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Praise
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy. (Psalm 107:1-2 and following)
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Thank You, Lord that You are good to Israel and You are redeeming Your people and nation.
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Thank You that You are redeeming us and giving us life and bringing us home. Our cup overflows. (Psalm 23:5)
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Let everything that has breath praise the Lord (Psalm 150)
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We trust in You, we hope in You, we look to You.
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You neither slumber nor sleep. (Psalm 121:4)
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Your presence is always with us.
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Your light scatters the darkness.
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Your mercies are new every morning. (Lamentations 3:23)
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You are fulfilling Your promises to Your people.
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I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever! (Psalm 89:1)
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Prime Minister Netanyahu
This week Bibi Netanyahu was in London to attend the funeral of Baroness Thatcher. During this Christian funeral he heard the reading from Ephesians 6 concerning the nature of our warfare and the need for the armor of God. Pray:
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that Bibi may recognize the spiritual dimension of the warfare against Israel and look to God for wisdom.
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that he would know the One who is the source of all wisdom, is Mighty God and Prince of Peace. (Eccles 2:26 and Isaiah 9)
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Make Bibi bold in his leadership and give him solid advisors. Thank You for raising him up for such a time as this! (Esther 4:14)
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Use him as a tool in Your hand to do Your will.
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Keep him focused on the needs of the nation and free from getting bogged down in politics.
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Fill Bibi with Your Spirit. Make him a man of God who knows and understands Your will and Your way. Save him!
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The Government
After various holidays and memorial days, the new government is in a position to get on with the job of governing the country. They are still new and have many inexperienced people in highly responsible roles, in particular, Finance Minister Yair Lapid. Pray:
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for unity, focus, direction.
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for quick maturing for all the government ministers who are new to the job.
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may Yair Lapid have the humility to seek the help and advice of others with more experience. And may he and the other new ministers be protected from pride coming from their new position and power.
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give them a heart to serve the people rather than serving their own egos.
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may the newness and freshness of the new ministers be used to bring vigor and cleansing in many areas of government.
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Security in the South
Recent weeks have seen a few rocket attacks on Israel. Two rockets fell in Eilat where the Iron Dome missile defense system should have intercepted them but failed to do so. These were fired from the Sinai where a number of terror cells out of Gaza are operating. Egypt has promised to prevent this, but how far should Israel trust Egypt in such matters? Pray:
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Thank the Lord that there have been no Israeli casualties in these recent attacks.
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for wisdom for Israel's leaders, especially Netanyahu, Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon and IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz.
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for right deployment of troops particularly given the rockets fired recently out of Gaza and concerns regarding the security of the border with Syria.
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Thank You, Lord, that You have no shortage of angels in Your heavenly host to counter every danger from Israel's enemies.
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for the right attitude towards Egypt. (see Isaiah 30:1-3)
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Syria
There has been a recent attack upon an Israeli position on the Syrian border. Israel responded by destroying the position from which the attack was launched. Meanwhile there are concerns that Assad has used chemical weapons against his own people. Israel would be in even more danger if these weapons got into the hands of the opposition dominated by al-Qaeda and similar groups. Pray:
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Thanks that Israel was able to repel the recent attack without casualties.
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That the Lord would continue to have His way in the conflict and chaos in Syria. (Psalm 129:5)
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Protect Israel's Northern border. Give the IDF alertness towards any possible attack.
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Enable the chemical weapons to be captured and eliminated.
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Use the winds to disperse any releases of poison gases to protect Israel and the innocent people of Syria.
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Stand by and empower the Syrian believers to know where they should be, what they should say and how they should pray for their nation.
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Iran
Iran continues to pursue a nuclear weapon. This week the country experienced its most powerful earthquake in 40 years. Is the Lord shaking the nation in response to the prayers of His people? Jeremiah 49: 34-39 Pray:
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Lord, break the bow of Elam! Destroy Iran's ability to terrorize Israel and the rest of the world with nuclear weapons!
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Shake the earth and cause the nuclear facilities to be swallowed up for the glory of Your name!
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Give Israel's leaders wisdom over whether they need to launch a military attack on Iran.
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If Israel needs to attack may none of her forces be lost.
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Use the believers in Iran as a weapon in Your hand. May their lives, their faith, their willingness to sacrifice even unto death be a power which totally undermines the controlling power of Islam in their nation.
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Thank You that many are being saved. May there be multitudes more who come to a knowledge of the truth and in this may they receive understanding of Your purposes for Israel.
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Aliyah
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Lord, bring Your people home for Your holy name's sake. (Ezekiel 36:22)
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Wake up the Jewish people in the nations and especially in the USA to the signs of the times which show that Israel is the only place where You promise to keep Your people safe. (Ezekiel 28:25-26)
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Let the new Israeli government make Aliyah a priority. Especially give Interior Minister Gideon Saar the vision for all Jews to come home and to remove the obstacles in their way.
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Legal issues facing the Body of Messiah
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Makor Hatikvah School is a private school in Jerusalem serving children from believing families between the ages of 6-15. The school is in a process of applying for recognition from Israel's Education Department and has recently been served a notice to close on a technical issue. This notice is being appealed and the hearing for this appeal is on May 8th. Pray:
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for peace and calm for the staff, parents, children and for the lawyers involved in this legal process.
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for Your will to be done regarding the process.
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for the school to be kept open and serving as a testimony to Your love and nurture of our children.
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
(Proverbs 22:6)
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The Ortiz Family - In 2008 then 15 year old Ami Ortiz was almost killed in a bomb attack on his home. This week an orthodox Jew, Jack Teitel was convicted of this attempted murder along with the actual murder of two Arab men. He targeted the Ortiz family because of their faith in Yeshua as the Jewish Messiah. The murders of the Arabs are considered in Israel as acts of terrorism so there is state-financed compensation for the victims' families. However, the attempted murder of Ami Ortiz by another Jew is not being classified as an act of terrorism, so there is no compensation to cover the on-going legal and medical costs to the family. They are appealing for this legal ruling to be overturned. Pray:
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for the Ortiz family to receive compensation as they should.
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for God's justice to prevail in His land.
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The Body of Messiah in Israel
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Thank you, Lord, for the believers in this land! May Your Body grow and prosper, filled with Your Holy Spirit!
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Let Your word be proclaimed and go forth with anointing and authority!
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Bring many more to a knowledge of the truth of the saving grace of Messiah Yeshua!
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May Your people in this land bring glory to You!
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Yesterday Eliyahu and Chuck took part in the latest Northern Prayer Meeting which was in Kiryat Yam near Haifa. Many people came out for this gathering to pray, especially regarding the security of Israel's northern border, for wisdom, courage, protection and unity in the Body.
Thank you for standing with Israel in these testing times! - Shabbat Shalom!