Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. Can two walk together, except they be agreed? Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing? Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all? Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it? Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he reveals his secret unto his servants the prophets. The lion hath roared, who will not fear? The Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?

Amos 3:1-8

One of the largest burdens of the prophets was intercession for the People of God. We do not call ourselves prophets, but as intercessors, we pray the Lord would reveal the secrets of His heart to us so that we would know how to pray!

  1. In this past week, there have been some very troubling things happen in Israel A far-right wing radical group broke into a military base to do damage and harass soldiers. Later, this same group wrote the words "Nazi" and "price tag" on the wall of a check point. Finally, this group is said to also be responsible for the vandalism of some mosques in Judea and Samaria. The media is doing its best to lump all settlers together with this radical group. PM Netanyahu has had to move a little more left in some of his comments because of the actions of this group. If left unchecked, these types of occurrences could inflame the entire country and demonize the settlers; most of whom just want to build homes on the Land God gave them. This situation needs our prayers. We prayed:

    • Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

      Psalm 133

      Please diffuse this situation and bring unity among our brothers in this country.

    • Quench the fire in this radical group and cause them to see the error in what they are doing.

    • Encourage the leaders of the settlers to speak out against this type of radicalism that just hurts their cause.

    • We know that You can work this out for the good - do it for Your Holy Name Sake Lord.

    • Give our Prime Minister the words a leader needs to speak in order to bring calm.

    • Let there not be an overreaction by the Left by the actions of a few radicals.

    • We pray the IDF would find all the perpetrators before they can do anything else.

    • Protect all the settlers from any backlash.

    • Do not allow this to become a rallying cry for the Palestinians to start violence again.

    • Please prevent bills from being introduced in the Knesset that would target settlers.

  2. For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

    Ezekiel 36:24-27

    The ultimate solution for the problem is salvation of the Jewish people. We turned our prayers to pray specifically for the settlers to come to know their Messiah, because of how much they value living in the Land of their Fathers. We prayed:

    • May the Light of the Messiah shine brighter in their hearts during this holiday season.

    • Fulfill Your Word and save Your people - the remnant of Israel.

    • Lift up the believers who live among the settlers and give them opportunities to share their faith.

    • Yeshua, shine forth in the darkness of the situation!

    • Thank You Lord for the natural growth in the settlers and now we pray for their spiritual growth.

    • Bring unity through the love of Yeshua - raise up some of our ex-Muslim brothers who are Zionist to make the settlers jealous (in a good way).

    • May Your true Name be exalted here in Israel - let Your Name be on everyone's hearts and lips.

  3. With the upheaval the world saw in the Arab Spring, much has changed here in the Middle East. Most of us who were praying could see that this "democratic" challenge to Arab governments would result in groups like the Muslim Brotherhood coming to power. All the changes have put believers at risk in those countries. With more Muslim control, comes a crackdown on true believers who speak the Gospel. We took some time at this point to pray for their protection and encouragement in the face of increased persecution. We prayed:

    • For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. And now shall my head be lifted up above my enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yet, I will sing praises unto the LORD.

      Psalms 27:5-6

    • They are Your sheep Lord, let them hear Your voice.

    • Thank You for the reports in Egypt and Iran about the number of people coming to faith there. Arise and scatter Your enemies so that the Body may be built up.

    • Hide our brothers and sisters in Syria who are becoming the target of the "rebels" who are fighting there.

    • Strengthen the believers and use their lives as a testimony - Let the fire of Your Holy Spirit come upon them!

    • Thank You that Your Word goes forth in the midst of persecution.

    • Show them how and when to meet for their Christmas celebrations so that they would have no fear of attack.

    • Let the spirit of this season attract many of Your enemies into contact with their Messiah.

  4. There have continued to be mysterious explosions in various facilities around Iran. The latest was in a steel mill which was working on a unique metal used in the fashioning of nuclear weapons. Strangely, it was reported that some North Koreans were killed in the explosion. We have no idea who is doing this or how, but we see the Iranian race towards nuclear weapons being severely hindered by it. Having said this, Iran is clearly continuing the push for nuclear weapons. We need to continue our prayer watch over this dangerous situation. We prayed:

    • Thus says the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might. And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from there the king and the princes, says the LORD.

      Jeremiah 49:35 & 38

    • Remove the scepter of authority from Shiite Islam in that area.

    • Thank You for all the explosions that have disrupted the enemy's plans.

    • Don't allow the leaders in Israel to be distracted or lose focus on the danger looming from Iran.

    • If You choose to use Israel to take care of this threat, please give our leaders wisdom to know what to do and how to do it - may You get the glory if this is the way it happens.

    • We pray You would act sovereignly to destroy once and for all this nuclear program.

    • We lay before You the words of our enemies who declare that they want to wipe out Israel - hear and act on behalf of Your people Israel.

    • Keep not silent, O God: hold not your peace, and be not still, O God. For, lo, Your enemies make a tumult: and they that hate You have lifted up the head. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and consulted against thy hidden ones. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.

      Psalm 83:1-4

  5. Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, great and small: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the LORD. And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book. And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the LORD their God. And all his days they departed not from following the LORD, the God of their fathers.

    2 Chronicles 34:29-33

    Prime Minister Netanyahu announced this past week that he was re-establishing a regular Bible Study in the Prime Minister's residence. This is something that Ben Gurion established as the first Prime Minister of Israel, but which was stopped years later. There has not been a bible study of this sort in the Prime Minister's home for many years. This is very encouraging to hear and we pray the Lord would bring much fruit from it. We prayed:

    • Would You reveal Yourself through the study of Your Word!

    • May these Bible studies stick to the written Word of God and not to rabbinical commentaries.

    • We thank You for PM Netanyahu's decision to do this and we ask You to look with favor upon this.

    • Let Your Word go deep within Him and may He be transformed.

    • Let this change filter down to all of those people working under him.

    • May Your people love Your Word and be changed by it.

    • We pray that our Prime Minister would rejoice in the reading of Your Word.

    • We ask that the whole nation would be touched by this decision.

    • May Netanyahu have more boldness to speak scripture during the speeches he gives.

  6. We had a great start to the rainy season here in Israel, but we have had very little rain since. Israel is in desperate need of rain.

    That you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

    Matthew 5:45

    We need to entreat the Lord about this and ask Him for mercy. We prayed:

    • When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue fails for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together:

      Isaiah 41:17-19

    • Change the weather and may it be a wet season - encourage Your people through the rain You send.

    • May the rain fall in the right places - let the Hermon be full of snow.

    • Give us the wisdom to know how to preserve the water that does come.

We thank the Lord for you all who are committed to seeking the Lord with us on behalf of Israel. Please pray for us as we are in the final stretch of preparations for the IPEJ Prayer Conference at the end of January. There is a lot to get done, and we need the strength of the Lord to finish it all. Blessings and Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem!