We thank God for our part in the present 40 day prayer and fasting for Jerusalem leading up to Yom Kippur, when Israel's year of jubilee as a modern state will begin (actually 10 days earlier)! This is truly an historic time to be watching in prayer for Jerusalem and identifying with intercessors like Daniel, who three times each day faithfully opened his window towards Jerusalem to make requests to the Lord God for His holy hill. (Dan 6:10; 9:20)
Just like Daniel we believe that we also cooperate with the mighty angels of God in our prayers. Our call as watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem is to faithfully remind the Lord of His promise to favor Zion until Jerusalem becomes the throne of God and the praise of the earth! (Jer 3:17, Isa 62:7) While not everyone can fast for forty days, remember that partial fasts also are very powerful, as we see in the example of Daniel.
We again want to remind you of the seven different prayer points for Jerusalem we focus on during these 40 days. You may chose to concentrate on one prayer point for each day of the week:
1. For God to remove the veil He has
sovereignly placed upon the Jewish heart concerning the Messiahship of
Jesus. (Romans 11:11-15, 28-32, 2-Corinthians 3:14- 16).
2. For Jerusalem to remain as Israel's
undivided Capital
3. For Deliverance and Freedom from
Religious Spirits over the Body of Messiah
4. For Peace between Religious and
Secular Jews
5. For Peace among Believers - "They
shall know us by our love...."
6. For the Body of Messiah to become
a praying, maturing Body.
7. That God move supernaturally upon
Christian leaders worldwide to recognize the unique significance of Jerusalem
in God's end-time purposes.
A nation wide prayer meeting for the entire Body of Christ in Israel was called for October 4 which we will be present for as we are in Israel at that time. This particular Sabbath between Rosh HaShanna and Yom Kippur (called the Shabbat of Repentance) is the highest day of repentance in the Hebrew calendar, and many of the congregations will be foregoing their individual meetings to gather from 10 AM to 4 PM to fast and pray for the Kingdom of God to be manifested in Israel.
Please pray for God's help in this strategic event, and that all the Israeli congregations would hear from the Lord and participate. We had a similar meeting two years ago and 800 attended. Let us ask the Lord for at least twice that many this year. It is indeed a "divine setup" that millions of American intercessors will gather in Washington DC for a national prayer meeting on the very same day!
WAR DRUMS ARE BEATING as Madeline Albright has come and gone with little to show. Her failure to produce any breakthrough may have fixed the beginning of the final countdown to war. Satellite photos reveal more Syrian missiles with chemical and nuclear warheads standing in readiness than previously estimated by Western analysts, and the survival of most of Israel's population may hinge upon a preemptive strike, supernatural intervention, or both!
Pray for a clear confirmed prophetic voice to be heard. So many are saying so much about when and what lies ahead. Israel has no margin of error . . . either in the spirit or in the natural! The Israeli government desperately needs discernment and wisdom from God. Pray for them. Prime minister Netanyahu issued a word for the nation, quoting from Scripture, saying, " in the difficult struggle for our right to live in peace and security in our country, having great faith in the justice of our cause and the strength of our people, we will overcome. At this time, we say to each other the verse from Isaiah (41:6): 'THEY HELPED EVERY ONE HIS NEIGHBOR; AND EVERYONE SAID TO HIS BROTHER: BE OF GOOD COURAGE.' " Pray that the nation may once again learn to draw from the rich well of the Word of God for their very survival!
JERUSALEM CONTINUES TO DRAW FIRE as four Israeli families moved into apartments on Jewish-owned land on Jerusalem's Mount of Olives, igniting passions among Arabs who regard the area as Palestinian land. The controversy surrounds plans to build 70 Jewish housing units on a plot a Jewish businessman bought there over a decade ago. Local Palestinians threw rocks at cars and clashed briefly with the Israelis. A nearby mosque broadcasted messages calling on Arabs to demonstrate their opposition. However, the Israeli government has indicated it will not allow the development to go ahead "until political conditions enable the project to proceed without violent protests or negative diplomatic consequences." Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem!
ISLAM REVEALED AGAIN, as, for the second time in two months, a senior Palestinian Authority official appointed by Yasser Arafat has called for the destruction of the United States. The PA's Islamic mufti, Ikrama Sabri, made the remarks during his Friday (September 12) sermon delivered at the Al-Aksa mosque in Jerusalem. The sermon was broadcast on the official PA radio station VOICE OF PALESTINE, immediately after the station carried a 10-minute address to Palestinians by U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Excerpts follow:
"Oh Muslims, we must raise our voices against America, its ally Britain and all the infidel nations and say that Israel is stealing our land and establishing illegal settlements ...Why does America support settlements in Israel? Are the settlements not terrorism? And therefore, America is the chief of the terrorists. Oh Allah, destroy America, her agents and her allies!
"Cast them into their own traps, and cover the White House with black! Oh Muslims, our brothers in faith everywhere, the purpose of the American Secretary of State's visit to Palestine is to support the Israeli position regarding deceitful security and fanatical settlements ... The strategic covenant between Zionism and the Crusaders [Muslim reference to Christians] is a satanic alliance hostile to Islam and the Muslims and we expect no good from it. The Muslim masses in Palestine and the world over condemn Albright's declarations issued today and in the past two days. The masses condemn America's pro-Israeli stance, which demonstrates that global forces, the heretics, the terrorists and those filled with hate are forging an alliance against Islam and Muslims ... Oh Allah, destroy America, her agents and allies! Allah, raise the flag of Islam over the Al-Aksa mosque, Jerusalem and Palestine..."
Let the intercessors take notice of these words as they are not mere Arab emotionalism as many try to explain. These are true statements revealing the true nature and mission of the Islamic forces which are bent on the destruction of Israel and every thing else which testifies to the true God of the Bible and the Savior of mankind. Pray for this Anti-Christ empire of lies and treachery to fall!
A RECENT PROPHETIC WORD from one of our intercessors speaks, we believe, to the heart of the Church: "We are the family of God. As children of God our family home is in Israel, and we spread out from there. As in many families we leave home to search for our independence and to stand on our own. We have adopted different regions, languages, and traditions in order to show our independence and prove our differences. But there is a tie to home, one that goes beyond our own understanding and draws us back to its loving embrace. The tie is in the blood. If you look to the inside we are all the same, originating from the same beginning and the same Father. In the end we find there is no Truth in "independence." It is a lie from the enemy to draw us away from our Father's loving home.
"Go home. Lean on your Father. He is waiting for you. We are His children! As any child, we need the help of our Father. A child does not shy away from running to his Father to ask of Him, but confidently approaches, knowing he will not be denied his Father's loving help.
"Go home - back to Israel - back to God! Ask of your Father. Confess your need! He is waiting, waiting to receive you with a loving embrace." End of Prophetic word. May the Spirit of the Living God speak to your heart."
God's grace be with you all. Please remember my family in prayer as well as this is a very busy and demanding season for our household with much transition and travel. Many thanks.
REUVEN DORON
Embrace Israel
PO Box 10077
Cedar Rapids, IA 52410-0077
Voice: (319) 390-4780
Fax: (319) 393-2912
E-Mail: EmbraceIsrael@msn.com
Internet site: www.embraceisrael.org
Please Note: The Embrace Israel prayer
focus is prepared weekly by Pastor Reuven Doron, director of Embrace Israel
Ministries, and provided free of charge to thousands of intercessors around
the world.