Dear prayer partners,

Two thousand years ago, Jesus came to re-create and restore us back to our original position as children of God. This free gift of God’s righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ now places us in the position Adam and Eve had once enjoyed: Standing sinless in front of our Lord God, in sweet fellowship with Him – and so much more!

In Jesus, we now have full access to the Father by the power of His Holy Spirit, and the future hope of a glorious body resurrected from the dead! (Eph. 2:18, 1 Cor. 15) We can boldly approach God’s throne of grace in prayer; each and every day of life’s long journey, until we finish our race on earth!

Fellowshipping with Him

God abides in us through His covenants, Word, Spirit and promises in Jesus. We abide with Him through our prayers. Through our travels here we have free access to talk to our Traveling Company – Christ in us – and the Holy Spirit calls us constantly to do so. He uses the words of our Father in the Bible to inspire us, takes the promises of Jesus and makes them alive to us in our current situations, helps us apply the principles in His Kingdom and faithfully urges us to respond to all of this through prayer, worship and adoration to the Father in the name of His Beloved Son, Jesus.

When we come before God in prayer, we have such a glorious freedom to speak that it is mind boggling. When we are in the Spirit before Him, our Father – filled with love for us – expects us to open our hearts to Him, reveal with our own words the deep desires of the secret things we dream about, utter mysteries in our prayer language with other tongues and with the help of the Holy Spirit, even groan and sigh without words. He delights when we express our emotions with laughter, through tears, with a loud voice, in a quiet whisper, or just sitting silently before Him after disappointments have hit us. He also invites us to pray intelligently with our understanding for the needs of others, and even to lift up whole nations in intercession. All this and more is to move and speak freely before Him while on our way to receive our resurrection bodies and the great rewards He has promised to those who are faithful.

Coming before Him

Washed in the blood and promises of Jesus, we kneel in faith, free from fear, guilt, condemnation, inferiority or shame. Boldly we present our requests – asking, seeking and knocking – to receive the good things in His Kingdom, to find new treasures and to open new doors; to have the right and privilege to speak with Him freely. This is the wonderful gift of being clothed in the very same righteousness which God Himself possesses. (2 Cor 5:21) Since God has fully restored us as His children before Him in the perfect and finished work of His Son, Jesus, let us enter into the holy presence of God and pray with boldness! (Hebr. 10:19-20)

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Juha Ketola

Vice President, ICEJ International Affairs

PRAYER POINTS
For May 2017

The next day of prayer and fasting in our Isaiah 62 Global Prayer Campaign will be on Wednesday, 3rd of May 2017. Please join us!

Pray with us according to the following guidelines:

1. Pray for Israel

There is much to celebrate in the month of May here in Israel: Israel Independence Day, Jerusalem Day, and the Feast of Shavuot (Pentecost).

Pray specifically for the feast of Shavuot or Pentecost, where God poured out His Spirit and, in one day, reaped a harvest of 3,000 saved souls. Pray that God would pour out His Spirit in great power again here in Israel, so many will know their Savior, Jesus Christ, and enter the Kingdom of Heaven! Pray with Acts 2:1-4, 16-21, 33.

On the 24th of May, 2017, we celebrate Jerusalem’s 50th anniversary as a unified city! This is the year of favor, and we believe that God wants to release Jerusalem into her redemptive destiny!

Pray and rejoice with Jerusalem, even in the midst of strong spiritual battles and challenges that come against Israel’s rule over the city. Pray that many nations will move their embassies to Jerusalem this year. Pray for God’s full will to be accomplished in the city during this Jubilee year! Pray with Psalm 122:3, 6.

2. Pray for the Nations

A new wave of Ethiopian Jewry is coming home to Israel in May!

Please pray for the completion of all their documents, their safety in flying from Ethiopia to Israel, and for God’s grace to cover them in this transitional process of moving to their new homeland. Pray with Isaiah 43:1-7; and Zephaniah 3:9-10.

The conflicts in the Middle East are not dying down, especially in Syria and Iraq, and thousands of civilians continue to suffer both under regime of Assad in Syria and from ISIS threat in several countries. Many have been displaced from their homes and lose hope of ever being able to return.

Pray that the conflict in Syria would come to an end soon, with the defeat and removal of all oppressive forces terrorizing the people. Pray for the millions of Syrian civilians who have suffered and been forced from their homes by this war. (Psalm 68:1) Pray also for all Arab and Islamic nations to cooperate more closely and openly with Israel for their own benefit, and to accept Israel as a true neighbor and partner in the region. Pray with Isaiah 19:23-25.

3. Pray for the ICEJ

The 2017 Feast of Tabernacles will be an historic convocation with great prophetic significance, marking the 50th anniversary of the reunited city of Jerusalem.

Please pray for the glory of the Lord to touch many hearts around the world to come to Jerusalem to celebrate this Jubilee Feast in October! Pray that God would unite the body of Christ, Jew and Gentile, and speak to us in a powerful and unique way! Pray with Zechariah 8:20-22; and Psalm 24:7-10.

The next Envision Pastors and Leaders Conference will be held in January 2018, and we are already looking forward to experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit in that unique time! Christian leaders will gather in Jerusalem in the winter between two special Jubilees – 50 years of united Jerusalem (2017) and 70 years of modern day Israel (2018).

Pray for pastors and leaders to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will concerning Israel. Pray for strength in their own personal walk with God, and for greater vision in their calling from the Lord. Pray with Colossians 1:9-12.

Thank you for joining with us in prayer!