Dear prayer partners,

Quite often, I am asked for advice on how to pray for Israel. We all try to keep up with the news so we can know what is happening in Israel and the Middle East, and thus what is the need of the moment for the Jewish people and their Arab neighbors. Still, we are a lot like the disciple who asked Jesus: “Lord, teach us to pray…” (Luke 11:1). Thus, this prayer letter is designed to help guide Christians worldwide in knowing how to pray for Israel and the region at this time.

Yet the best counsel I can give on how to pray for Israel is simply to pray back to God the promises He has made to this nation. And this advice is good for anyone at any time. The Bible is full of prophetic promises for Israel in this day and we just need to bring them to His remembrance with full faith and confidence that He will bring them to pass in due time. Indeed, the important “watchman” passage of Isaiah 62 instructs us that we are to remind the Lord day and night of His great promises for Israel and especially for the city of Jerusalem.

Over and over again, the Bible speaks of how God “remembered” something He had promised to do and it stirred Him to action. We see it already in the story of the Flood, when Genesis 8:1 says that “God remembered Noah, and every living thing,” and therefore brought a great wind to cause the flood waters to recede. In Genesis 9:16, it says God placed the rainbow in the sky as a reminder to Himself of His everlasting covenant with every living creature.

Elsewhere in Scripture, we find key moments when God remembered His promises to Abraham and the other Hebrew Patriarchs (for example, see Genesis 19:29, Exodus 2:24, Psalm 105:42). Even the birth of Jesus is described as a moment when God “remembered” His oath to Abraham (Luke 1:72-73).

Likewise, we see great men of God in Scripture urging God to remember His sworn promises to these same Patriarchs. When Moses intercedes for Israel, both after the sin of the golden calf and the bad report of the ten spies, he pleads for God to recall all the good that He had vowed to do for the descendants of Abraham (Exodus 32:13, Deuteronomy 9:27). King Solomon asked God to remember the sure mercies He had promised to the House of David (2 Chronicles 6:41-42). And in his intercession for Israel, Nehemiah also reminds God of His pledge to forgive the nation if they repent and turn back to Him (Nehemiah 1:8-9).

So we cannot go wrong when we remind God in prayer about His promises to the Jewish people. He does not consider it badgering in any way; rather, He actually expects us to “give Him no rest” until all His glorious purposes for Israel and Jerusalem are complete.

We are now entering a season of remembering, as all of the Jewish High Holidays fall within the month of October. Rosh Hashana reminds us of Creation and mankind’s unique place in the universe. At Yom Kippur, we are to remember our need for God and His mercy and forgiveness. Finally, the festival of Sukkot, or Tabernacles, brings back to mind God’s faithful provision during Israel’s wanderings in the Wilderness. It also is a time to look forward to when God fulfills all His covenant promises to Israel, to restore the nation and place the eternal King Messiah on the throne of David forever in Jerusalem, thereby making the city a praise in all the earth.

So as we go through this season of remembrance, let us also remind God without ceasing of His glorious promises concerning Israel.

May our prayers rise as a sweet incense to the Lord!

David Parsons

ICEJ Senior International Spokesperson

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The next day of prayer and fasting in our Isaiah 62 Global Prayer Campaign will be on Wednesday, October 5th, 2016. Please join us!

Pray with us according to the following guidelines:

1. Prayer for Israel

- Thank God for keeping all His promises so far to restore the Jewish people to their ancient promised land and ask that He would continue to do good to Jerusalem just as He has promised to do with great zeal. Pray according to Jeremiah 33:1-11 and Zechariah 8:1-17.

- Pray for the new diplomatic doors that are opening for Israel in the region and worldwide, including the renewal and strengthening of relations with many African nations and the discreet ties being forged with several Sunni Arab states. Pray according to Isaiah 60:10-12.

- Pray that all the efforts by foreign nations, leaders and other activists to delegitimize and destroy the Jewish state would be totally frustrated. Pray along with Psalm 2.

2. Middle East

- Profess that God rules over the nations and that nothing can happen in the Middle East outside of His will and purposes. Pray based on Psalm 22:27-29.

- Pray for the conflict and bloodshed in Syria and Iraq to end soon with the humbling of the oppressive Assad regime as well as the destruction of ISIS and other radical Islamic militias operating in the two countries. Pray using 2 Samuel 22:28 and Jeremiah 18:1-10.

- Pray also for all the millions of people displaced from their homes by the raging conflict in Iraq and Syria. Pray in line with Isaiah 11:4.

- Pray as well as for the protection of our Christian brothers and sisters living throughout the region, that they might be bold and faithful in their witness in the face of persecution. Pray with Revelation 3:7-13 in mind.

3. ICEJ ministry

- Praise the Lord for being faithful and always providing for the needs of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem during our 36 years of existence as a ministry. Pray with us for continued and expanding provision for the many requests that arrive at our office. Pray with Psalm 105:1-4.

- Pray for our upcoming Feast of Tabernacles celebration in Jerusalem, that the Lord would draw believers from all over the earth and open the way for them to attend the Feast. Pray that God’s presence and blessing would be over the Feast mightily this year. Pray according to Psalm 84:4-7.

- Pray for our efforts to bring home the last of the Ethiopian Jewish community to Israel. Pray that they would be kept safe from harm until they are able to fly to Israel, and that they would easily adjust to their new lives in Israel. Pray with Zephaniah 3:10.