Today is Memorial Day in Israel. We are remembering the fallen soldiers and fallen victims of terror attacks.

Blood, much blood, rivers of blood have been spilled on the soil of this nation. From biblical times to this present moment so much blood has been spilled; sometimes, it may seem as if reality defies the Word of God, such as the first verses of Isaiah 40.

Is. 40:1  Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
Is. 40:2  Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.

Yet, at a second look into these verses, we may find that the primary comforting of Israel here meant, is her restoration to God; the forgiveness of her iniquity. 

Indeed, is there a loss or sorrow greater than the loss of God? Is there anything more horrific than the loss of fellowship with Him; the estrangement from God Himself? 

That is the root of all our other sorrows and grief. Having rebelled against God, our estrangement from Him has led to much loss and pain: 

Lam. 1:18  “The LORD is righteous, For I rebelled against His commandment. Hear now, all peoples,  And behold my sorrow; My virgins and my young men have gone into captivity.

And in this context her comforting is also seen as directly connected with her restoration to God:  

Is. 12:1 And in that day you will say: “O LORD, I will praise You; Though You were angry with me,  Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me. 
Is. 12:2  Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; “For YAH, the LORD is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation.’ ”

Isa 51:11  So the ransomed of the LORD shall return,  And come to Zion with singing,  With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

And this reconciliation with God will have a profound effect on the physical world around us as well: 

Is. 51:3  For the LORD will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the LORD; Joy and gladness will be found in it, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.

Not only the land but also the people: 
Jer. 31:13  “Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, And the young men and the old, together;  For I will turn their mourning to joy, Will comfort them, And make them rejoice rather than sorrow.  Jer. 31:14  I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the LORD.”

The root of all comfort
As we look at this, we must remember that Israel’s redemption, her return to union with her God, is because of the blood of the Son of God, shed on the cross. Of all bloodshed on the earth, His was the only one that brought cleansing, redemption, salvation, and comfort. 

“Oh, Lamb of God thou wonderful sin bearer!”

The Comforter
We find the designation of the Holy Spirit as Comforter in the KJV as amazingly appropriate. Some Bibles translate the Greek word parakletos as ‘helper (NKJV, ESV, NASB), but it is exceptionally appropriate to call Him Comforter, as He is the one who “appears in another’s behalf, mediator, intercessor, helper “ (BDAG) and He “pleads another’s cause before a judge” (Thayer). 

The comforting here is the work of God to reconcile us to Himself. And this is what I believe, is meant primarily in Isaiah 40. The root of all comfort is in this: the removal of the one great barrier of Sin between God and Man (all those who believe) and the removal of Death through this reconciliation. Col. 1:20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Is. 25:7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.
Is. 25:8 He will swallow up death in victory, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.
Is. 25:9 And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

And to all who love Jerusalem (mentioned above as 'this mountain'), and all of what she means to the Kingdom of God and His eternal plan is promised a partaking in her consolations. Satisfied in Him! 

Is. 66:10 Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her:
Is. 66:11 That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.

Stand with us dear fellow intercessors, stand with us and pray for the mighty outpouring and work of God the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. Pray with us from these wonderful verses and indeed the whole of Isaiah 40 as it unfolds the supremacy of God overcoming all obstacles to the revelation of His person in great glory.

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
​
****​

Dear Friends,
You will see that in these bulletins we go into detail to explain situations or bring various articles to your attention. We do all this because we believe it is in God’s heart to develop each one of you and us in God, both as believers and intercessors.  To pray for Israel deeply, one has to understand Israel deeply, even if it means facing the unsavory sometimes. God bless each of you in your own walk with God.
 
Pressure - without and within
This was the overall theme which we were led to pray into. The pressure of anti-Semitism, the pressure of extremism within Israel, and the pressure of the nations and superpowers on the land of Israel.

The Pressure of anti-Semitism
“Israeli researchers reported Wednesday that violent attacks against Jews spiked significantly last year, with the largest reported number of Jews killed in anti-Semitic acts in decades, leading to an “increasing sense of emergency” among Jewish communities worldwide.” For article click here

The last few years have seen phenomenal growth in anti-Semitism worldwide. What was a trickle before has now become a stream, and we do not doubt will become a flood. 

Attacks on Jews increased by 13% in the US and 16.5% in Canada (2000 incidences). In Europe, the rise is an astounding 70%.  On October 27, 2018, 11 Jews were killed in Pittsburgh. On April 29 just a few days ago, 1 Jewish woman was killed in a shooting in a synagogue in California.

In some countries, such as Turkey, Poland, Ukraine and Venezuela, anti-Semitism is promoted by the government. The most dangerous trend is that anti-Semitism has now gone mainstream. 

Anti-Semitism has been there all along before this eruption; it has lain dormant under the surface in all nations. We believe that anti-Semitism is one of the most destructive and dangerous demonic forces to come out of hell; mainly because it is a direct war against God’s own kingdom purpose and plan for and through Israel. Anti-Semitism is a hatred of God and the people of God, which means that it will lead to the persecution of the true church as well.

Among Jewish people in the US, there is an “increasing sense of emergency.” 

Rather than pray directly against this great evil, we prayed for Aliya - the gathering of all the Jewish people to the land of Israel. 

Is. 11:12  He will set up a banner for the nations,  And will assemble the outcasts of Israel,  And gather together the dispersed of Judah  From the four corners of the earth. (See how the chapter is about the Messiah.) See Mat. 23:37 for the desire and passion of God Himself to bring His people back to the land and to Himself.

• Lord thank you for the awakened sense of emergency among the Jews in Europe and the USA
• We prayed much for a greater awakening among the Jewish people worldwide
• We prayed that entire communities of Jews would come to Israel en-mass
• We prayed that the Jews who live in the Diaspora will come home rather than barricade themselves in the nations where they live.
• We prayed for all the Israelis who have immigrated to other nations in hopes of finding a better life. (In light of what is happening that seems like a wrong choice.)
• We prayed for organizations such as Ebenezer, Nefesh b’Nefesh, etc. who are aiding Aliya
• We prayed for the Spirit of the Living God to move upon the Jewish people and impart to them a burning desire to come to the Land

Pressures of extremism within the land
Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 A.D. did not happen in Roman hands alone. Read history, and you will find that the zealots of those times were so violent against their own people, it staggers the mind. 

"The second Jewish rebellion took place 60 years after the first and established an independent state lasting three years. For many Jews of the time, this turn of events was heralded as the long hoped for Messianic Age. The excitement was short-lived, however, and after a brief span of glory, the revolt was crushed by the Roman legions." (Read the whole article here) 

That type of zealotry ended in an even greater bloodshed than that of 70 A.D.; to this day it is one of the greatest catastrophes in the history of the Jewish people.  

Today we have some extremism of a similar kind in the land. It is quite disturbing, to say the least. 

“US envoy slams rabbis for ‘vile’ diatribes supporting racism, Hitler’s worldview”  Read about it here

[If you read the article, you will see that one rabbi refers to humanism and secularism as the real holocaust. What he is referring to is that secularism is the great holocaust of the Jewish people, and should be fought with zealous religious fervor. 

What is the answer to this? Salvation in Messiah Yeshua! 
Great darkness has fallen upon us ever since we rejected our King and Savior Yeshua. (Isaiah 9:2 - We have been left with great darkness and dwell in ‘the land of the shadow of death.” 

We prayed much into the wonderful promises of God 

• Ezekiel 36:25-29 
• Jeremiah 3:14-19 
• Jeremiah 31:31-34  
• We prayed for balance in the government and for the Lord to overrule the will of man to bring about a government that will lead and care for the whole nation as one people. 

The Pressures from without
Ever since Israel was a nation, it has found itself existing between superpowers. In antiquity it was Egypt and the Syrians, then the Assyrians, then the Babylonians, then the Persians, Greeks, Romans and so on.

Today Israel finds itself once again, living in a region that is of interest to all the superpowers: The US, Russia, and increasingly China. Each of these nations is pursuing its own interests in the Middle East, and more often than not, those interests are contradictory to what is right for Israel. 

We cannot take it for granted that the US will always be in the lead of nations, nor can we take it for granted that the US will be led by favorable administrations.

​The outcome of WWII was not guaranteed to end in the West's victory. 

What made the difference? Prayer! Such people as Rees Howells who knew His Bible and stood before God firmly on it made the difference. We too are called to stand firmly on the Word of God and knock on heaven’s doors till the Supreme and only God, will answer and fulfill His promises. 

To read an interesting point of view on the rise of China in our area read here

We prayed from Psalm 2 for the current situation 
This psalm speaks of what the nations are doing — plotting against the Lord and His anointed. It speaks of what God has done — He has set His king on Mt. Zion, and it speaks of God’s wisdom and advice given to the nations — humble yourselves and obey God before He rises in His wrath.

• We prayed much from each of the portions of this psalm
• Lord all nations have a plan, but thankfully you have one too! As the nations plot, you carry out your plan. 
• Lord the nations will be your inheritance in the world - arise O’ Lord and rule though in the affairs of man on the earth
• We pray for providence to work out in Israel’s favor every time, all the time in every international move that concerns her.
• We acknowledged the Lord’s right to rule the nations
• We acknowledged that this nation and this city belong to Him
• We Thanked God for His unchangeable word and prayed it will be fulfilled to the uttermost 

Thank you for standing before the Lord for this nation and for His work in the earth.

Blessings from Jerusalem,

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,

Jerusalem All City Prayer Meeting tonight
Tonight we will be co-leading an all-city prayer meeting for the elections, for security, for revival in Body of Messiah and for the salvation of Israel. Please be in prayer with us for those things and please be in prayer with us for the prayer meeting itself. It will take place tonight from 19:00 to 21:00 for unity among the leadership, for clarity, for prayers that are Word-based and in the Will of God and for a true spirit of prayer on all of us as we intercede.

High tension in Gaza
As you might already know, Hamas launched a rocket into the heart of Israel this week. Israel attacked in Gaza and has moved two brigades and other forces to the area in anticipation of a possible military operation. Tensions are high in anticipation of a massive march on the anniversary of Land Day. 

Read about it here 

In our prayer meeting last night, we prayed: 

For the Elections
Reading Jeremiah 23:1-12 regarding the shepherds of Israel.
Although we will never have the perfect shepherd till Yeshua sits on the throne of His father David to rule over Jacob (Luke 1:32-33) nevertheless, God loves His people and cares for them via good leaders. Oh, how we need good leadership in the Land! We need good leaders to protects us (security), we need good leaders to care for us as a nation (social equity, economy, infrastructure, health, welfare, work and jobs, transportation and so much more.) We need leadership free from corruption, an administration that will not sell the people to make coalition deals that will give them the majority. Corruption and inefficiency are on all levels of government, down to the municipal and local.

• We prayed that the Lord will arrange for a government which will take care of the people
• We prayed for leaders who would have the heart of fathers and would want to care for the nation as their goal
• We prayed God would kick out of office those who abuse their office, the selfish and corrupt.
• We prayed that God would raise up godly leaders, or at least give us leaders with a high moral standard
• We prayed for leaders who would understand the season Israel is in and act in wisdom
• We prayed for leaders who would be competent to rule (some of the ones who are at the head of different ministries are utterly incompetent,)
• We prayed for leaders who would carry out justice in the land
• We prayed that the Lord would bring about a coalition of parties that will free us from the orthodox and religious
• We prayed for a coalition that would be good for the land economically 
• We prayed for a coalition that would maintain law, order, and justice
• We prayed for a coalition that would be an instrument in His hands according to His purposes for the nation at this time.

For Israel’s salvation 
Ex. 19:17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
Yeshua was crucified out of the camp (outside of the city of Jerusalem.) Israeli society and definitely the government (under the influence of the Orthodox) have pushed us, Messianic Believers, outside of the camp. 

• We prayed God would bring all of Israel out of the camp to meet the one they have rejected; their savior and their King. 
• We asked God to send the Holy Spirit to convince Israel of sin (John 16:8)
• We pleaded with God to break the bondage of Israel to sin and the rejection of the Messiah; it is worse than the slavery of Israel in Egypt.
• We asked the Lord to come in great mercies to His people
• We asked God to reveal His crucified Son to the Jewish people, who died for them in His great love and compassion to make a New Covenant with them
• We asked the Lord to come to the blind, the desperate the suffering, those on the edges of society (they usually come to Messiah first, ahead of the rich and the famous and the learned). 
• One of our intercessors prayed specifically for Holocaust survivors as she works with them daily.

We prayed for the Body of Messiah - for a reviving and a return to Messiah Himself

Here is a quote from Leonard Ravenhill (whoever says they enjoy reading Ravenhill, has never really understood him. One goes away smarting after reading him.

“The Church began with these men in the ‘‘upper room’’ agonizing—and today is ending with men in the supper room organizing. The Church began in revival; we are ending in ritual. We started virile; we are ending sterile. Charter members of the Church were men of heat and no degrees; today many hold degrees, but have no heat! Ah, brethren, flame-hearted men are the crying need of the hour!"(1)

More than anything else we need praying men and women who have made it their life to fall on their face and seek His face, and cry for a Body that has turned away from God. We feel this need, greatly, here in the Land. And we cry to God to give us an awakening that will burn the dross away, that will cause us to run back to God, that will arrest our hearts in the sight of His glory and grace, His wounds and His crown. Oh, how we need to honor God and to fear Him again. Mal. 1:6 A son honors his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honor? and if I be a master, where is my fear?.... 

• Oh, pray with us for the Fire of Heaven to fall once again on dedicated, turned, willing, surrendered hearts! 

We prayed for Israel’s defense from a slightly different angle
Israel is militarily strong at the moment (may we continue to grow in strength), but power is not only physical; it must also be moral. It is not for naught that the nations, primarily through the UN have been attacking Israel on this very point, and blaming Israel for crimes against humanity. 

But God is way ahead and over 2700 years ago He already spoke a promise to deal with this issue. We should pray into it and from it for Israel’s moral strength.

Is. 54:17  No weapon formed against you shall prosper,  And every tongue which rises against you in judgment  You shall condemn.  This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,  And their righteousness is from Me,”  Says the LORD.

Nathan Alterman was a very prominent poet in Israel during its founding and first years. Here is a stanza from a poem that touches on this very issue. I hope you are inspired to pray and stand for Israel’s inner strength as well as its military strength.

Satan then said; 
How do I overcome This besieged one? 
He has courage And talent,
 And implements of war
 And resourcefulness. only this shall I do, 
I'll dull his mind And cause him to forget 
The justice of his cause.

Blessings from Jerusalem,



_____________________________
1. Ravenhill, Leonard. Why Revival Tarries (p. 155). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. 

Purim
Tonight is Purim eve, and Israel will be celebrating the story of the Jews deliverance from Haman, (in Persia) through prayer and intercession.

One of the traditions of Purim is to eat Hamantaschen. These are baked dainties usually filled  with poppy seeds. Hamantaschen mean Haman’s ears.

Quite gruesome, isn’t it?

Of course, maybe Haman was too quick to listen to his wife’s and his so-called friends' advice: “Let a gallows be made, fifty cubits high, and in the morning suggest to the king that Mordecai be hanged on it; then go merrily with the king to the banquet.”  Esth. 5:14

Perhaps Zeresh was too quick to give such advice to her dear husband. In the next chapter, once things begin to unravel by the providence of God, she tells him, “….If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him.” Esth. 6:13

Hmmm…seems Zeresh should have done some research before advising her husband. 

Iran (Persia of old) still threatens Israel’s existence 
Here are some headlines recently published:
January 21, 2019: “Iran threatens to eliminate Israel from the earth as tensions escalate over Syria airstrikes.”

January 21, 2019: “commander of Iranian army's air force  says his troops "cannot wait to fight Israel and wipe it off the planet,"

January 29, 2019: “Iran threatens Israel with ‘inferno,’ vows to improve missile accuracy.”

But maybe they need to do some research (as in reading the Bible) before they threaten Israel. 

God’s amazing love and faithfulness to His people and covenant
But they do not know that God has other plans and that no one can thwart God’s love, commitment to His people, and His plans and purposes for Israel and for the whole earth. 

Hear the heart of God, let it fill your own heart with gratefulness and thanks to Him who is Israel’s and your God! 

Is. 54:5 For your Maker is your husband, The LORD of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth.
Is. 54:6 For the LORD has called you Like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, Like a youthful wife when you were refused,” Says your God.
Is. 54:7  “For a mere moment I have forsaken you, But with great mercies I will gather you.
Is. 54:8 With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,”  Says the LORD, your Redeemer.
Is. 54:9 “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; For as I have sworn That the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, So have I sworn That I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you.
Is. 54:10 For the mountains shall depart  And the hills be removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you,  Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”  Says the LORD, who has mercy on you.
Is. 54:11 “O you afflicted one,Tossed with tempest, and not comforted, Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems, And lay your foundations with sapphires.
Is. 54:12 I will make your pinnacles of rubies, Your gates of crystal,  And all your walls of precious stones.
Is. 54:13 All your children shall be taught by the LORD, And great shall be the peace of your children.
Is. 54:14 In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;  And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
Is. 54:15 Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.
Is. 54:16 “Behold, I have created the blacksmith Who blows the coals in the fire, Who brings forth an instrument for his work; And I have created the spoiler to destroy.
Is. 54:17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment  You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,  And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the LORD. 

His purpose for the earth
Jer. 3:17 “At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the LORD, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts.

Called to Intercede and pray
Esth. 4:14 For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

The time was a time of need and danger, and Esther had a choice. She could ignore the danger and threat to her people and continue to enjoy palace life, or she could risk all for God and for Israel’s destiny.

We have a choice too. We can continue to be oblivious, as many in the Body are, to time we are living in, or we can choose to stand, to pray, to intercede and be part of that great move of God to deliver His nation, and to complete His purpose and plans for the earth. 

Oh, may we all be stirred and challenged to stand up and pray instead of just enjoying “palace life”. May we stir ourselves up to get a hold of God and intercede for His Will to be done on earth as it is done in heaven! 

• Please pray into Iran’s treats, they are real, and they are exceedingly dangerous.
• Please pray into the situation with Hezbollah (an Iranian proxy) in Lebanon. Our former chief of staff just disclosed, in a recent speech, that during his tenure Israel and Hezbollah were, several times, a hair’s breadth away from an all-out war.
• Please pray for Israel as it comes under the pressure from the nations - such ill will in the nations, so permeates the atmosphere, it is hard to take in. 
• Please pray into the Trump’s Peace Plan - it will be unveiled supposedly after Israel’s elections (April 9)
• Please pray into Israel’s elections. Seems like we are in a terrible crisis of leadership. The Lord has promised to give us good leaders (Jeremiah 23:1-4) May it be so now at this elections. 

 

• Please pray also for us, we are believing the Lord for revival. The believers in the land are in dire need of it. We are believing the Lord for an awakening, for a return to the Lord, for a revelation of the cross and the crucified one in our midst. For a humbling and coming down of ourselves. For a true, heart felt, pure worship of God in life and deed as well as song and proclamation. For victory over a self-centered life. For a spirit of volunteering to serve the Lord in the Body. For many to turn to God in seeking His face. For believers to awaken to the need for intercession and prayer. 

Thank you and may you experience the Lord’s delivering mercies in your own life!

Blessings from Jerusalem,

The night Jeremiah had a good night sleep
For over 40 years, Jeremiah ministered in Judah, proclaiming the Word of the Lord. For this, he was beaten, imprisoned, reviled, rejected, and blamed for conspiring with the enemy. For all of his efforts, he saw zero results. That’s right, zero! Nothing. No change. 

Yet, he faithfully spoke and wrote the Word of the Lord and is known today as one of the great prophets.  Maybe we in the west need to redefine the word ‘success,’ and ‘results,’ and ‘fruit’ when it comes to ministry. 

But there was one night, oh what a night, in which the Lord revealed to Jeremiah His Mercies and Goodness and Love for His people. Beyond showing him the restoration of the Jews from Babylon, He revealed to him the ultimate restoration of Israel in the last days. All centered and founded on the New Covenant! And this of course, through His Son. 

There was one night in which Jeremiah saw the Mercy, the Goodness of God such as He had never seen it before. There was one night, in which Jeremiah heard such words of love and grace that brought his weary soul rest. "After this I awoke and looked around, and my sleep was sweet to me." Jer. 31:26

Oh, what a revelation this is! How wonderful for us too, those who pray here in the Land, and for all you who pray in the nations. May you be refreshed by such a revelation. Our prayer for you is that you will receive a renewed revelation of this Goodness and Grace and that you may find new ‘fuel’ in your tank to keep on pressing in prayer.


We prayed for Israel along the lines of the chapter mostly.
The heart of the chapter is the promise of the New Covenant (Jer. 31:31-34); the basis and fountain of all the Grace and Goodness of God to us.  

Jeremiah 31:2-4 Redemption and restoration

• We thanked God for His grace and everlasting New Covenant love
• We thanked God for the drawing power of the Love of God and asked God to draw Israel to Himself. (John 12:32)
• We prayed He will indeed become the God of all the families of Israel (Jer. 31:1)
• We cried for the Presence of God in the Land again - Oh for His presence!
• We cried to God that all Israel shall come to know Him through the cross
• We cried to God that all Israel shall know His forgiveness in the Son - “for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jer. 31:34)
• We prayed that God would send upon Israel a deep yearning after Him
• We prayed that Israel would be given a deep sense of its need of the Word of God — We have the book, but it is sealed to us; we do not see the Son (Isaiah 29:11)
• We prayed that the Lord would expose the emptiness of all religion without Him
• We prayed that our sovereign God would remove the veil cast over our nation’s eyes

Jeremiah 31:7-9 Salvation of Israel includes a return to the Land
Have you noticed that the command to ask God to save Israel, in verse 7, is answered in verse 8 by His bringing them back to the Land?

• We thanked God for the millions of Jews of who have come back to the land
• We prayed for a great stirring up of Jewish people everywhere to go home
• We prayed that although anti-Semitism is most evil, God would use it to wake many Jewish people to the imperative of the need to emigrate to Israel
• We cried for God to fulfill His promise to bring every last Jewish person to the land
• We asked God to ignite the heart of Jewish people in the US and release them from clinging to a comfortable life or a particular lifestyle
• We asked God to bring the remaining Jews in Arab countries
• We asked God to especially stir up Messianic Jews in the world to come home
• We prayed for the Lord to break up the ‘iron gates’ in the ministry of interior that are preventing Messianic Jews from making Aliya.  (We mentioned that it must have looked like the gates of Gaza were formidable and unmovable until Samson walked away with them). We prayed God would remove the ‘gates’ that are barring the way of Aliya, even if it means a change of government. 

Jeremiah 31:13-14 The Body of Messiah in the Land
Satiate  (vs.14)  - filled beyond capacity to absorb any more. Fully satisfied.
​Abundance (vs. 14) Deshen in Heb. Fatty ashes left from the sacrifice. Fully satisfied from the sacrifice on the altar - pointing to the future where we will be fully satisfied in Yeshua. He will be more than enough; He IS enough! He will be the joy and All of our heart. All of this is equated to God’s Goodness in the verse.

• We prayed that believers in the land will be taken up utterly with Yeshua
• We prayed that the body of Messiah would turn to seek the Lord as its only love
• We prayed God’s people would hunger and thirst after Him alone
• We prayed for the Body of Messiah to have an eye and ear for Messiah only (See 2Cor 11:1-4 and rest of chapter.)
• We prayed for the Word to rise in our midst, as truth and light giving the Body a taste for God alone, and His Word.
• We prayed for brokenness of heart and heaven’s fire to descend upon the believers
• We prayed for a true and real and straightforward move of God in the congregations to revive them in fervency towards the Lord 

Isaiah 64:1-4 The intervention of God on Israel’s behalf

• We prayed for the Lord’s intervention in World affairs
• We prayed for a redemptive move of God on behalf of Israel that the nations might tremble at His presence and know that He alone is LORD
• We prayed for the move of God on the earth in the face of all those nations who have become His adversaries by opposing His eternal plan
• We prayed for the Lord to “fill their faces with shame” that the nations might seek His name (Psalm 83:16-18)

Thanks for standing with us for Israel's restoration -- all for the Glory of God! 

Blessings from Jerusalem,

​

What God has promised. Our condition. His work
It is staggering to consider, what God has declared He would do and what He has promised to bring to pass. It is also extremely challenging to view our present condition as a people. Just live here for a while, and you will understand.  Given these things, our faith is challenged, and we continuously cry to the Lord for a revelation of Himself and in His Word, so that we might be enabled and strengthen in our faith, to go on praying in a meaningful way. (There is plenty of praying, the kind of which is utterly useless and a waste of time - His and ours…)

Thankfully, God has not left us without an answer to our need. He has not only told us what He will do but also how He will do it. He has shown us how He will bring us from where we are, to where He is, to where He is taking us.

Read Ezekiel 37:24-28  This is one of the places where the Lord has revealed what He will do. It is beyond amazing to realize what He has planned. Is it speaking of the actual return of the Lord and His dwelling among us?  Is this the fullness of the restoration of all things? Surely we can pray into this promise without having to figure it out.....Instead of getting a headache thinking about it, we can adore Him and let the scriptures bring us to a longing for Himself and for the time He will be Here! I can’t imagine what it will be like to have Yeshua as King of Israel in reality! Can you?

Read Micah 7:2-7 as a description of our condition today. What was true then is also true today. 

What will bring The Change? What will God do to effect such a colossal change in the hearts of the whole nation? What can possible God do?

Read Zechariah 12:10 and Zechariah 13:1
Zechariah 12:10  “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
Zechariah 13:1 “In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness"

That’s what God will do! 

Firstly, it will be by the Holy Spirit! True repentance comes from heaven, it is initiated in the heart of God. The Spirit of God is the Spirit of Repentance. It is His turning to us, that enables us, yea even compels us to turn to Him. Let us be clear on this — Israel’s turning to God begins in Heaven, in God’s motion towards His people!

Secondly,  He will pour out the Spirit of Grace and Supplication. One Spirit but two distinct things: One - The Spirit of Grace - is the Spirit of God revealing to us His Love, at the cross;  it is the love of God in the crucified Messiah, In Yeshua. We will see Him whom we have pierced. This is how God by the Holy Spirit will bring conviction on this nation. (John 16:8)

Thirdly, that Spirit of Grace that comes and opens our eyes to see, The One whom We have crucified, will also be the Spirit of supplication, of beseeching. He will raise in us a mighty Cry: “Have Mercy on us Son of David!” Oh, what a Day!

• We thanked God and acknowledged His Goal and plan
• We thanked God for His love and faithfulness to our nation!
• We acknowledged our sense of unworthiness as a nation and a people for such Faithfulness, Grace and Love.
• We acknowledged our sinfulness and condition as a nation (we agreed with God in His description of us.)
• We prayed for that promised outpouring of His Spirit of Grace and of Supplication
• We begged God to break our self-righteousness by His mercy
• We thanked Him for His Mercy and Love
• We asked that He would hasten the day and not contend forever (Isaiah 57:16)
• We prayed that our people will be so convicted by the operation of the Spirit that they will flock to that fountain of cleansing (Zech 13:1), that is, acknowledge their need for the Blood of the Lamb of God
• We prayed that the Lord would give, especially the religious, a great revelation of His mercy
• We asked for a divine dissatisfaction in the hearts of those who are content with mere religion and outward observance, and mere writings and legends of men
• We asked that the Lord would stir many in this nation and give them a longing for mercy, a hunger for grace.
• We prayed much for the outpouring of His Spirit upon this nation.

We prayed for the Body of Messiah

• We prayed for the many who have come to faith but have no revelation of the cross
• We prayed that same revelation that is to come upon Israel, to come now upon the Body
• We prayed for the breaking of self-righteousness in the Body of Messiah
• We prayed that the believers in the Land may feel their need for the Blood of Messiah, every day, every hour.
• We prayed for a great thirst for the water of life (Spirit in John 7:37-39)
• We prayed for a craving for the Word in the Body, in the congregations, in the hearts of the believers
• We asked the Lord to convict us of the ways of the world and of the flesh

We prayed for the nations around us - in a protective/redemptive way
While we stand firmly before the Lord to protect our nation from the evil desires of the nations around us to annihilate us, we also pray for the redemptive plan of God for those nations, in the process of the restoration of Israel.

In Micah 7:16-17 is one of the places in scriptures that show clearly that God’s restoration of Israel brings awe and a fear upon the nations around here. See Isaiah 2 as well - There, God rebukes the nations, but the end result is that they come to hear the Word of the Lord. The same is expressed in Ezekiel 36, you can find it there.

• We prayed much for the protection of Israel from her unfriendly neighbors: Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iran and Syria in Syria, etc….
• We declared the Lord has brought us here to Life and not unto death
• We prayed the Lord would not let the nations prevail in their demonic schemes
• We acknowledged that the nations around us are bound by the darkness of Islam
• We asked for the Light to come, in redemptive judgment and in mercy 
• We remembered the many believers in such nations as Iran and Syria and Lebanon
• We prayed that the nations will know that the Lord He is God alone!  
• We asked the Lord to use the natural disasters to turn many to God (severe drought in Iran, Locusts in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries in our region)

We prayed for our upcoming elections

• We asked God for Mercy! Oh how we need mercy in this whole business of government! 
• Lord you see the need within the Land
• Lord you know the unrighteousness and corruption
• Lord you see the poverty 
• Lord you see the political “market.”
• Lord you see the need to open the country to Aliya (immigration) and absorption
• Lord you see the need as far as defense goes
• Lord the Government is upon Your shoulders — chose the leaders you want in all departments… make this government serve your purpose for this nation, including your promises to bless the people and give them a hope and a future! 
• Regarding the soon to be revealed Trump plan for the Middle East, we prayed: Lord save us from our friends...

Thank you for standing with us. May the Lord refresh you in the Word, and may He, strengthen your Faith and establish your Hope in Him!

Blessings from Jerusalem,

Sin, Redemption and the Grace to come
Every praying person, or group, need to continually come back to the Word to be refreshed in understanding, re-aligned with the mind of the Lord and to be re-inspired to pray.

We read Isaiah 59, an astounding chapter in that it begins with an excoriating revelation and rebuke of Judah’s sins and corruptions, but ends with mighty salvation and outpoured grace that continues to flow right through the next chapters; so powerful are the flow of grace and mercy! 

And wherefore the change? In one word: Messiah! 

Is. 59:16  He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor;  Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
Is. 59:17  For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.

On these verses, JFB comments: “…namely, to atone by his righteousness for the unrighteousness of the people. “Man” is emphatic, as in 1 Kings 2:2; no representative man able to retrieve the cause of fallen men” “no intercessor — no one to interpose, “to help . . . uphold”
His arm — (Isaiah 40:10; 51:5). Not man’s arm, but His alone (Psalms 98:1; 44:3). 
his righteousness — the “arm” of Messiah.1

And while these verses describe the victory of the cross, the next verses are a prophecy of the future, of this outpoured grace. 

Is. 59:19 So they will fear the name of the LORD from the west and His glory from the rising of the sun, for He will come like a rushing stream which the wind of the LORD drives.
Is. 59:20   “A Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the LORD. (NASB)

He will come like a mighty rushing stream driven by the Spirit (see Acts 2:2) He will come to Zion as Redeemer. (This verse is quoted in Roman 11:26-27) His glory will arise in the earth  (Isaiah 62:2), He will judge the nations (Isaiah 59:18), He will arise over this nation in great light and glory (Isaiah 60:1). And best of all, He will save His people, He will redeem them from their sins, He will reconcile them to Himself, and He will abide in their midst. His presence, once again, will be the covering of His people. They shall dwell and live before Him. They will behold His beauty, they will taste His Goodness and Mercy and will live in His presence. 

What a prospect is this?  It just underlines the disaster that Sin is! It only fills the heart with longing for That Day! We long for the Day that He will come to wash our sins away! Oh for the prospect of His Presence filing this land! 

We prayed for Israel's redemption

• We prayed first for the redemption of our nation
• We prayed into the verses in Isaiah 59 acknowledging our state and asking for redemption
• We prayed for the Lord to confront our nation with its sins
• We prayed for the Spirit to come like a mighty rushing Wind (see John 16:8)
• We prayed for the Lord to bring Israel low spiritually (sense its need)
• We prayed for God to give Israel a sense of its spiritual bankruptcy 
• We prayed for a revelation of the crucified Messiah to our people
• We thanked God for the cross of Yeshua
• We asked God for forgiveness (as representing the nation) for our idolatry 
• We asked God to give Israel a divine dissatisfaction and with it a longing for God Himself
• We asked God to give people in the land an insatiable curiosity regarding Yeshua
• We asked God to bring us to brokenness and neediness in the things of God
• We asked the Lord to bring Yeshua up, into society as a subject
• We asked God to pour out His Spirit on us according to the promises in the Word (See Joel 2:28, Ezekiel 37, etc.)

We prayed for the Body of Messiah in the Land

• We asked for the grace to set Yeshua as our chief Joy
• We acknowledge how worldly we have become as a Body
• We asked for revelation in the Body of how much we need Yeshua
• We asked for a renewal of the spirit of gratitude in the Body 

Some of the prayers we prayed: 

• You desire a grateful heart
• Show us how to Love you so we can pour our heart out before you
• Teach us how to listen to you
• Teach us how to wait on you, how to sit at your feet and wait on you
• Give us grateful hearts for the forgiveness of our sins
• Give us the heart to make Yeshua and the cross central to our lives and the life of the congregations
• We submit ourselves to you, have your way, we surrender our plans for the future to you
• Take the reins of our life into your hands
• Let you Spirit operate fully in our life
• Carry out Your plans for each one of us in the Body
• Give us a fresh revelation of Yourself dear Lord

We also prayed for the coming elections
We noted how, as usual, the campaigns have turned into mud slinging and ugly name calling. People seem to hope for a party that will fix everything and is different than all the others, only to be downhearted after the elections that it is all more of the same. 

Oh, how we need God’s intervention. 

• We all cried out to the Lord for mercy on Israel
• We put before the Lord many of the different issues regarding the need of this nation: social and economic, security, the big question of the future of the Palestinians, the political sellout to the Orthodox (religious) parties.
• We prayed for the right people in office, those who would further God’s agenda for Israel at this time: “whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put down.” (Daniel 5:19) Although this is said of Nebuchadnezzar it is truer of the Lord, who can put in office anyone whom He wishes, whenever He wants. (Luke 1:52 and Daniel 4:37)

Thank you for standing with us. 

Blessings from Jerusalem,


​
_______________________
1. JFB commentary