Israel Prayer Letter July / August 2011 Dear intercessors, Intercession means self-denial, as nearly everything else we do in our spiritual life, we do in order to feel good. This was said by a conference speaker in spring. Last year I took the following note, from what was said by another speaker. Intercessors rarely receive honour and recognition here on earth, as opposed to preachers, organ players, theologians, writers and music directors. Intercessors receive their reward in heaven. Maybe both statements are a bit overdrawn? It is a matter of fact that most Israel prayer meetings are sparsely attended, and many times intercession is a lonely task. In this letter I want to appeal to you urgently, to reserve extra time during the coming months to pray for the Jewish people. The State of Israel is in danger, serious danger. "Let the priests, who minister before the LORD, weep between the portico and the altar. Let them say, Spare your people, LORD. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples: 'Where is their God?'" (Joel 2:17). On your walls, o Jerusalem, I have put watchmen. Peter Benard, intercessory prayer co-ordinator. THE NATIONS / EUROPE On 17 April of this year well-known Bible-teacher Lance Lambert spoke a prophetic word in his home-town Jerusalem. It starts with an encouragement towards intercession, followed by a prophecy about the Arab world. At the heart of the message is a summons to intercession, followed by a prophecy about the western world. And finally yet another summons to intercession. The full text in English can be read at www.lancelambert.org. In this prayer letter I will cite the prophecies about the Arab world and the Western world, complemented with prayer points of my own. "Take very seriously what is taking place in the Arab world. It is no good for Israel! It is not a move toward freedom and true democracy, but an enormous gain for militant Islam. They will seek to annihilate and liquidate Israel, but they will not only fail; their strength and power will be broken, and a huge harvest of souls will be saved from amongst them." - Pray for the Arab world on the basis of Psalm 83: "Cover their faces with shame, LORD, so that they will seek your name.", verse 16. - Thank God, that in the Arab-Islamic countries many people are seeking, they meet Jesus, their souls are being saved. - Pray that the power of intimidation and the power of terror will be broken down. Both are nourished by dictatorial regimes. - Thank God for the 'Arab spring', and pray that it will not turn into an extremist 'winter'. - Pray that what is visible in the natural world - the casting off of the yoke of oppression - will also work out in the spiritual world - accepting freedom in Christ. "Shortly also I will begin more serious judgment on the Western nations. I will bring them to nothing; I will turn them upside down; I will grind them to powder. They will not know what has hit them. It will seem as if there is nothing left of what once I worked in those nations; Especially that Superpower. I will bring it to weakness; she will no longer be super, but a pity of the nations." - Pray for the western world on the basis of Jonah ch.3: "Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways...", verse 8. - Pray for your own country, for the countries in Europe and the rest of the western world, for repentance and turning to Jesus. - Thank God, that if sinners show repentance and turn to Him, God will not let the harm that He intended to do to them, come to pass. - Pray that the West, Babylon, will let go off Greek thinking. That the West, Jerusalem, will once again take up Torah thinking. - Pray for the above on the basis of Psalm 28. ISRAEL On 25 June 2006 Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by terrorist movement Hamas. For five long years he has been held in captivity, and so far negotiations about his release have not yielded any result. - Continue to pray for his release, and for wisdom for Netanyahu's government. - Pray for the cabinet of Prime Minister Netanyahu, for the 120 Members of Knesset, for the judiciary and spiritual authorities in the Land. For the Jewish people and all that dwell in the land and are prepared to submit to the authority of the State. The time ahead is not going to be easy. The Palestinian Authority and the terrorist movement Hamas have signed an agreement for a unity government. But Hamas denies Israel's right of existence. They want the Palestinian State proclaimed through the UNO in September; scores of countries support this initiative. The prophecy of Joel ch.3 is materializing more and more: nations scattering the Jewish people and dividing the Jewish land. - Give thanks, that the Lord is a refuge and a stronghold for His people Israel. (verse 16) - Give thanks, that "Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem through all generations.", verse 20. - Pray and give thanks for the prophecy of Isaiah ch.49: the Jewish people returns. The nations have a choice, either to be blessed by this or to oppose it. In the former case they will find God is on their side, in the latter case, God is against them. - Thank God for: "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor." (verse 3) "I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth." (verse 6) "I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save." (verse 25) So there is a decisive time ahead of us, both for Israel and the nations. Psalm1 gives all Psalms in a nutshell, as regarding our personal lives. Taking pleasure in the Law (word) of the Lord. Psalm 2 summarizes all Psalms for the nations: "Be warned, you rulers of the earth". Be encouraged, and intercede on the basis of these Psalms. - Give thanks for the many rain showers during the month of April; the water level in the Sea of Galilea has risen considerably. - Thank God for the new immigrants, who have also come home during the months of April, May and June, especially from Ethiopia. - Thank God that there is an increase in aid to survivors of the Shoah (Holocaust), both by private persons and by the government. - Pray and give thanks for the many initiatives by Christians in many countries, to especially support this group, which is vulnerable and becoming extinct. Jesus, the Son of Man, blesses us with His Kingdom. "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink... sick and you looked after me" "'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for Me." (Matthew 25:31-40) - Thank God, that by blessing the Jewish people we get to know Jesus better - this is such riches. Jesus comes closer to our hearts and we to His. - Pray also for the three children that were left after the massacre of the Fogel family in the town of Itamar in Samaria, on Sabbath eve of 11 March. They are Tamar (age 12), Roi (8) en Yishai (2). Both parents, Udi (36) and Ruth (35), together with Yoav (11) and Elad (4) and three months old Hadas were slaughtered by the terrorists. - Pray that the relatives, especially the grand-parents that are now educating the three children, receive strength and wisdom from God, for dealing with this situation. - Pray for the survivors of many other acts of terror; this appalling deed has opened many old wounds. - Pray and give thanks for the Jewish inhabitants of Judea and Samaria. There are 320,000 Jews living in 150 villages and towns. - Pray for good relations with the Arab inhabitants of the near-by villages and towns. - Pray for preservation in Israeli hands of this Biblical territory, comprising Biblical places like Shiloh, Hebron, Bethel, Tekoah and Gilgal. JERUSALEM Summons to prayer for an undivided Jerusalem by the European Coalition for Israel (ECI). ECI launches call for prayer for a united Jerusalem Brussels, 7th June, 2011 - As the capital city of Israel is facing yet another attempt to divide it, the European Coalition for Israel, together with a network of respected international prayer leaders, is calling for prayer for a united Jerusalem. On June 1st a campaign to advocate for a united Jerusalem and a negotiated, just and lasting peace agreement in the Middle East was launched in the European Parliament in Brussels. Today, on the June 7th, which also marks Jerusalem Day according to the Gregorian calendar, a call for Prayer will be issued on a global level. Together with prayer leaders from around the world, ECI is asking believers not only to pray for a united Jerusalem, but also for their own national governments, as they will soon have to vote on the issue of a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state at the upcoming United Nation General Assembly in New York, starting on September 19th. The campaign concludes that a unilateral declaration would in fact divide Jerusalem and is illegal according to international law. The call reads. "History demonstrates that only Jewish sovereignty over the holy sites in Jerusalem will keep the city open for people of all faiths, Muslims as well as Christians. In this respect, Jerusalem is already a 'shared capital', though under the sovereignty of the Jewish state. Both International Law and the Word of God confirm that Jerusalem belongs historically to the Jews. This does not contradict the fact that there is also a place for others, something that has been brilliantly demonstrated by the Israeli Government since they recaptured East Jerusalem in 1967. During the Jordanian rule of East Jerusalem (1949-1967) Jews did not have access to their holy sites in the Old City and many of their synagogues were destroyed. Under Jewish oversight however, the city has remained open for people of all religious affiliations." The campaign will encourage believers to pray daily for the peace of Jerusalem as well as for their own governments - that they will firmly respect Jewish sovereignty over Jerusalem and will not further divide the land. Nearer to the date of the UN meeting in New York, more information will be given as to how believers can be involved in intercession as well as during the week of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York itself. You can join the campaign to pray for a united Jerusalem by signing the pledge on our new campaign website on www.keepjerusalemunited.org As Christians for Israel International we wholeheartedly recommend this ECI initiative to you. Attached you will find a copy of the Pledge which you can sign and send to ECI. In the event of serious developments you will receive an extra Prayer Letter. Also keep checking the ECI website, they regularly post additional information and points of prayer. God bless you in your intercession, in this so decisive time for Israel. PRAYER / CHURCH OF CHRIST Praying for Israel is not just optional to Christians. Many Christians pray over a variety of subjects. Wonderful, but nobody can ignore the emphatic Biblical summons to pray for the heart of Israel, the city of Jerusalem. "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: 'May those who love you be secure.'" (Psalm 122:6) "I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night." (Isaiah 62:6) In previous centuries there may have been the excuse that Jerusalem was not visible. And to pray for the peace of a heavenly Jerusalem? No doubt there is always peace there? But now Jerusalem has become the capital of the Jewish State of Israel, and needs peace more than ever before. The threat of terror is always present, as is the pressure to divide the city once again. Or to bring the city under Islamic rule. On 14 May, during a speech in Gaza delivered by a representative of Mahmud Abbas, Netanyahu was tackled heavily. "Oh Netanyahu, you are unimportant in history, we are the people with a history. History belongs to us." On 12 May there was a television broadcast by Palestine Authority controlled PA TV. It featured a registration of a large political Fatah meeting in a stadium. Clearly recognizable among the public was president Abbas. The theme: "All of Israel is my country." Another important slogan of the Fatah movement is: "We say to Netanyahu, when he claims that Jewish history goes back to 3000 years B.C., then our history comprises 7000 years, as a Palestinian state in the land of Canaan. Only one response is appropriate here: reading history again in chapters 12, 15 and 17 of Genesis. - Thank God for his promises to and covenants with Abraham, and through him with his descendants. Taking as a central reference Genesis 12:3: "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." In Galatians 3 verse 14 this theme is developed further: "...that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit." - Thank God for His covenant with Abraham and for the promise of the land. - Thank God for His Son Jesus, the Mediator for all peoples. - Pray that the eyes of the Arab peoples will be opened to these spiritual truths. Only the Prince of Peace brings peace!