ISAIAH 62 PRAYER INITIATIVE
September 2017 Prayer Letter

Dear Friends,
...casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)

We are constantly receiving emails and sorting out what is important and what to delete. Some we can respond to quickly, but others take more time to answer. If we skip a day or two checking our Inbox, it can get overloaded with emails. For most, our backlog of unopened messages can run into the thousands.

Recently, I felt a bit overwhelmed by all the requests coming into my Inbox. These were not spam messages or mass mailings, but emails addressed personally to me with specific requests. Some were seeking a large donation for a very worthy project, or they wanted help promoting their ministry, book or film. Others were looking for a job, or to be connected with a government official on an important matter. In several cases, it almost seemed like my response could mean success or failure for these people. I could not possibly do all that I was being asked to do, and the thought that someone else’s fate was in my hands was too heavy a responsibility for me to bear.

So I turned to the Lord in prayer and asked Him how I should respond. And He said that emails are often like prayers that are directed to other people, when they should first be directed to God. He added that I should always do my best to help point people in the right direction for answers to their needs, but the first direction is always upwards to Him.

It was a great relief to consider that God also has an Inbox, and He actually wants us to fill His up every day with our needs and requests. The Bible is clear that nothing can overwhelm Him, nothing will ever surprise Him, and nothing is too small for Him. Indeed, He truly desires that we fill up His Inbox every day.

The Apostle Paul said: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Read that again! It is the very will of God for us to constantly pray and unburden ourselves on Him, with joy and thanksgiving.

Paul also said: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

This tells us that anxiety can be a thief, robbing us of our trust and assurance in God. It most certainly does not please Him. What delights the Lord is when we cast all our worries and cares on Him. God has big shoulders. He can carry burdens that would leave us flat.

These verses also encourage us to pray through. This means you pray until peace and rest comes to your spirit that He has heard your petition and will answer in His own way and timing.

Finally, it says “in everything by prayer... make your requests known to God.” I should not make a request of someone else unless I have first approached my Heavenly Father about it. That way, even if others are able to help me, the glory goes to God because they have been an answer to prayer.

In His boundless love!

David Parsons
ICEJ Vice President & Senior Spokesman

PRAYER POINTS
For September 2017
The next day of prayer and fasting in our Isaiah 62 Global Prayer Campaign will be on Wednesday, 6 September 2017. Please join us!
Pray with us according to the following guidelines:
1. Prayer for Israel
• Isaiah 62:1 exhorts us to give the Lord no rest in praying for Jerusalem “until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns.” So let us pray that God will accomplish all He intends for the city and people of Jerusalem, especially in this special year of Jubilee for the city.
• Thank God that the Temple Mount crisis did not result in violent prolonged escalation. Pray that Israeli leaders would have wisdom for how to handle future incidents.
• The Jewish people are heading into their fall celebrations, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and the Feast of Tabernacles. Pray for spiritual reflection and insight during this season.
• Pray for rain to replenish the Sea of Galilee, whose water level is at a record low, and also for the Golan Heights and Israel’s other agricultural regions.

2. Prayer for the Region

• Pray that Iran would not be able to create a land link from Tehran all the way to Lebanon through Iraq and Syria, by which to threaten Israel and dominate the Middle East.
• Prime Minister Netanyahu met with President Putin on the 23rd of August. Pray that their meeting produced manageable and advantageous outcomes for Israel in dealing with Russia’s presence in Syria and the Middle East in general.
• Israel’s embassy to Egypt in Cairo was shuttered last fall due to threats to the diplomatic mission’s safety. Security agencies are now preparing to reopen the embassy. Pray for the relations with Egypt, the most populous country in the Arab world, and that the Egyptian street will not threaten Israel’s diplomatic mission again.

3. Prayer for the ICEJ
• Please pray for the Feast of Tabernacles. Pray for protection over the speakers and performers, and for a unity among them that would generate a sweet-smelling aroma to God. Pray that they may be in full health, peace and filled with the Spirit of God.
• Pray for security and good order as the Pais Arena fills up with thousands of Feast Pilgrims.
• Pray for coordination and logistical adjustments to be carried out in a timely manner.

Thank you for joining with us in prayer!