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PRAYING
FOR ISRAEL
The following is adapted from "Praying for Israel,"
by Gerald Rowlands.
The
Current crisis is another birth pang, not the end of
the world!
It is easy to over-react every time war breaks out in
the Middle East ... without a doubt the current situation
is critical: It involves more than Israel and Lebanon,
it is a part of the larger conflict with militant Islam
... Iran, which could soon be a nuclear threat, is playing
a direct role.
But,
this is not the end of the world and we need to pray
accordingly.
God is at work, the enemy is raging and the plan of
redemption continues to unfold.
This is not the time to panic; this
is the time to dig in!
...
It is certainly appropriate to pray that God will thwart
the attacks of those who seek to destroy his people
Israel, but whenever we pray, we must always remember
God's heart for a lost and dying world. Every life is
precious to Him, and Jesus died for Jew and Gentile
alike.
The Scriptures are totally clear on this: He is not
willing that any should perish but that all should come
to repentance (2 Pet 3:9) and He wants all people to
be saved (1 Tim 2:4). Jesus is not only the propitiation
for our sins but also for the sins of the whole world.
(1 John 2:2).
In
terms of our salvation and standing in the Lord, "there
is no difference between Jew and Gentile - the same
Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call
on him, for, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved." (Romans 10:12-13).
In
the light of this we should pray that God would use
the current crisis to open the eyes of both Israelis
and Arabs to the good news of the Messiah, and we
should ask our Father for a great harvest of souls,
for many new births to take place - even among the terrorists.
Is anything too hard for the Lord?
Jesus
is still the One who saves to the uttermost (Heb
7:25).
So
pray for the gospel to go forth in love and power and
compassion. Pray for divine opportunities for Jesus
to be exalted in the Middle East.
Pray that God would open closed hearts and uncover deaf
ears, remembering that it is often during times of crisis
that people turn to the Lord.
Be
sure also to pray for those who are christian in
name only - this is prevalent in Lebanon - that
their eyes will be opened to the truth. And pray that
God will also expose the emptiness of Islam. since many
young people around the world are being drawn into it,
especially in its most radical forms.
It
is the Lord who brought back the Jewish people to the
Land of Israel in the 20th century, an event of great
prophetic significance (see Ezek 36:22-36 which speaks
to our day as well)...
The
Lord is still in covenant relationship with Israel in
a special and unique way, which means that those who
seek to wipe out Israel, who launch terrorist attacks
against the Jews, who plot for Israel's destruction,
are ultimately fighting against God Himself.
Whether they know it or not, they are
seeking to make Him into a liar, to prove His word false,
to destroy those whom God promised to preserve.
In
the light of that, we should pray for God to stand against
those who seek to destroy His people, asking Him to
frustrate their devices, but we must never forget that
the ultimate need of the people of Israel is a personal
relationship with God through the Messiah.
...
Shortly before His crucifixion, Jesus spoke to Jerusalem
and said, "Look your house is left to you desolate.
For I tell you, you will not see me again until you
say "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the
Lord." (Matthew 23:38-39.
In other words, "Jerusalem, you are about to
be devastated and destroyed and you will not see Me
again until you welcome Me as your Messianic King."
...
when a Jewish Jerusalem welcomes back Yeshua, it's over
and done for satan.
The
Scriptures teach that at the end of the age, God Himself
will cause Jerusalem to be at the centre of a great
world conflict, out of which He will deliver His people
(Zech 12-14).
That's why the battle for Jerusalem is so intense.
That's why God's people are called to pray specifically
for Jerusalem.
"I
have posted watchmen on your walls O Jerusalem, they
will never be silent day or night..." Isa 62:6-7
We are called to Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem (Psalm
122) and more specifically to give God no rest until
"He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the prise
of the earth."
Pray
for God's purposes for Jerusalem to stand, for all attempts
to wrest it out of Jewish hands to fail, for war and
disaster to be held back until the appointed times.
To
sum up ... we pray for souls ... we pray for God's prophetic
purposes ... we pray for great mercy to be poured out
... for the preservation of the Jewish people &
God's plans for Israel to come to pass
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