Bless Israel Sunday is an opportunity for you to discover things about God’s faithfulness you may have never known before.
In this “Pray for Israel” blog series, you’ll find a prayer for Israel along with information to serve as a starting-off point from which to add your own prayers.
People
There is no end to a list of categories into which people can fall based on various common ground they share, whether related to age, gender, marriage, skills, interests or life experiences. These commonalities offer inspirations for specific ways to pray for Israel and the Jewish people. Here are some ideas and prayers to get you started. Let them spark other ideas for your prayer.
Children are precious to God and among the most vulnerable of any people group. Teenagers everywhere face challenges and temptations as boundaries continue to push further away from biblical values. College years are a highly impressionable period of one’s life as students move out from under their parents’ world views and fall under the persuasion of new authority figures and peers to form their own ideologies.
On another note, in any given day or hour, there are people facing some form of crisis. This includes Jewish people both in Israel and all over the world. It could be a life-altering accident, illness or injury. Or maybe it’s a marriage or family crisis, a financial setback, or job loss. Some may be enduring homelessness or substance abuse or grieving the death of a loved one.
Also, many Jewish people worldwide have a burning desire to “make aliyah,” or immigrate to Israel. Doing so is a great joy, but it also comes with challenges. There is much to do in preparation, and once in Israel, immigrants must learn the language, find work, form new relationships and integrate into Israeli society. Many of them struggle for years to assimilate, while some never entirely do.
Here’s an interesting group of people to pray for in Israel: those praying at the Western Wall. The Western Wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is as close as Jewish people can get to where God’s Temple once stood. It’s open for prayer 24/7, and at any given time, you can find Jewish people from many branches of Judaism – as well as Believers in Yeshua and tourists – praying there. Some tuck written prayers into the crevices between the huge stone blocks.
Pray for Israel and the Jewish people
Lord, watch over Jewish children everywhere. Protect them – body, mind and heart. Provide the nurturing that each one needs. May they grow up with a thirst for You as well as a strong moral compass and wisdom to make good, healthy life choices.
Protect and guide Jewish teens. Please help them to manage the turbulent emotions of youth in healthy ways. Make wisdom desirable to them, and lead them to people who are honest and upright, wise and good.
As for Jewish college and university students, Lord, You know these are critical years for the formation of their world views. Please protect them from the sway of misguided belief systems, untruths and ideologies that leave You out.
Father, create in Jewish children, youth and the college-aged a hunger for truth that will lead them to Yeshua the Messiah.
Lord, whatever dire situations Jewish individuals are facing at this moment, we pray that they would humbly and honestly seek You. Please give them strength, and help them “breathe” through the shattering event they’re going through. Bring others around to support them along the way. Draw them to Yourself so that they may receive the shalom only available from knowing Yeshua.
God, it is exciting to see You bringing about what Your Word foretold: You are gathering Your people from the four corners of the earth back to Israel. Please help these immigrants rise above whatever challenges they face in the Land that is both home and foreign to them. Help them learn the language and the skills they need to acquire sufficient employment. Lord, as You have drawn Your people back to Israel, bring them also to Messiah Yeshua (Jesus).
Lord, so many people come to the Western Wall to connect with You. Many are hurting, looking for answers, or laying their needs before You. We ask that each person praying at the Wall would have a profound experience of Your presence. For those who do not know Your Son Yeshua, may they be powerfully drawn to Him and come to saving faith in Him. For those who do, we ask that You meet each one of them in beautifully personal ways, speaking to their needs and their spirits.
In Jesus’ name, we pray for Israel and Jewish people in need throughout the world. Amen.
Learn more about Bless Israel Sunday: What is Bless Israel Sunday?
Bless Israel Sunday is an opportunity for you to discover things about God’s faithfulness you may have never known before.
In this “Pray for Israel” blog series, you’ll find a prayer for Israel along with information to serve as a starting-off point from which to add your own prayers.
Government in Israel
Israel has both a president and a prime minister. The prime minister bears the most authority while the president (currently President Reuven Rivlin) serves a mostly ceremonial role. The last election was so close that veteran Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his opponent Benny Gantz agreed to work together with Netanyahu in the lead until mid-term when he will turn the reigns over to Gantz.
The prime minister has the difficult task of establishing a cabinet of ministers – a “coalition government” – from among members of the Knesset, Israel’s governing body. The Knesset consists of 120 members representing up to 22 political parties.
Ambassadors and diplomats work through delicate situations between countries. Israeli officials must walk a sensitive line with nations that sometimes oppose them on Israeli-Palestinian matters.
The United States has the closest relationship with Israel. Canada and Mexico are also strong allies, and Israel has formal diplomatic relations with more than 160 United Nations member states. Recently, in a historic agreement, the United Arab Emirates moved to normalize relations with Israel. Other Arab nations may follow suit.
Israel borders four nations. Egypt and Jordan maintain peace treaties and full diplomatic relations with her. Egypt often works with Israel on security issues, and Jordan manages the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. To the north are two enemies. Syria wants the Golan Heights back, which would leave Israel vulnerable to attack from the elevated vantage point. If Iran’s activity in Syria were to advance to the border, it could gain direct access to pursue its goal of wiping Israel off the map. Lebanon is volatile, and its terror group Hezbollah seeks Israel’s demise as well.
Pray for Israel
God, Your Word says we are to pray for all who are in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives (1 Timothy 2:1‒2). We pray for Israel on behalf of her people.
Lord, we pray for the prime minister’s office, that You would bless Israel through this most vital leader. We ask that You give both Netanyahu and Gantz great wisdom to lead and protect Israel during these unusual days of partially shared leadership. Stir them to call upon You for guidance, and reveal Yeshua (Jesus) to them. Please strengthen them with integrity, and guard against anything that would interfere with their responsibilities to govern Israel well. Surround them with wise counsel to accomplish Your purposes in the defense and prosperity of the State of Israel.
Please give each of Israel’s Knesset members wisdom in all matters. Plant in them moral convictions that align with You and Your will. Give them great discernment to perceive the repercussions of decisions – both immediate and long-range. Bring these leaders together – though they come from so many different political ideologies – to lead Israel well.
Lord, we pray for Israel’s ambassadors and diplomats. Please give them a clear understanding of matters with other countries. Help them to represent Israel well and communicate with a balance of grace and boldness as required. Give them favor with their counterparts among the nations.
Father, we pray for Israel by asking that You strengthen relationships with her allies. May those who stand with Israel do so firmly and with courage to speak out, supporting her boldly in the United Nations and on the world stage. Bless them for blessing Israel.
Father, please protect Israel’s borders. Guard and preserve the Golan Heights for Israel. Prevent Iran from gaining access to Israel through Syria. Protect Israel’s border with Lebanon. Please work to maintain and enhance Israel’s relationships with Egypt and Jordan. Please preserve their peace. We pray blessing on Israel and all of her cities, towns and people. We pray blessing on Jerusalem and ask You to bring her peace.
In Jesus’ name, Lord, we pray for Israel.
Learn more about Bless Israel Sunday: What is Bless Israel Sunday?
I am writing to ask for your help in meeting the needs of women and children in Israel who are facing great difficulty because of the pandemic and economic challenges that have followed.
Let me start by sharing what the founder of one of the partner organizations we work closely with in Israel told us. I want you to hear his words and his heart.
He said he is “hard-pressed” to remember a time in the last 20 years he’s led the ministry “where the people of Israel were in such need of hope as they are now.”
He said, “Even the many wars Israel has fought cannot match the level of desperation that many families in Israel are experiencing, and it is felt on so many levels — economically, emotionally, spiritually and even physically as the coronavirus continues to take its toll on all parts of society here.”
He shared with us about one single mother who some of his staff members had met because she worked in the same building where the ministry is located.
Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, she was laid off, leaving her with few options to provide for her children.
Because of your partnership, you are putting food on this mom’s table.
One of the organization’s staff members told us this mom was so grateful, saying “we remembered her when others forgot her.”
This is just one example of what you make possible when you give today. For struggling single moms. For women fleeing domestic abuse. For widows and orphans.
Women and children who are feeling forgotten — but thanks to you they will receive the practical, urgent help they need. And they will experience the love and hope of our Messiah through those who are serving as the hands and feet of Jesus.
You’ll be fulfilling this call to live out our faith found in the Scriptures:
“Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world”
(James 1:27).
Your gift today will provide grocery vouchers, shelter for women and children in crisis, spiritual encouragement and support, and more in the name of Jesus.
Because of your love for Israel and the Jewish people, I believe you’ll want to help meet this need and make a life-changing difference for women and children who have nowhere else to turn. Like the single mother who was so grateful for the grocery voucher.
Knowing she can feed her children is like having a heavy burden lifted from her weary shoulders. And knowing someone cares is giving her hope during a difficult season.
I’m praying for your immediate, generous gift today. We must raise $126,000 to come alongside our ministry partners and make sure these women and children know we remember them and we care about them.
For your gift of any amount, we would like to send you our 2021 Jewish Voice Wall Calendar, filled with images to remind you of the wonderful work you make possible through your support.
If you’re able to give $100 or more, we would like to add our Chanukiah. You’ll have your own nine-branched candelabra for Chanukah, designed especially for Jewish Voice partners. We’re offering the Chanukiah to you now so you’ll have time to prepare for your holiday celebration.
Thank you for doing what you can to make sure these women and children are remembered and not forgotten.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well””
Matthew 6:33 NIV
As Sukkot comes to an end, let us continue to recognize God’s provision and pray according to His will. To do this, we must seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.
Thank you for your prayers on behalf of Israel and her people. Just this week, the coronavirus infection rate is beginning to go down – after a few weeks of record-high numbers that forced the country into another lockdown.
Please continue to pray for all of the virus numbers to keep going down – from infection rate to critical patients to deaths. Also, I would ask you to pray for wisdom for Israel’s leaders as they make decisions regarding their exit strategy from the current lockdown.
Another significant news item is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu identifying locations of Hezbollah missile sites in Lebanon in his speech to the United Nations. He also pointed out that the locations of these sites mean the terror group is using citizens as human shields. He appealed to both Israelis and Lebanese people to stand against Hezbollah and Iran.
Please read more information about these news items here.
Netanyahu resists pressure to lift virus restriction
As the coronavirus infection rate appeared to stabilize early this week, many top officials called for easing of restrictions. But Netanyahu resisted pressure and said he would wait until at least 10 days of full lockdown to reassess the situation.
After record numbers of infections the past few weeks, Israel has seen several days of declining numbers of daily confirmed carriers. Health officials have expressed “cautious optimism” that the curve of infection has begun to flatten.
At the same time, the number of seriously ill from the virus continued to climb, reaching 900 on Sunday night, according to The Times of Israel.
“There are those who already say they have ‘cautious optimism’ that the lockdown is starting to work, to flatten the curve,” Netanyahu said in a video released to social media on Sunday.
“I’m more cautious than the cautious. I want to wait at least until 10 days have passed, at least 10 days. That means that decisions on continuing the lockdown after Simchat Torah [which ends October 10] in the evening] will only be made on Thursday,” he said.
Long-term exit from lockdown being discussed
This week the coronavirus cabinet met to discuss the first phases of an exit strategy as the Health Ministry reported a lowering infection rate.
It is still unclear when any exit strategy will begin. The Health Ministry, in consultation with the National Security Council and a team of internal and external health experts presented a tiered plan that contains several steps that could last more than four months.
If at any time the infection rate spikes, the country would wait or revert backwards with restrictions.
Five patients are coronavirus free after clinical trial
After taking part in the first clinical trial of an innovative treatment developed by Hadassah-University Medical Center in Jerusalem, five patients were recently discharged coronavirus free, according to The Jerusalem Post.
All five patients had been hospitalized in serious or critical condition.
The drug used in the clinical trial, Allocetra, was developed with the Enlivex Company based on research conducted by Professor Dror Mevorach, director of Hadassah’s Internal Medicine and Coronavirus departments.
Israel Defense Forces identify two alleged Hezbollah missile sites
Last Tuesday evening, the Israel Defense Forces identified two alleged Hezbollah missile sites in Beirut. These are in addition to another site Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed to reveal during an address to the United Nations (UN) earlier that evening.
All three sites are tied to the terror group’s precision-guided missile project, an effort to convert its massive arsenal of simple rockets into highly accurate missiles, according to the military. This presents a far greater challenge to Israel’s air defenses, according to The Times of Israel.
The military also said one of the sites is an underground facility built beneath four seven-story apartment buildings where 70 families live, located east of Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport. A church and medical center are also located nearby.
The second site is also an underground facility below five apartment buildings where 50 families live. A mosque is nearby.
The third site is in one of Beirut’s neighborhoods near civilian homes and adjacent to two gas companies and a gas station.
In his remarks to the UN, Netanyahu warned of the possibility of another catastrophic explosion. He called on the Lebanese people to protest against Hezbollah and its Iranian sponsors.
In UN speech, Netanyahu provides examples of Hezbollah use of human shields
Netanyahu’s address to the UN last Tuesday and associated material released the same day by Israel specifies three detailed examples of Hezbollah’s use of Lebanese citizens as human shields, which is a war crime.
The three locations in which Hezbollah, with help from Iran, has located missile sites are directly under or adjacent to civilians.
The evidence supports imposing sanctions on Hezbollah pursuant to the Sanctioning the Use of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act, which passed the U.S. Congress unanimously and became law in December 2018.
This latest strong evidence should prompt the Trump administration to act, according to The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington, D.C. based nonpartisan research institute.
Let us pray together
Please pray with me for:
Our Future Dwelling
“I also heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling of God is among men, and He shall tabernacle among them. They shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them and be their God.’”
––Revelation 21:3
When Israel wandered in the wilderness, they lived in temporary housing. God was leading them to the Land He promised to give them. There they would settle in and live in permanent residences. God instituted the Feast of Tabernacles to remind Jewish people throughout their generations of the tents of the temporary homes their ancestors lived in during their sojourn with Him to their real home.
The apostle Paul wrote that our bodies are merely temporary housing during our sojourn with God on Earth. We dwell with Him now through His Spirit in us, but one day we will enter into the “Promised Land” of Heaven on Earth, our true home, to which God is leading all of human history.
Our earthly journey includes turmoil, sin, disease, pain and sorrow. But someday, we will live in a world where all of the dark, sour, bent and broken things of this life will be gone. The crooked will be made straight, and all will be good and pure.
Jesus promised us that He was leaving to prepare a place for us. And He will soon come to complete that preparation so we can experience His fullness in a way we never will in this unredeemed world. No more temporary structures for our souls. We will take up permanent residence in incorruptible bodies just as He has promised us.
That is our certain future for which we eagerly wait. We abide today in our “tents” with the exciting anticipation of the eternal nature of our future dwelling place. What joy awaits us!
“For we know that if the tent, our earthly home, is torn down, we have a building from God—a home not made with human hands, eternal in the heavens.”
––2 Corinthians 5:1
“But in keeping with His promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.”
––2 Peter 3:13
“In My Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?”
––John 14:2
Dwelling with God amid COVID-19
The threat of COVID-19 will diminish one day, and we will again dwell with God by our side in more familiar lifestyles. Carry with you the things He has taught you during this time of uncertainty, fear, lockdowns and isolation. And never lose sight of the exciting promise of our eternal future when we are wholly at home, dwelling with God in perfect fellowship. Rejoice, for it’s a sure thing!
Bearing Fruit through Abiding
“I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for apart from Me, you can do nothing.”
––John 15:5
Jewish families often decorate the sukkah in their yard with a harvest theme, representing God’s bountiful provision. Traditional adornments include hanging fruit from the ceiling. This is a fitting illustration of God’s harvest gifts and also of the effects that abiding in God’s presence has on our lives.
Dwelling with God produces fruit. The fruit of His Spirit grows in us, revealing that we are abiding in God (Galatians 5:22–23). These fruits – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – show the world around us who God is. People see God in us when we bear His fruit.
This fruit leads to actions that bless others with encouragement, help, wisdom, hope and more. The Bible instructs us to lift one another up, look out for others’ needs and strengthen the weak. God ministers to people through the fruit and gifts of His Spirit given to each of us who believes in Jesus.
This fruit emerges from abiding in – dwelling with – God. Spend some time reflecting on the joy that comes from making a difference in someone’s life. Consider the privilege of God using you to reflect His goodness and love through the fruit He bears in you. Ask Him how He wants to use you today, and rejoice that His presence with and in you bears beautiful fruit.
“For he will be like a tree planted by the waters, spreading out its roots by a stream. It has no fear when heat comes, but its leaves will be green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor depart from yielding fruit.”
––Jeremiah 17:8
“…bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God.”
––Colossians 1:10b
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good deeds.”
––Hebrews 10:24
Dwelling with God amid COVID-19
Many of us are working from home during COVID-19’s ongoing concerns. Cities have various restrictions in place, social distancing guidelines and other conditions that are just not normal for us. It can mean that we have less face to face interaction with people outside our homes and families, and maybe fewer opportunities to bear fruit for the Lord in ways we’re used to. But thanks to technology, we can stay connected and continue to lift one another up. COVID inconveniences don’t interfere with one of the most important ways to bless others: through our prayers. So, stay in the Word, keep abiding in God’s presence, and let His fruit flourish in you.
