“But those who wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength.  They shall mount up with wings like eagles.  They shall run and not be weary.  They shall walk and not faint.” (Is. 40:31)

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.  May they prosper who love you.  Peace be within thy walls:  Prosperity within your palaces.  For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, “Peace be within you.” (Ps. 122: v 5-8)

Dear Intercessors for Israel:

The nation of Israel is currently going through it’s third “lock-down since the beginning of the Corona virus pandemic in 2020.  This nationwide confinement is one of the strictest yet for its citizens and has been extended through Jan 31st.  No intercity travel is permitted, nor open air activities.  Police checkpoints are set up on every major highway to stop violators, with fines given.  People are required to stay in their homes.  Hospitals are full, and the COVID-19 virus despite an aggressive vaccine program is still raging throughout the country, particularly in the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods.  The religious leaders of these densely packed communities have encouraged their followers to ignore the State mandated regulations regarding the Corona virus, thus activities within these centers appear to be normal.  Yet the majority of COVID positive patients come from these areas.  The State of Israel is unable to enforce any lock-down in these places without risking mass protests and riots, therefore the rest of the nation pays the price.

The nation meanwhile “waits” for a breakthrough or a great miracle.  The Hebrew word for wait in Isaiah 40 is “qavah.”  It means to “bind together, to look forward and to hope.”  The true meaning of “to bind together” is not just sitting in a corner, waiting patiently or being quiet. It’s not even waiting for God to answer you in a few days or weeks. It’s about binding together with Him.  Those who “bind together” with Him shall renew their strength. So, what Isaiah is saying here is that your strength is renewed by being very close to the Lord.  “Waiting” is perhaps one of the hardest activities we can do, but in this instance, it means to “draw closer to Him.”  God is allowing this lock-down in Israel, and where you are as well, so as to allow you/Israel to take the time to seek His face.  He wants you to draw closer to Him, and to bring your presence into His presence.  Then you will find your strength renewed, you will have “eagles wings” to overcome, and be able to run and not be weary, and walk and not faint.”  Pray for all of Israel during this pandemic.  Pray that as they shut themselves in, they will “seek the LORD and will be found of Him.

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem

The second set of Scriptures, I have been drawn to comes from Psalms 122.  Most of us are familiar with these verses and the prayer of David to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”  This is an hour to pray “shalom” prayers for Jerusalem, a city today with close to a million people.  Jerusalem is seat of the Israeli government, and the heart of the nation.  So when you pray for the “peace of Jerusalem” you are praying for “Am Yisrael” or the “people of Israel:  Jewish, Christian, and Muslim.  The following paragraphs are taken from my book: “Jerusalem, Lest I Forget Thee.”

How does one effectively pray for the twenty-first century Jerusalem?  David’s Psalm concludes with the words: “I will seek thy good.” (vs. 9) Be led of the Spirit when you pray, but also make an effort to understand the modern Jerusalem.  Download a map of the city and pray over it.  Find information on the internet about Jerusalem and pray.  Go to the Jerusalem Post web site at www.jpost.com and read what is happening there and pray.

Pray for the old, the young, the COVID victims, those dying, and those being born.  Pray for the border police, the IDF, the city government, the Knesset, the Prime Minister and those international representatives who are stationed in the United Nations Government House.  Pray that this COVID pandemic be stopped.  Intercede for those who go to pray at the Western Wall.  Pray that Yeshua takes the blinders off their eyes and reveals Himself to those who seek Him.  Pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ, the believing remnant.  Pray for miracles, pray for salvations.  Pray the Scriptures and the promises the LORD God has for Jerusalem.

Pray against anything that would disturb Jerusalem’s peace, whether they would be accidents, incidents, hatred, terrorism, or troublemakers.  Pray against demonic assignments and oppression.  Pray for those who worship the false god Allah on the Temple Mount.  Pray that they would have a revelation of Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

Pray for more “Watchmen,” prayer warriors who would never cease reminding God to make Jerusalem “a praise among the people of the earth” (Zep. 3:20).  Pray for the soon return of our Messiah, Jesus.

A Word from the LORD

As I was writing the words on praying for Jerusalem, I heard the Lord’s still soft voice speak these words: “Speak to Jerusalem, My beloved city.  Speak and declare My perfect peace to it.  Pray for its wholeness, call for its completeness.  Pray for My peace, My love, My joy to fall upon its inhabitants.  Ask me to send times of refreshing to it.  Pray for those who live and work there.  Call for my Spirit to move in their lives.  Speak to My beloved people, tell them that their Messiah the Sar Shalom is near.  Pray for My return and for My people to recognize who I am.

Israel and Biden Administration

Pray for the United States.  The Biden Administration is reversing course in its relations with Israel. The status of its ambassador has been changed from representing all of Israel to representing Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, a political maneuver that again places “the two State” solution  in the forefront, and the division of Jerusalem.

May you Mount up with “wings of eagles.”

Shabbat Shalom,

Gene and Marylois/House of Peace