Psa. 73:11  And they say, “How does God know?  And is there knowledge in the Most High?”
Psa. 73:12  Behold, these are the ungodly,  Who are always at ease;  They increase in riches.
Psa. 73:13  Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain,  And washed my hands in innocence.
Psa. 73:14  For all day long I have been plagued,  And chastened every morning.
Psa. 73:15  If I had said, “I will speak thus,”  Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children.
Psa. 73:16  When I thought how to understand this,  It was too painful for me--
Psa. 73:17  Until I went into the sanctuary of God;  Then I understood their end.

Anyone who truly endeavors to walk with the Lord in this generation, comes up against the feelings expressed in the verses quoted above.

One is tempted to entertain thoughts such as the writer of this psalm. To the believer, it seems that nothing ever changes, that the ungodly are just so happy in their sins, they are at ease while the believer and God-seeker are under a big burden. “Is it in vain,”  the writer asks, “that I have cleansed my heart? Made an effort to walk in integrity? Kept from the spirit of this world, while the wicked and godless just keep prospering? Does God know about this?” He goes on to say, “All day I suffer and am plagued, and when I try to understand this, all I come up with is pain”.  

And what about those who pray so diligently for salvation, for a change, for God to invade Israel with His loving kindness and grace? When will God break the power of darkness over this land? When will the Lord break in on the awful oppression of religion that is so dead set against the Messiah? 

The break comes in verse 17.  The writer sees God; he goes into the sanctuary, and in the sanctuary and witness of eternal truths, he gains perspective and comes to understand! Oh, how we need a for a sight of Yeshua! Oh for a sight of the Lamb of God, and of the cross! There, we gain a true “seeing,” a true understanding. There, in His Presence,and in His Word,  we begin to understand the world we live in, in the light of heaven. And then our hearts come to a resting place from whence it can rise again in faith and renewed life to stand before Him in intercession and prayer.

Is. 40:31  But those who wait on the LORD  Shall renew their strength;  They shall mount up with wings like eagles,  They shall run and not be weary,  They shall walk and not faint.

Praying for redemption in Israel during Passover
While we as Messianic believers rejoice greatly in our present redemption in Yeshua,  while we celebrate the Exodus, and look forward to another redemption for our people, our people sit in darkness. The house of Israel will celebrate a past redemption without any understanding of the Great Redemption in the blood of the Lamb.

• We thanked God for the blood of the Lamb of God
• We acknowledged that there is salvation in no other. That it is through faith in His accomplished and finished work on the cross
• We pleaded with God to open the eyes of our people to that Lamb of God
• We asked God to look with compassion upon His nation and send the Spirit of Grace and Supplication upon them 
• We asked for the Lord to visit each family in Israel with a real sense of the need for the covering of the blood. 
• We asked the Lord to flood the people of Israel with light from heaven
• We queried God respectfully: How long will you keep silent? When will your voice be heard again in this land, proclaiming: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world?"
• We asked God to break the darkness spread over this land, the darkness of superstition, idols, false religions, and evil spirits
• We prayed for the Lord to fulfill His plans and purposes for this city
• We expressed our longing for the Lord to come and sit again as King on His throne as Gabriel told Mary (Luke 1:32)

Praying for the Body of Messiah during Passover
You might know that before Passover, many in the land get rid of the leaven in the house. The religious are quite meticulous about it, going through a ritual of looking in the corners of the house, with a candle and a feather ( to get into the tiniest places.) 

• We prayed for a real and authentic reviving and refreshing in the Body of the wonder of the Blood of the Lamb
• We prayed for an individual and a corporate return to the Lord
• We prayed for an individual and a corporate cleansing and throwing out the “leaven” from each heart and fellowship through repentance, a return to the Lamb and a humbling of ourselves
• We prayed for a renewed appreciation and rejoicing in the great salvation we have in Messiah
• We prayed for a renewed consecration to follow the Lamb
• We prayed for the Lord to “kick out” of the midst any compromise with the world’s ways, any perversions of the Gospel, any mixture, false teaching, soulishness
• We asked the Lord to bring a great and true spiritual reality of God’s Love, Holiness in the lives and relationships of the believers in the Land

Praying or the new government during coalition making time
As many of you know, the way a government is formed in Israel is by a coalition. Usually, the biggest party gets to try to put together a coalition of parties who would give the government a majority in the Knesset. Netanyahu, who heads the Likud party has been asked by the president to form the next government and he is working on crafting together a coalition. 

This is the time where each party, will try to squeeze the most concessions and agreement from the prime minister, for the benefit of their own party….  Here is not the place to explain all the potential dangers and the mischief of such a time. We just mention this to ask you to pray earnestly for this during this time.

• We prayed for the Lord to guide this coalition-making process so that the next government will further God’s plans and purposes for this land at this time
• We pleaded with God not to let the wrong people take office in places where they will harm Israel’s interests, both globally, and the people’s welfare internally 
• We asked for the Lord to show Himself merciful and gracious
• We acknowledged God’s sovereignty and providence even in a democracy, and asked Him to exercise both His sovereignty and providence to overrule in the nation’s affairs
• We asked God to show Himself merciful and gracious
• We acknowledged that the future of Israel is in His hands, and asked that He would accomplish His will in His love and mercy

​
We ended proclaiming together Jeremiah 33:9 
Jer. 33:9 Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it.
Amen, let it be so.

Yeshua is Victor! He Reigns! 


Blessings from Jerusalem,

The Priesthood of the believer
Eph. 2:18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
Eph. 2:19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
Eph. 2:20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,
Eph. 2:21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,
Eph. 2:22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

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.

The verses above clearly point to the way God sees His people (the believers in Messiah). They are His Holy Temple, they are His priests! This is the believer’s calling and purpose. To come near to God and serve Him, among other things, as intercessors. 

The great need of Israel right now is for prayer and intercession
If ever there was a time Israel needed prayer it is now! Israel’s very nature and character as a state will be shaped by the next government. It is a critical time here in the land; what will the nature of the State be formed into in the next few years? 

While some are celebrating Bibi’s win, most do not realize that the Orthodox parties also won in a big way; they significantly increased in power and influence and will be a deciding element in the next government. 

While this is not the place to try to expound on the meaning of such a reality, we can at least mention that the agenda of the Orthodox parties is to force the religious law on the land. They want Israel not only to be Jewish but Orthodox! They will do their utmost to change the law to Halacha laws, (religious laws governing the state and life in general.) This is a bit like Sharia laws in Muslim countries, which is increasingly influencing western countries.) 

Read this good article from Geopolitical Futures (https://geopoliticalfutures.com)
by Jacob Shapiro: The Age of Bibi 

This is the time to pray! As coalition negotiations begin, heads of parties are going to exact a heavy price for their support of Bibi. Each leader will want a ministry in which he could best influence the nation and shape it according to his party’s vision, and to use the nation’s resources to reach those goals.

Praying for the Body of Messiah in the Land
There has never been more of a need in this nation for the Body to come into its true call to be a Spiritual House for the Lord and to be a priesthood.

Personally, I have been deeply moved by the Lord to stand on, and pray from the verses given above for the Body of Messiah.

I am sure that if you look at your own congregation wherever you live, you will see the need of the Body! Most of the Church doesn’t have a clue as to its calling and purpose. So much of church life revolves around ‘what God can do for me’ and not ‘What does God want me to be and do for Him’! 

May God awaken you to the need of the hour and may you respond by giving yourself to Him to pray, seek His face and intercede for His own agenda, so clearly spelled out in His Word.

May the Lord help you and us and may we be found faithful!



​Blessings from Jerusalem,

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
​
****​

Mindful of the elections in Israel in 5 days, we nevertheless stood first before the Lord in Intercession and prayed from within the Word of God. We prayed out of Jeremiah 31 and its various sections. 

It helps, in times of uncertainty, and tension, to first stand on the Word of God and gain the perspective of the Kingdom of God. It is the Word which gives us faith and sight and understanding. 

The times of Jeremiah were very confusing; the last four kings led Judah away from the revival of Josiah’s time into gross idolatry.  There was much politicking and plotting with neighboring kingdoms against Babylonian dominance. The priesthood was corrupt; hence there was no real spiritual leadership in the land. Too, Judah was filled with false prophets who were actively opposing the Word of the Lord that Jeremiah was uttering. 

For us, reading the Bible - which gives us God’s perspective, it’s all clear, but to those living in that ‘soup,’ it must have been complicated and confusing.

We too live in confusing times, and that is why chapter 31 of Jeremiah is so reassuring. It gives us God’s perspective, it gives us wisdom, and above all, it opens to us the knowledge of God, and from that vantage point, we can pray effectively. All the promises of God are sure, in and through Yeshua the Messiah.  

We prayed through the sections of Jeremiah 31

Jeremiah 31:1-3 The assurance of God’s faithful and everlasting love

• Lord you have loved us, through the cross, your love is sure and you will never give up till all that you have promised will come to fulfillment. 
• Your love renews our hope to believe your promises
• Our situation seems so impossible, yet your assurance gives us great encouragement that you can do all things. 

Jeremiah 31:4-6 The assurance of the building up of Zion

• Thank you, Lord, that you have begun to fulfill your promise to build up this nation and country
• Thank you, that you have promised rejoicing in the Land, but our happiness will never be complete till you appear in Zion, till you retake your own city for yourself. 
• We pray and long for the Day in which you will, yourself be the government, you will return to rule this nation. Not by permission, nor by voting, but by right

Jeremiah 31:7-13 The assurance of the regathering of Israel and her prosperity
The regathering of Israel from the nations is seen in Jer 31:7 as salvation. In Ezekiel 37:12 it is seen as resurrection. It is the remnant spoken of in Romans 11:5. 

• We prayed for this salvation of Israel
• We prayed for a deluge of Aliya (return of Jewish people to the land)
• We prayed for the dam (resistance to Aliya) to break and for God to fulfill His Word
• We prayed for such masses of Aliyah from the US and from France and the UK as to overwhelm the system so that Messianic Jews will come in too without fear or rejection
• We prayed, “break the resistance Lord, break the resistance” in the hearts of millions of Jewish people who would rather ignore their identity and calling than come in fulfillment
• We prayed for the families of lone soldiers who come here from the nations, to join them in Aliya
• We thanked God for the material prosperity and goodness He has promised to His people when they would go back to the Land. 
• We prayed for a vision for the land to overcome the fear of making a move to Israel

Jeremiah 31:14-17 The assurance of a Spiritual satisfaction in Him
We Prayed this mostly for the Body of Messiah in the Land. Although the physical blessings will be a comfort to Israel and her people, spiritual blessings and satiation are promised as well!

• Lord satisfy us with thy goodness, we pray
• Lord it is you whom we want to have 
• Lord cause the believers in the Land to wait on You
• Lord grant the believers in the land a hunger for your Word
• Lord grant us a heart to seek your face
• Lord give us an ear just for you and not to seducing voices 
• Lord feed us the finest of the wheat and honey Psalm 81:16
• Lord, you have the Word of eternal life, to whom shall we go? John 6:68
• Lord help us in the Body here seek you for yourself and not because you have filled our stomachs. John 6:26
• Lord teach us to trust you and you alone
• Lord teach us to submit to your Lordship and not treat you as a servant only
• Lord help us to see you as our goal and not just a resource
• Help us not to compromise in our life

Jeremiah 31:18-20 The assurance God’s compassion for Israel and the certainty of Israel’s repentance

• His compassions fail not (Lam 3:22); therefore we are not consumed. Thank you, Lord, for your unfailing grace to our stubborn and rebellious people
• Thank you Lord that you have promised to grant us repentance; a sure sign you have not forsaken us
• It is your compassion and goodness which will lead Israel to a broken and contrite heart
• Grant us such a look at Yeshua on Calvary as to break our hearts and wills to pieces
• Pour out upon us your own Spirit.
• Turn us, and we shall be turned, dear Lord
• Let your mercies break our religiosity, our national cynicism, our profligate secularism
• Let your goodness lead us to repentance 

Jeremiah 31:31-34 The Promise of the New Covenant

• We thanked God for the reality of the New Covenant in the Blood of Messiah on the cross
• We thanked God that He has already established the NC at that fateful Passover
• We asked that He would bring Israel into the New Covenant in these days 
• We acknowledged how impossible this looks in these days, but that He can and WILL do it — all Israel shall be saved, as Paul said in Romans 11:25-27

Jeremiah 31:35-37 The assurance of Israel’s future over and above what happens in the elections

• Lord you are God, you are the creator, you are the beginning and the end, there is no one like you and no other God. You have gone on record with these very credentials (vs. 5) promising that Israel will always be a nation before you! 
• Therefore, we ask and beg and pray that you will extend your hand and intervene in these elections and build a coalition that will somehow go on fulfilling your will for Israel at this time.
• Lord, you see our enemies without, and you see the horrific condition within. Have mercy dear Lord, have mercy!  
• Lord bring order from disorder, you have the authority and the right to decide sovereignty. You do not need permission or agreement. You are the Lord. 
• Have your own way dear Lord for the sake of your name and for the fulfillment of all your promises. 

Thine be the Glory forever dear Lord!

Thank you for praying with us at these crucial times. May you know the pleasure of God as you intercede, and His presence.

Blessings from Jerusalem,