Why Intercessors for Israel?
Intercessors for Israel seeks to raise up a prayer army in and for Israel. Though we are burdened to teach about and stimulate prayer in the lives of individual believers and in local congregations, our primary calling is to intercede before God in behalf of the people and Land of Israel, and to do our part in the battle to prepare the way for the return of the Lord.
God gave the children of Israel the pattern of spiritual warfare when they first entered the Promised Land. They initially conquered the lands of Bashan (of which the modern-day Golan Heights are just a part), Gilead, and Ammon. These places were given to the tribes of Rueben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh. Yet these tribes were not permitted to possess totally their inheritance until they had assisted the rest of the Israelites to enter into their inheritance as well. In fact, these two and a half tribes actually had to lead the way in battle to conquer the rest of the Land.
Likewise, the battle today for Israel requires assistance from the body of Messiah. While we have entered into our inheritance in Messiah Yeshua, we must lead the way so that the whole house of Israel will possess its full spiritual and physical inheritance. The battle is too large for one prayer group, one congregation, or even all the believers in the Land. It is a battle for the whole body of Messiah fitly joined together, under the direction of the local Israeli leadership.
It is a fierce battle. While there are many places in the world where the visible manifestation of the evil one and his minions is much more evident than in Israel, still it is here that we have the greatest concentration of demonic power on the face of the earth. As we discern the powers and principalities that are ruling the darkness of this age, we see that many of them have their seat of power in the Land of Israel. Why? Because the devil knows the Word of God.
The evil one knows that the Lord is not returning first to the Himalayas or Moscow or New York, etc., but to Jerusalem. The King of the Jews is returning to the capital of the Jewish State. So we must do our part to prepare the way of the Lord. We need to be a prayer army: disciplined, strong, and wise, knowing how to use the weapons of our warfare and to hear and obey the voice of our Lord, Yeshua, the Captain of the hosts of the living God. This is the heartbeat of Intercessors for Israel.