, on the eve of Israel’s celebration of its 70th year, we stand before you in full recognition that it was you who resurrected Israel, And although it took human sweat and toil and much suffering, you were and are behind it all. These bones can live again because indeed you are the God of resurrection. We give you the glory and honor and recognize that you have begun to fulfill your world.
• We come to you in faith and full assurance that since you have begun to fulfill these promises and words, you will complete every one of them in a far more excellent way than we can imagine. 
• We ask for the fullness of the promises you have begun to fulfill in Israel
• We ask for the fullness of the blessing you have promised for the land and the people
• We ask for the fullness of the return of the Jews to the Land
• We ask for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on your people
• We ask for the removal of the veil that is cast over Israel regarding her Messiah
• We ask for the salvation of Israel as you have promised
• Lord the nations around us are raging against Israel’s existence 
• We ask that you bring the counsel of the nations to nothing
• We ask that you establish the thoughts of your heart for Israel
• We ask that you will guard and protect Israel against every weapon especially nuclear or chemical
• We ask that you especially safeguard Israel at this time from an Iranian revenge attack after Israel destroyed one of its bases in Syria
• We ask that you will cause the March of Return in Gaza to fizzle out politically. 
• We ask that you will give Israel unique wisdom to know how to deal with all of the inventions of the Hamas to attack Israel (including incendiary kites they use to light fires in the Israeli fields close to Gaza)

Who is like thee? 
Let us celebrate and give thanks to our God, incomparably great and beautiful, gracious and awesome in power and grace. Here are a few verses we want to end with, to celebrate the wonder that is the God of Israel. 

Ex. 15:11  “Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods?  Who is like You, glorious in holiness,  Fearful in praises, doing wonders?

Deut. 3:24 “O Lord GOD, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds?

Deut. 33:26  “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun,  Who rides the heavens to help you,  And in His excellency on the clouds.

1Kings 8:23 and he said: “LORD God of Israel, there is no God in heaven above or on earth below like You, who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts.

Mic. 7:18  Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity  And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?  He does not retain His anger forever,  Because He delights in mercy.

Lord, let thy Kingdom Come 
Let thy will be done
Sanctify your name on the earth by your great deeds of mercy
Yours are the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory!

Blessings from Jerusalem,

Praying for Israel on Holocaust Memorial Day

We met on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day. Today is the actual Holocaust Day. (You will see why that is important to note a little further down this Prayer Directions Bulletin.)

We read from Isaiah 63. 

For the day of vengeance is in My heart,  And the year of My redeemed has come. Isaiah 63:4

At the beginning of chapter 63 of Isaiah, the prophet sees the Messiah coming. It is a strange sight, perhaps a frightening one. He does not recognize the Messiah as such, and asks, “Who is this?” And the Lord answers: “I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”  Isaiah, still perplexed by the red-stained garment of the Lord, asks again “Why is your apparel red?” And the Lord answers him, “…The day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed has come.” 

This wonderful chapter reveals the two aspects of the Lord’s work. On the one hand he comes to redeem and save His people from their enemies and their backsliding, and on the other hand to judge the nations who have repudiated Him, and made themselves enemies of His people and His work on the earth. (For further reading on Edom read Ezekiel 35-36, for instance.) The final judgment will also be of those nations and peoples who have rejected His offer of salvation in Yeshua. “The cross stands for the judgment of the world as well as its salvation, and, “The destruction of mankind’s most implacable enemies is both the aim and the fruit of his sacrifice.” "Edom appears to represent Gentiles under divine judgment.” (EBC)1

The chapter unfolds with an amazing revelation of the grace and mercies of God to his unfaithful people and the saviors intent to deliver them from their sins and their enemies. (See Isiah 63:7-9)

This sight and the remembrance of God’s past deliverances (Isaiah 63:10-14) and the revelation that God will not fail to honor his covenant promises to His people, create within Isaiah a great longing and cry for God to arise again in deliverance and mercy. 

The rest of the chapter and the next one, Isaiah 64 is the prayer that arose from this longing. 

We spent the entire time of our prayer meeting, crying out to God for this twofold deliverance we so need and long for; salvation from our sins and salvation from our enemies.

I suggest you use the prayer of Isaiah: Isaiah 63:15-64:12 I believe that as you read these chapters, and pray through Isaiah’s intercession, you will be much moved and inspired.

Praying for Israel’s security on Holocaust Memorial Day
Last week, during the Friday “March of Return” in Gaza, a flag was planted somewhere near the fence. Look closely at the middle one. What do you see?

And a picture from today's march of an Israeli delegation in Auschwitz

Who would  have thought?!

When the LORD brought back the captivity of Zion,  We were like those who dream.Then our mouth was filled with laughter,  And our tongue with singing.  Then they said among the nations,  “The LORD has done great things for them.”The LORD has done great things for us,  And we are glad. Psa. 126:1-3 

For the LORD shall build up Zion;  He shall appear in His glory. Psa. 102:16 

Blessings from Jerusalem, 

_____________________________________________

1. EBC - Expositors l Bible Commentary
2. Picture of Palestinian flags with swastika: Ynet: 
3. Pictures of jets over Auschwitz: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/images/Holocaust/iaf1.jpg and https://goo.gl/images/hLtwBv
4. Picture of today's march in Poland from Ynet: https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-5227547,00.html

Prayer Alert -- Gaza March of Return
Tomorrow, Friday, the Palestinians in Gaza, under the leadership and control of Hamas, will continue with their ‘March of Return.’ 

The intention of the march is articulated quite clearly by the heads of Hamas, who have declared that this march is, the ‘beginning of our return to ‘all of Palestine.’ The ‘March of Return’ events are planned to continue until May 15, Israel’s Day of Independence. 

Having failed to achieve much last Friday, Hamas has amassed thousands of tires, to burn as a smoke screen, to impede Israel’s ability to defend the fence and target the main instigators and agitators (most of the time these are Hamas operatives). They also plan to use mirrors to blind Israel’s soldiers, as well as lasers.