ISAIAH 62 Prayer Letter
February 2016



The Power of the Lord’s Prayer – Part 2

In our last prayer letter, we began exploring the power of The Lord’s Prayer and its ability to unite Christians from every generation worldwide around basic goals and beliefs of our faith. This week, let’s further examine The Lord’s Prayer by looking at its context – that is, other teachings of Jesus which surround his model prayer. Here again, we find this prayer has great power.

In Matthew chapter six, the Lord’s Prayer is part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. He prefaces the prayer with an admonition not to offer up long, loud public prayers, but rather talk to God in the “secret place,” with the door shut, “and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:5-7)

Jesus also adds this amazing thought: “your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8) which emphasizes our “needs,” not our “wants.”

Finally, Jesus instructs us: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33) with “things” referring again to our daily needs.

Meanwhile, over in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus recites the same prayer in response to a specific question from his disciples: “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” (Luke 11:1)  He follows it up with the parable of the friend who comes knocking late at night seeking bread, as well as an encouragement to keep asking, seeking and knocking. The theme of these remarks is to be faithful and persistent in our prayers.

From these passages we may conclude:

1) The Lord is not impressed with lofty prayers for show, but rather looks for sincere, intimate communion with those who humble themselves and trust in His ability to see all. “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)

2)  If we consistently place God’s will and purposes first in our prayer life, He will supply everything we need to accomplish His plans for us. Indeed, the will of God will never take us where His provision cannot keep us. “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” (1 John 5:14)

3)  Ultimately, prayer is a conversation with a good heavenly Father who has the highest and best intentions for our lives. “For he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

Normally, an earthly “reward” is not really earned but rather it comes as an unexpected windfall. How much more so can our heavenly Father pour out in abundance over our lives, given that He owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10). But the key is to seek Him and His plans with all our hearts.

So although we should approach God with humility, we can also ask largely of Him. For the Lord is “able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think…” (Ephesians 3:20)  So let faith come alive in our hearts to believe God for the astounding and the miraculous, in order to bring glory to His name.

May your prayers be heard in heaven!

David Parsons
ICEJ Media Director (on Sabbatical)


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The next day of prayer and fasting in our Isaiah 62 Global Prayer Campaign will be on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016. Please join us!

Pray with us according to the following guidelines:

1. Israel

- Thank God for keeping all His promises so far to restore the Jewish people to their ancient promised land and for protecting the nation of Israel through its many modern-day trials and testings. Pray with Isaiah 43:1-7.

- Pray that Israel would be given due respect as a small democratic country living among many hostile neighbors in a very turbulent region, rather than being the target of unfair boycotts and double standards in the international arena. Pray with Psalm 35.

- Pray that the Netanyahu government would enjoy unity in its ranks and would know how to repair and maintain ties with its most important allies. Pray with Psalm 133.

- Pray for a swift and complete end to the spate of Palestinian terror attacks now plaguing the nation of Israel. Pray that Palestinian leaders would be held duly accountable for their role in fomenting the current wave of violence. Pray with Psalm 124.

2. Middle East

- Thank God for His sovereignty over the nations and that nothing can happen in the Middle East region outside of His will and purposes. Pray with Isaiah 55:8-9.

- Pray for the violence and conflict in Syria to swiftly run its course. Pray for the departure of the oppressive Assad regime as well as the sound defeat of ISIS and other radical Islamic militias operating in the war-torn country. Pray with Jeremiah 18:7-8 and Proverbs 21:3.

- Pray also for protection of our Christian brothers and sisters living throughout the region, as well as for boldness of the local Christian leaders to speak out about their dire situation. Pray that the faithful witness of Middle East Christians in the face of persecution would impact many lives for Christ. Pray with Ephesians 6:10-12.

- Finally, pray that Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons will be completely halted in its tracks and that its radical Islamic regime would be replaced by one that respects democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Pray with Proverbs 24:24-25.

3. ICEJ ministry

- Thank God for His faithfulness and provision to the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem over these many years. Pray with Psalm105:1-4.

- Pray for wisdom and guidance for the leadership. Pray with Proverbs 2:6.

- Pray for our finances and the resources to be full and overflowing for every good work. Pray with Philippians 4:19.

- And please pray for Dr. Juergen Buehler, our Executive Director, that he will recover fully and speedily from major surgery. Pray for the glory of God and the testimony of Jesus to be released through this medical challenge. Pray with Psalm 103:2-4.