Jerusalem, Israel
May 2016 Prayer
Update
Israel
and the Nations
Diplomatic pressure on Israel is increasing:
- The Palestinians are preparing a UN Security Council resolution, which would condemn Israeli settlements, and try to set the parameters for a two-state solution. They are also looking to invoke a 1994 UN Security Council resolution 904, which called for measures to protect Palestinian civilians living in part of the West Bank. It included a temporary international military presence in Hebron. Now, they would demand this resolution be re-established to include an international military force to protect their interests in all of the West Bank (Judea and Samaria). This would compromise Israel’s ability to protect its own sovereign land!
- French leaders want to have a Middle East conference next year. They are putting together a planning committee which is scheduled to meet at the end of this month. The idea is to jump start the Arab Peace Initiative (a bad initiative for Israel). The demand would be for Israel to withdraw to the pre-1967 borders; share Jerusalem as both the capital of Israel and of “Palestine”; provide cities in Israel as a refuge to returning Palestinians (jeopardizing a Jewish majority population); and, negotiate with Syria on returning the Golan Heights (which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently said would be in Israel’s hands forever). French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayault arrives in Israel on May 12 to discuss the future summit, which Netanyahu has stated is not a good idea.
- Reportedly, the German government is reassessing its ties with Israel, not happy with the policies of Netanyahu and his government coalition (especially, Israel’s settlement policy). This could threaten Israel’s strategic diplomatic and military relationship with Germany.
- Anti-Semitic statements are coming forth from Britain’s Labor Party leadership. There’s been a sharp increase in Anti-Semitism in the UK population this year.
- Israel is uncertain how friendly a future American President will be to the Jewish State. Israel is seeking increased military aid from the U.S., and hoping for America’s support at the UN and other international forums.
PRAYER POINTS:
Declare Psalm 17:8-9 and Psalm 27:5-14 over
Israel.
Stand in the gap and declare God’s Authority over the nation and over His Chosen People:
“Wondrously show Your lovingkindness, O Savior, of
those who take refuge at Your right hand... from those who rise up against
them. Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me in the shadow
of Your wings… from the wicked who despoil me; my deadly enemies who
surround me.…
“For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His
tabernacle. In the secret place of His tent He will hide me. He will lift me up
on a rock. And now my head will be lifted up above
my enemies around me. And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of
joy. I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord. Hear, O Lord, when I
cry with my voice, and be gracious to me and answer me. When You said, ‘Seek My
face’, my heart said to You, ‘Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.’ Do not
hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger. You have been
my help. Do not abandon me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation! For my father
and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me up. Teach me Your
way, O Lord, and lead me in a level path because of my foes. Do not deliver me
over to the desire of my adversaries. For false witnesses have risen against
me, and such as breathe out violence. I would have despaired unless I had
believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait
for the Lord. Be strong and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the
Lord.”
- The IDF recently discovered a Hamas attack tunnel and Israeli military analysts are reporting here are others to be found. These cross-border tunnels are a threat to Israeli towns that are close to Gaza, and it puts fear in the hearts of civilians. The IDF continues to advance, technologically, finding new measures to discover and destroy tunnels, while Hamas seeks to complete tunnels and recruit terrorists to attack Israel. It is a race against time.
PRAYER POINTS:
With God’s authority, proclaim Isaiah 41:10-13 over
Israel:
“Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not
anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I
will help you. Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and
dishonored. Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.
You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them. Those who war
with you will be as nothing and non-existent. For I am the
Lord your God, who upholds your right hand, who says to you, 'Do not fear, I
will help you.’ ”
- There are an estimated 1 million Israelis living in America, many with dual-citizenship. These “Diaspora” Israelis could be strategic in helping with Aliyah during times of crisis in the States. They, themselves, need to be drawn back to their covenant land.
PRAYER POINTS:
Pray for the Lord to draw His people
home. Intercede on behalf of those Israelis who have found comfort in America… that
they would listen to His still small voice and follow their shepherd back to
the land of their forefathers. Sing the song of Zion, referred to in Psalm 137:1-6,
and cry out to God for His people to return. Call forth those who do not want
to leave the Diaspora:
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the
poplars we hung our harps; for there our captors asked us for songs, our
tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’ How can we sing the
songs of the Lord while in a foreign land? If I forget
you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.”
*During these 50 days of counting the Omer, leading up to
Shavuot (Pentecost), pray that Jews all over the world will draw close to the
Lord their God and follow after His ways!
Pray that they will fall in love with their Creator, remembering all
that He has done for them since ancient days; as He continues to bless them now
and forevermore! Remember to thank the
Lord, according to Isaiah 62:1 and Isaiah 62:6-7… that Zion’s righteousness will go forth as
brightness; and her salvation as a blazing torch. And, that He will establish Jerusalem and make her
the praise of the earth!