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,


​
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1. JFB commentary

“I write not for those who want a “bottle” (“I have fed you with milk”) but for those who want to battle. My heart is at rest—but I am restless for revival. I have peace—but yet am at war against principalities and powers and against everything in the Church that clutters up the blocked channel through which revival could come. I am not alone, thank God, for many saints long for Christ’s appearing—first in the power of revival, and then in majesty in the skies. To them, I write these simple words, for such they are. May God bless them to your hungry hearts.”  (Revival Praying, Leonard Ravenhill)

My heart is stirred up. I am longing for God’s interventions, for His appearing, for His mighty arm to be made bare. Ravenhill’s words, above, describe my hearts condition. “My heart is at rest—but I am restless.” I don’t want “a bottle” but to “battle” for the purposes of God on the earth. 

My heart cries out with the prophet’s 

“Oh, that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence, As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence! When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou camest down, the mountains flowed down at thy presence. For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.” Isaiah 64:1-4 

I wonder how long it will be till He comes to deliver us from our adversaries, till He restores us to Himself. Until  He descends in clouds of Glory, till he overshadows us with His Presence. 

Psa. 74:10  O God, how long will the adversary reproach?  Will the enemy blaspheme Your name forever?
Psa. 90:13  Return, O LORD!  How long?  And have compassion on Your servants.
Psa. 94:3  LORD, how long will the wicked,  How long will the wicked triumph?


Indeed, How long?!  

Matt. 8:25 Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

This verse is usually taken negatively, as the disciples should have had more faith in the “sleeping” savior". But for us, now, this cry can be a cry of the heart to the Lord to “stir himself awake” and save us. 

Psa. 44:23-26 Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off forever. Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression? For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth. Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies’ sake.

Do you know how to cry to God as the sons of Korah did?  Or as Isaiah? 

Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? Therefore the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. Is. 51:9-11

Such cries of hope come out of a desperate heart, a heart which feels the need. Such desperate cries come out of hearts that have been touched by God, by the Spirit and have been set on fire. Such cries come out of the desperate, the suffering, those to whom the world is dead and whose hearts are filled with deep longing for His reign.  

Lot, who lived in Sodom, was “vexed” (2 Pet 2:7) by the moral conditions of Sodom, but never prayed. He was worn out and distressed by the situation, but there is no record of Him crying out to God for Sodom. It was Abraham’s prayers that actually brought deliverance to Lot, in the midst of judgment. 

• Do you long to be personally revived and be fully awakened to God? Cry out to Him!
• Do you long to see your church aflame in God? Cry out to Him! 
• Do you long to see people in your church, go all out in loving God? Cry out to Him!
• Do you long, with us, to see many saved? Cry out to Him!
• Do you long to see your church understand God’s coming grace to Israel? Cry out to Him!
• Do you long to see Israel gathered from the ends of the earth to the land of Israel? Cry out to Him! (Anti-Semitism is up 74 percent this year in France, and the same is trend in the UK, Germany.)
• The world is becoming unsafe for Jewish people. Cry out to Him to bring them to Israel!
• Do you long, with us, to see the deliverance of Israel from her enemies - Cry out to Him!
• Do you long, with us, to see Israel delivered from her sins - Cry out to Him!
• Do you long, with us, to see the acceptance of Messiah by Israel? Cry out to Him to remove the veil.
• Do you long, with us, to see the Holy Spirit so poured out that all of Israel cries out in repentance? - Cry out to Him! 

May your heart be stirred to call upon the name of the Lord. 
May you be awakened by the Lord to, as those five virgins who made themselves ready. May you be awake and alive to God, and may you be stirred up to battle this mighty battle of prayer, till He comes.


Blessings from Jerusalem,

Golan Heights
While on a prayer tour in the Golan, we noticed the massive amount of stones in the fields, as you can see from the picture. To make these fields arable, the rocks have to be removed. This takes much work as you can imagine; multiple times of plowing and removing, plowing and removing stones, until the soil is ready to be sown! 

We noted that although the Lord has already pronounced blessings on the land (See Ezekiel  36:8-12), we have to toil to bring the blessing to the fullness of expression. The blessing is there, but we have a part also! 

We were inspired to “plow” in prayer for the Lord to remove the “stones” from the spiritual fields of Israel, to make her fruitful for God.

We asked those present in the prayer meeting to name “stones” that we could pray for the Lord to remove. 
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These are the “stones” we prayed the Lord would take out from Body of Messiah

• Lack of consecration
• Self-Righteousness - clothe us with your garments, O Lord - Isaiah 61:10 Remove stones of Self-righteousness and clothe us as a bride adorned with humility. Wash and cleanse us and reveal the cross of your love to your children
• Stone of compromise
• Stone of indifference to sharing the gospel
• Unbelief
• Sin (covetousness, pride, envy, anger, adultery, impurity
• Sexual compromise
• Cares of this world
• Fear and distrust of God

(It is hard to pray this way, isn’t it?  One would rather pray more positively, it feels better. But no doubt, farmers would rather not have to sweat taking stones out of the ground either.) 

On the positive side, we remembered what one farmer in the Gaza Strip told us before they were evacuated. When we visited there, we were astounded to see huge celery plants growing in tiny pots. When we asked about it, the farmer told us that the soil there was impoverished, but that that made it easy for them to drip nutrients via a computer, to each pot. She also shared with us that when the first settlers came to Gaza after the '73 war, the locals thought they were crazy, that nothing would grow there as the soil was so poor. But the settlers responded by saying, "The God who brought us back to the land, will bless this land." They believed in the promise of blessing of the Land, but also worked hard to see it come to pass.

So as you can see, it's not only necessary to take stuff out of the ground, such as stones, but also to put into the soil things that would make it rich. Prayer works in similar ways too… 
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"There is none that calls upon your name, that stirs up himself to take hold of you!" Isaiah 64:7)
O’ what an anguished cry of the Holy Spirit through the prophet! Where are God’s people? Why are they not taking hold of God and calling upon His name to fulfill His covenant promises?

So often we act as if we are the ones who have to chase God do what is needed! How skewed and untrue is that! Rather, God has given us the Word, His Word; His covenant promises and has sealed them with the Blood of His Son and has assured us time and again, that he would stand by His Word and do what He has promised. All we have to do is seek Him, and stir ourselves up to take hold of Him! How wonderful is that! The word ‘stir’ means to awaken oneself!  Do you put on an alarm clock to wake you up if you have an important engagement? Let your spiritual alarm clock ring loudly, and awaken you to get a hold of God for His Kingdom, for the Church, for Israel!  

We are called upon to seek His face and call upon His name
Psa. 24:1 The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, 
Psa. 24:2  for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.
Psa. 24:6  Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.  Selah

Psalm 24 reminds us of the greatness of God and of His ownership of all creation; it calls us to seek His face. We are called upon to seek His face and call upon Him to fulfill His covenant promises, specifically His covenant promises to Israel.

Psa. 99:6  Moses and Aaron were among His priests,  And Samuel was among those who called upon His name;  They called upon the LORD, and He answered them.

Two dangers to our praying effectively
One of the dangers we face is that we might take the call of the Spirit to seek the Lord, in a self-centered way. The spirit of the age encourages and promotes self-seeking and self-centeredness, and the church is deeply affected by this. Thus we are tempted to seek the Lord only for ourselves, for our needs, our wants, our fears. 

While there is nothing wrong with bringing our needs to the Lord, there is a danger in making that, the center of our spiritual life; of making it our primary motive for seeking God.

Instead, we are taught in scripture to seek the Kingdom of God first, or to be about our Father’s business, i.e., to center on His will and desire as revealed in the Word. 

Moses, Aaron, and Samuel called upon the Lord in times of great crises and won forgiveness and grace for Israel, in times of great need. 

We are called to do the same. 

We are meant to seek the face of God, and call upon His name to fulfill His covenant promises. This ought to be our primary vocation as far as prayer is concerned. And He has promised to add everything else to us. 

The second danger has to do with our attitude towards Israel. We are in danger of approaching Israel’s restoration in the last days, in a romantic, emotional way. What I mean is that if we are not careful, we might take Israel’s condition lightly. We could fall into thinking that because we are living in days of fulfillment and favor upon Israel that God has “winked” at Israel’s rejection of her Messiah, and at her sinful condition. 

Nothing is further from the truth in this matter. After all, it has taken the blood of His Son, to reconcile us to God. This lax kind of attitude will, no doubt, lead to weak and superficial praying, which will cause our prayers to be totally ineffective; a waste of time (His and ours). 
 
Instead we are called upon to give Him nor rest (Isaiah 62:7), to get a hold of 
God (Isaiah 64:7), and to go through in prayer (Isaiah 62:10)

With this in mind we read Ezekiel 36:23-29 This wonderful prayer list is of a quite complete scope.  Rather than write out our own praying, I am listing here the main verses we used in our praying, hoping you will be inspired by the Word and Spirit to stand with us for the fulfillment of these amazing promises.  

Some of you have been praying these verses for quite a while, and perhaps you feel they are ‘old hat.’ Not so! The Word has an unfathomable depth to it. One can pray over the same scriptures and be so moved and impassioned to such intensity that is beyond the realm of the natural. May the Holy Spirit ‘breathe’ on you as you pray these verses and may you experience the answers to them, not only for Israel but in your own life.

We prayed into the following verse:

• The great motive of God in restoring Israel - Ezek. 36:23 And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; 
• The great result of Israel’s restoration - "and the nations shall know that I am the LORD,” says the Lord GOD, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes."
• The great regathering of Israel - Ezek. 36:24 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.
• The great cleansing of Israel - Ezek. 36:25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.
• The great heart-change of Israel - Ezek. 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
• The great outpouring of the Spirit - Ezek. 36:27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
• The great outcome - Ezek. 36:28 Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.
• The great blessing - Ezek. 36:29 I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you.

Thank You for standing with us and more importantly, with the Lord, for His end-time, Kingdom purposes. Surely those who pray for 'rain', will be soaked by it too, if they go outside (of the Church's conventional replacement theology box).

Blessings from Jerusalem,

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Shalom,
We did not hold our regular Wednesday prayer meeting because of a weather alert in Jerusalem (high winds and snow). Nevertheless, we send the following as an inspiration to continue to stand before the Lord and give Him no rest till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth! 

Israel, rocked again, by scandal and corruption
Not only is Israel heading towards elections, some of because of alleged corruption in the highest levels of government. But a new scandal has hit the papers. A massive investigation of some of the top people in the Judiciary has hit Israel like a bomb. 

Just yesterday, it was reported that the Head of Israel Bar Association suspected of trading influence for sexual favors. The sub-headline read, “Effi Naveh, who represents the Israel Bar Association on the Judicial Selection Committee, allegedly promoted judicial appointments for sexual favors.” (Read here )

Scandal after scandal has exploded into the consciousness of Israeli society this year and is rocking Israel to its core; we are all wondering where it is all going to end?  A corrupt country becomes a weak country, both within and without. 

Living in a pre-election time, we are flooded with slogans, promises, and planks that enumerate each party’s vision for Israel and her future. Everyone is sighing and hoping that the next leader will really do wonders, fix everything, clean house and set Israel on a promising course towards a bright, safe and prosperous future. 

I don’t think this will happen. My hope lays somewhere else; in God. And He is not up for election or reelection.  

We don’t get to vote for Him; we get to believe. Period. He chose us and has revealed that our future as a nation is to be ruled by Him forever! Halleluia! He is the leader I am looking for to come and reign over us! 

Jer. 33:15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.
Jer. 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

This is well expressed in Mary's song:  
Luke 1:51  He has shown strength with His arm;  He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
Luke 1:52  He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly.
Luke 1:53  He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.
Luke 1:54  He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy,
Luke 1:55  As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

She expected, as her generation and all generations of Jews since then, that the Messiah would reign in Justice. 

But that generation did not expect the cross! They did not expect that the Messiah would first reveal God’s judgment on sin in man before He would bring justice on the earth between man. 

And this is where we very much are at the moment, in this land. We hope in man or in a man, who would bring the longed for justice in the land, and on the earth. How dangerous that is! One day an imposter will come and claim to be the Messiah. But his justice and rule will be a great delusion and illusion. For only the real Messiah, Yeshua can offer true liberty and justice. It starts in our hearts, through the word of redemption on the cross, and expands to our society. Any other hope is vain and delusive. 

So I will stand before Him, who is our King and continue to believe for my people that, He that is the true and only Messiah, Yeshua, will come and rule over us.  

Isaiah 42:4He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
 
The victory of the cross will one day fill the land, and indeed the world:

Isaiah 42:1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

This is where we stand crying out for salvation for our nation. We have come back to the land and are finding out that our enemies are not only without but that we need to be saved from ourselves and not just our enemies. 

• O cry with us for Israel’s salvation, 
• Cry with us for His Light and Truth to invade our land. 
• Cry with us for mercy on this nation. 
• Cry with us intensely as Israel did until he hears  Ex. 2:24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. Ex. 2:25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

Blessings from Jerusalem,

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Shalom from Jerusalem, 
Our regular intercessory prayer meeting meets on Wednesdays. Bi-monthly, I also attend a  Jewish-Arab pastors prayer meeting, and this week we met on Thursday, a day after our regular prayer meeting. 

I was surprised and blessed to find a dear brother, who pastors in a neighboring Arab country also attending. He filled me in on what is happening in the Arab world and mainly what is happening in Syria regarding the gospel. It is exciting to learn how much the Lord is working there, but also of the challenges facing the work of God there. I share it here for your encouragement and for prayer, of course.

Pray for God’s work among Syrian Kurds
X shared with me that the work of God among the Muslims in many Arab countries is exploding. In Syria, there is a move of God among the Kurds. Hundreds of them have come to the Lord in the last few years. Many are coming to the workers to inquire of this Yeshua; there is a hunger and a longing for light. Still, others come, as they have experienced a visitation of some sort, whether in a dream or what.  Hundreds of House churches have sprung up as a result of this move. 

But there is a dark side to all of this delicate and beautiful work. The US plan to pull out of Syria is casting a dark shadow on the future of these churches and believers. Once American troops vacate, Turkey is planning to move in. Wherever the Turkish forces have come, they have persecuted and shut down any Christian activity. Two regions have suffered the most; Efrin and Kobane. There, the Turkish troops have abused and cruelly suppressed these new Christians.  

Please join us in prayer for the work of God among the Kurds in Syria. 

• Pray for some entity to fill the void that the US will leave behind, a body that would be conducive to the work God is doing
• Pray that the Lord would delay or time the US pullout to fit His Own Plans and Purposes
• Pray for the MBB’s in those areas (MBB stands for Muslim Background Believers)
• Pray for the house churches that they will be able to continue to meet by some miracle
• Pray for the leaders of this movement, pastors and workers who are risking their lives to reach their own countrymen with the gospel
• Pray this Arab pastor and all the Arab organizations that were working in Arab lands — that they may be highly successful in reaching out to Muslims throughout the Arab world. 

The fantastic thing about this pastor is that he totally believes in the restoration of Israel and the preaching of the gospel that his people do, includes this truth and conviction. That’s the best peace plan I have ever heard of! 

The rains have come - We rejoice in the blessing, but continue to pray for the fullness
Water water everywhere! Israel has experienced some excellent rainy weather in the last few weeks. The last few days have seen unusually heavy rains in the north; where it counts the most. The river and the springs are coming to life again, and everyone is delighted. The Sea of Galilee which has suffered terribly in the last 5 years for lack of rain, has come up 21 cm in the previous week alone. ​