A Prayer Request From Joel Rosenberg's Blog HERE
September 1, 2014 at 2:24
pm
Today, on
this first day of the ninth month, would you join Anne Graham Lotz and me and
Christians all over the world to pray for at least one full hour for the peace
of Jerusalem?
The
citizens and leaders of Israel face enormous geopolitical and economic
pressures from every side. They also face a fierce and raging spiritual battle
beyond what most of us can understand or imagine. What’s more, some of us have
a sense that the Jewish State will soon face its darkest and most difficult
hour. Let us not just say we love Israel. Let us intercede on her behalf. Let
us come before the God of Israel and ask Him to grant His protection and
blessings and pour out His Holy Spirit on all the people of Israel — Jews,
Arabs and all inhabitants of the Land. The Bible commands us in Psalm 122 to
“pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” Now more than ever, the people of Israel
need the prayerful intercession of devout and faithful Christians. What
follows, therefore, is the open letter and suggested prayer points that Anne
has published on her website. I encourage you to read it and let it help you
know how to pray for Jerusalem and all the people of Israel. Thank you so much.
— Joel C. Rosenberg
———————
NOTE: This
prayer may be prayed in one hour, or it may be prayed section by section over a
longer period of time. Although it is patterned after Daniel 9, it is my
personal prayer. It comes from deep within my heart, because I believe the
rapture of the church may be imminent. When that moment comes, and every born
again believer is caught up to be with Jesus, along with the Holy Spirit who
indwells them and presently restrains evil, Israel will be more alone in the
family of nations than she ever has been since her rebirth in 1948. And I
wonder…is it at that moment that God will pour out on the house of David and
the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication? Is it at that
moment that they will look on the One they have pierced, and recognize Him as
their Messiah?[1] I don’t
know the answers to these questions, but I am utterly convinced it’s time to
pray for Jerusalem. — Anne Graham Lotz
Our
Father in Heaven. God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ. You are the Eternal I AM. The One who is age to age the same. There is
no shadow of turning with You. You are fully present in every generation—past,
present, and future. You are the All-Mighty. Your power has not been deleted or
depleted over the millennia of human history. We know that You so loved the
world that You gave us Heaven’s treasure when You sent Your only Son to die, so
that anyone and everyone who places their faith in Him will not perish but have
everlasting life. Yet we also know that Your great heart of love still longs to
pour out Your blessing on the City and the people that You have uniquely chosen
as Your own. Jerusalem. The House of Israel. The Jews.
In this
present worldwide climate of unbridled evil, we are desperate! Nations are
unraveling. Wars are raging. There are rumors of more wars breaking out.
Kingdom is rising against kingdom. Our spirits feel the turmoil and agitation that
surely is a reflection of the warfare being waged in the invisible realms. We
need You! For everything! But our hearts are now burdened for the Epicenter of
the world. For Jerusalem and all that she represents at this critical,
strategic last hour.
So we
humbly turn to You now. For one hour we turn away from our responsibilities and
routines, our busyness and our business, our own problems and pressures. We
turn away from focusing on our own nation and the needs of the church. We turn
away from any self-reliance or self-interests, and we look to You. We run to
You. We join together with one heart and one voice to pray for the peace of
Jerusalem. You alone are the One who makes us to dwell in safety. You alone are
the One who makes us secure. You alone are God. And You alone are our God.
We turn to You, deeply aware we do not deserve in ourselves to address You, yet
boldly confident of access into Your most holy presence through the blood of
Your Son and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so…
We pray
with confidence, because You are the God of Creation, Lord of the Universe.
Elohim. The Strong One. You alone are The LORD. You made the heavens, even the
highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it,
the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the
multitudes of heaven worship You.[2] We sing
Your praises, for You are highly exalted. No one is higher than You. You are
our strength and our song. Again and again, You have been the salvation of Your
people: from bondage in Egypt, from Pharoh’s pursuing army, from Midianites and
Amorites and Edomites and Moabites and Canaanites and Perizzites and
Philistines; from captivity in Babylon, from the four corners of the earth,
from the Nazi death camps, and now from Hamas and Hezbollah and ISIS and the
Taliban and Al Queda and the Muslim Brotherhood and Boko Haram, You alone are
able to shatter Israel’s enemies.
Your
right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power. And in the greatness of Your
excellence You overthrow those who rise up again You; You send forth Your
burning anger, and it consumes them as chaff.
Who is
like You among the gods, O Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome
in praises, working wonders? In Your lovingkindness You have led the people
whom You have redeemed; in Your strength You have guided them to Your holy
habitation.
You will
reign forever and ever. We long for the day when our faith becomes sight and
the whole world is filled with the glory of who You are. Our highest joy will
be to see You face to face; to gather around Your throne with multitudes from
every tribe, language, people, and nation that you have purchased with the
blood of Your own Son, and worship You.[3]
I pray
with confidence because _________________
We pray
with compulsion for the peace of Jerusalem, and for the whole House of Israel. Your
people and the city that bear Your name are surrounded by a vast multitude of
hostile, evil men seeking to kill and destroy. Men who behead those who refuse
to embrace their evil dogma, who bury alive those who refuse to submit to their
will, who crucify those who are identified with Your Son. Your people are under
the incessant barrage of enemy missiles and mortars that are destroying farms
and families, communities and children. While one ceasefire after another
promises peace, peace there is no peace. Are You not the God who rules over all
the nations? Power and might are in Your hand, and no one can withstand You.
We are
compelled to pray for Your people because they are facing their enemies without
the strength, wisdom, peace, comfort, security and hope that You reserve for
those who are indwelt by Your Spirit through faith in Your Son, Jesus. They
have no deep, blessed assurance that their sins are forgiven, that eternal life
is theirs, and that a heavenly Home is waiting to welcome them.
We are
compelled to pray because…
- You have promised that You will give Your people a new heart and put a new spirit within them; that You will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.
- You have promised that in the very last days, You will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication.
- You have promised that You will open the eyes of the spiritually blind, and they would look on You, the One they have pierced.
- You have promised that all of Israel, tribe by tribe, clan by clan, family by family, will mourn for their sin of rebellion and rejection of their Messiah.
- You have promised that on that day of national mourning and repentance, all of Israel will be saved. That the deliverer will come from Zion; that You will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
- You have promised that You will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and You will cleanse them.
- You have promised that they will be Your people, and You will be their God.
- You have promised that You will make an everlasting covenant of peace with them.
- You have promised that one day, and we believe soon, You will set aside 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel who have been redeemed and on whose foreheads You write Your name, to be proclaimers of the Gospel to the whole world.
O Abba
Father! We do not ask for what we want or what we hope. We are asking You to do
what You have said! You are a great covenant-keeping God. You do not
mock Your children. You keep Your word. We are therefore compelled at this
moment when faced with problems that have no human solution to pray and hold
You to Your promises.[4]
I pray
with compulsion because of our problems and Your promises_____________
We pray
with a contrite spirit. We are ashamed and embarrassed to lift up our
faces to You, for our iniquities have risen above our heads and our guilt has
grown even to the heavens.[5] So now,
our God, what shall we say?
We have
sinned and done wrong.
We have
been wicked and have rebelled.
We have
turned away from Your commands and Your Word. [6]
We have
not listened to Your servants the prophets…like Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, and
Jeremiah…who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers, and to
all Your people.
We have
not obeyed or kept the laws You have given us.
We have
rationalized and explained away the evidence of Your greatness that we see in
Creation around us.
We have
suppressed the truth that we were created by You and for You, and have
exchanged it for the lie that we are masters of our own fate
We do not
glorify You as God, nor give thanks to You, but live our lives as though we
have no accountability to You. [7]
We have
looked to our own strength for salvation and have forgotten Your mighty acts of
deliverance in the past. As though the God of Abraham, Moses, David, and Elijah
no longer exists. Or if You do, You no longer involve Yourself in the affairs
of Your people.
We
confess that our faith in You and Your strength is weak, as though what we face
today is beyond Your ability to overcome. Or beneath Your interest to
intervene.
We
confess to pride and arrogance that have determined we must face our enemies in
our own strength. That this present darkness will pass without Your
intervention.
We
confess to religious intolerance that condemns those who are not like us.
We
confess to religious indifference that gives lip service to You, but lacks
sincere faith so that our lives are lived and our decisions are made as
practical atheists—as though You do not exist.
You are
merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against You. But this day
we are covered with shame.
With a
humble, contrite spirit, I confess_____________
We pray
with clarity. We ask, great Creator God, that You give sight to those born
spiritually blind. Open the eyes of Your people to see You for who You truly
are. Don’t let their sight be dimmed or distorted by centuries of religiosity
and rejection of the Truth. Open their eyes to Jesus as their Messiah. Then
show up in great power, giving Your people supernatural strength to withhold
vengeance, to execute justice, to remember mercy, to walk humbly as they
acknowledge that victory will be won not by their might nor by their own power,
but by Your Spirit.[8] Yet we do
ask You for victory over the enemy…
We pray
for the enemies who are coming against Jerusalem to be convicted of their sin,
for them to repent and turn from it and ask You for forgiveness through faith
in Jesus Christ. But if they do not, we ask that this day, You defeat and
destroy them.
We ask
that You strip Jerusalem’s enemies of peace and cooperation among themselves,
so that they are divided and turn on each other.
We ask
that their evil plans would be exposed or fall back on their own heads.
We ask
that the face of every man, woman or child that they have slaughtered,
beheaded, buried, or crucified be indelibly imprinted on their mind’s eye,
filling them with turmoil and robbing them of clear thinking.[9]
We ask
that for every man, woman or child who is martyred for their faith in You, ten
others would rise up to take their place, so that the persecution would fan
revival fires throughout the Muslim world. Please, dear Jesus, keep showing up
in dreams and visions and in any form You choose in order to change hearts and
minds, melting generations of prejudice and hatred with Your love and peace.
We ask
that the fear of the One, True, Living God would fall on Israel’s neighbors…and
on Israel.[10]
We ask
that the ancient prince of the Persian kingdom and every other demonic force
coming against Your City be bound and rendered powerless in the face of the
hosts of Heaven.[11]
We ask
that the Iron Dome would be 100% effective, and that You would continue to
anoint Israel’s engineers and physicists with ability to design systems that
would provide a protective shield for The Beautiful Land.
We ask
for supernatural wisdom for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his Cabinet, his
counselors, and all government officials, so that they make decisions in line
with Your perfect will. Draw the Prime Minister into Your Word; and when he
opens and reads it, speak to him through it.
We ask
that You turn the heart of The Honorable Nir Barkat, Jerusalem’s mayor, toward
You; that he would acknowledge his need of You and issue a city-wide call to
prayer.
We ask
that You comfort the mothers, fathers, and children living in the farming
communities near the Gaza border. Give them an overwhelming sense of Your
presence and love for each of them. As they turn to You, give them peace…and a
good night’s sleep.
We ask
that You woo Your people to Yourself. Draw them to put their trust in You, so
that You are their refuge and their fortress. Save them. Cover them. Be with
them in trouble. Command Your angels to guard them and keep them in all their
ways. [12]
You are a
great prayer-hearing, prayer-answering, covenant-keeping, miracle-working God.
Hear our prayer! Listen to Your children as we pray for the peace of the city
on which You have placed Your name. Rise up, great Lion of Judah, and defend
Your people. Deliver Jerusalem from her enemies so that all the nations of the
earth may know that You alone are God. Answer us! For the glory of Your great
name!
I ask
specifically for____________
We will
pray until our prayers are confirmed, because we believe in You.
We believe that Jerusalem’s God is God. We believe You are as strong
today on her behalf as You were in the beginning, and always have been, and
always will be. We believe that since the first day we set our minds to gain
understanding and to humble ourselves before our God, our words have been
heard.[13]We
believe that we have asked according to Your will, in the name of Your dear
Son, and for His glory alone. Therefore we expect to receive answers.[14]
Now we
await Your confirmation. We have prayed for the peace of Jerusalem. We don’t
know what else to do. But our eyes are fixed expectantly on You.[15]
For the
Glory of Yeshua
AMEN
NOTES:
[1]
Zechariah 12:10
[2] Nehemiah
9:6
[3] Based on
the Song of Moses, Exodus 15
[4] The
promises above were taken from Ezekiel 36:26; Zechariah 12:10-12; Romans
11:26-27; Ezekiel 37:23; Ezekiel 37:26, Revelation 7:1-4, 14:1-5
[5]
Paraphrased from Ezra 9, Daniel 9, and Romans 1
[6] Israel
has the most liberal abortion laws in the world. Tel Aviv is marketed as the
gay capital of the Middle East. Alcohol consumption among Israeli children is
surging to the extent that Prime Minister Netanyahu has called it “an
epidemic.”
[7]
Paraphrased from Romans 1; 42% of Israelis are secular.
[8]
Zechariah 4:6
[9] Romans
2:9
[10] 2
Chronicles 20:29
[11] Daniel
10:12-13
[12] Psalm 91
[13] Daniel
10:12
[14] John
14:13-14
[15] 2
Chronicles 20:12
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