ISAIAH 62 PRAYER LETTER

NOVEMBER 2015

 

The overcomers hear from the Spirit and pray in faith!

 

The precious and infallible Word of God declares that God is forever faithful to His promises. This is why we always pray according to His Word; seeking His promises in the Bible and then meditating prayerfully on them in our hearts and speaking them with our mouths. We plead before His throne in line with what He has said: “Father, you promised in your Word…” “Father, you have said…” These are prayers of faith.

 

When praying in this way in the name of Jesus, we know He hears us. When we know He hears us, we have the assurance of receiving everything we asked for (1 John 5:14-15). Faith reaches all the way to the heart of God and the prayer of faith is the prayer heard in Heaven. Without faith it is impossible to please Him, and since faith comes by hearing the Word of God, we open our ears to listen to it, and then pray accordingly (Heb.11:6, Rom.10:17). 

 

Surrounding circumstances

Whatever happens or has happened in this life, responding with prayer is the right starting point and should be our natural reaction to all circumstances (James 5:13, Phil. 4:6, 1 Thess. 5:17). But in order to pray accurately, we need to hear from the Lord.

 

In the book of Revelation Jesus says: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev. 2-3). Every church at that time needed to hear a particular message, and then needed to respond to the Master according to His timely Word. What had happened was in the past, and there was no going back to do things differently. However, He was inviting them to hear His words in the present and respond now according to His instructions. 

 

Seven churches in Asia

In Ephesus the believers faced false apostles and were dealing with them (Rev. 2). Believers in Smyrna dealt with poverty, tribulation and blasphemy and were suffering greatly (Rev. 2). The church members in Pergamos were living in the city where “Satan’s throne” was located, and one of them had already been martyred (Rev. 2).

 

In Thyatira the believers battled against temptations to immorality and idol worship (Rev. 2). Believers in Sardis were strongly pressured to fall into a lifeless and dead religion and to lose what they had received from the Master (Rev. 3). The church in Philadelphia confronted liars sent by Satan who claimed to be something, which, in reality, they were not (Rev. 3).

 

And finally, the sad assessment concerning the church in Laodicea: the whole church had tragically fallen into a spiritual state where Jesus Himself was actually outside of their fellowship and lives (Rev. 3).

 

The response

Regardless of the external circumstances which had entangled the believers, the Lord Jesus had a timely word for each of these seven churches; guiding their response to Him in the present in a way that would produce change, bear good fruit, and be received in Heaven (Rev. 2-3). Only one thing was required: They needed to hear His word and respond accordingly!

 

Jesus had not left them alone, but was with them through His timely word. He provided each of them an exit strategy, to save them from whatever they were facing, if they would listen and obey accordingly. This is why He was saying to them: “If your ear is opened and you can hear – hear now!” (paraphrase).

 

Timely word

In recent days, Israel has been facing trying circumstances, including knife-stabbings and shootings by the terrorists against Jewish citizens. As a ministry living and working in the midst of all this, however, ICEJ continues to do what we have been doing for over 30 years: Comforting God’s people here in Israel. Nothing moves us from our course. This is the timely word from the Lord to us.

 

We trust that you are like-minded, so please join us to pray for the following prayer points below, by using the accompanying scriptures in your heart and mouth.

 

With every blessing from Jerusalem,

Rev. Juha Ketola

International Director

 

 

PRAYER TOPICS:

 

1. Pray for Israel’s safety and peace of Jerusalem, for all of the violence to completely stop and for a change of heart among the Palestinians towards Israel.

 

Pray also for the government of Israel that they would receive wisdom to deal with the current situation.

 

- Pray according to Ps. 121, Ps.122:6-9; Zach. 9:7; Eccl. 9:18

 

 

2. Please continue praying for the Arab youth and young adults. Pray that this young generation would refrain from violence, and that their eyes would be opened to see the value of human life. Pray that their hearts would be turned to the only Savior, Jesus the Messiah.

 

- Pray according to Gen.1:27, Eccl. 12:1, John 3:16; 1 Tim. 2:5

 

 

1. Please pray for the Jews in Europe who are frightened by the huge number of Muslim refugees pouring into Europe, as many as 10,000 each day.

    

   Please pray that the ceasefire in the Ukraine will continue to hold and that all those who would like to make Aliyah could do so safely and quickly.

 

- Pray according to Jer. 31:10; Ezek. 36:24; 1 Tim. 2:2

 

 

1. Israel is a first world country and technologically advanced. However, many people also suffer from poverty, especially among the Arab Israelis and Haredi Orthodox families.  ICEJ is constantly reaching out to the needy and broken people as a ministry, so pray for the Lord to fill our hands so we can help the ones in need.

 

- Pray according to Ps. 41:1,2; Prov. 31:8,9; Deut. 15:11

 

 

1. Please pray for our ministry particularly the area of strategic planning for the future.  Also remember Envision 2016, the upcoming pastors’ and leaders’ conference in January.

 

- Pray according to Prov. 19:21; Prov. 1:7; Jas. 1:5-8; Matt. 6:10 & 33:34