“’Come,’ they say, ‘let us destroy them as a nation, so that Israel’s name is remembered no more.’” (Ps 83:4)
On September 20, the Palestinians are planning to ask the United Nations General Assembly to unilaterally endorse a Palestinian state, thereby dividing God’s own land including Jerusalem. The following day the Durban III UN Human Rights conference, with its history of raw anti Semitism and Israel hatred, will begin in New York.
Coinciding with these two events, the Palestinians are preparing for mass demonstrations that most likely will turn violent. One week later the Feast of Trumpets, begins followed by the Days of Awe.
The theme of the Feast of Trumpets is God as king judging the world through the Messiah. The Fall Feasts are more and more becoming a crucial time of year in world politics. We see a confrontation building up here, specifically around the issue of Jerusalem, eventually leading to the final fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets with the coming of the Messiah.
“As a lion growls, a great lion over its prey — and though a whole band of shepherds is called together against it, it is not frightened by their shouts or disturbed by their clamor — so the LORD Almighty will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights. Like birds hovering overhead, the LORD Almighty will shield Jerusalem; he will shield it and deliver it.” (Is 31:4-5)
The Month of Elul
On August 30, the sixth month on the biblical calendar, the month of Elul, begins. This month is a month of repentance and preparation for the upcoming Fall Feasts. The shofar is blown every morning in every synagogue in order to wake people up for the coming Day of Judgment on the Feast of Trumpets and the Days of Awe.
According to Jewish tradition Moses began his second 40-day fast on the first of Elul, asking God to forgive Israel for the sin with the golden calf and to renew the covenant. His fast ended on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
“But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God. ‘LORD,’ he said, ‘why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’ …Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.’” (Ex 32:11-13,31-32)
The 40 days from the first of Elul to Yom Kippur became a traditional time of repentance, fasting and prayer among the Jewish people very early on. Very likely our Master went through his 40-day fast recorded in the Gospels during this time.
We believe that this time period is a very special time to stand in the gap for Israel with prayer and fasting, and especially so this year. We are therefore calling for a 40-day fast from the evening of August 30 to the evening of October 8. We are asking intercessors to take turns to fast and pray for Israel during these forty days.
The 40-Day Fast for Israel, August 30–October 8
We encourage everyone to intensify prayer for Israel during the upcoming forty days from Elul 1 to Yom Kippur, August 30 – October 8 and also to take responsibility for at least one day of fasting from sundown to sun down during these forty days. If you want to be part of this 40-day fast for Israel, register below the day(s) you will fast! Let’s help build a wall of protection around Israel with prayer and fasting during this very crucial time in history!
We cannot fully prevent the enemies of Israel from attacking God’s people. These attacks are part of what the prophetic word has clearly stated will happen. The nations of the world will turn against Israel and Jerusalem in the last days. But we can pray for God’s help and protection from these attacks. This we have the responsibility to do and we can be fully confident of the victory. God has already declared what the outcome will be for the enemy: “You will fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you.” (Ez 39:4)
Let us especially pray for the blessing and protection of the Israeli settlers in Judea and Samaria! A truly cutting edge ministry called HaYovel (see www.HaYovel.com) helps these settlers to harvest their grapes in accordance with Isaiah 61:4-5, “They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.” Let us undergird this prophetic ministry serving on the front lines on the mountains of Israel in much prayer!
Prayer Points:
• Pray for God’s mercy towards Israel and that he will remember his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
“But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God. ‘LORD,’ he said, ‘why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’ …Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.’” (Ex 32:11-13,31-32)
• Pray that God will arise and help his people!
“O God, do not remain silent; do not turn a deaf ear, do not stand aloof, O God. See how your enemies growl, how your foes rear their heads. With cunning they conspire against your people; they plot against those you cherish. ‘Come,’ they say, ‘let us destroy them as a nation, so that Israel’s name is remembered no more.’” (Ps 83:1-4)
• Proclaim God’s greatness!
“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who can fathom the Spirit of the LORD, or instruct the LORD as his counselor? Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust. Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing.” (Isa 40:12-16)
• Pray that God will foil the plans of the nations!
“Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” (Ps 33:8-11)
• Praise God for his power to save his people and give them victory!
“Praise the LORD. Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of his faithful people.
Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King. Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp. For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds.
May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written against them — this is the glory of all his faithful people. Praise the LORD.” (Ps 149)
• Pray for the blessing and protection of the Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria and for the ministry of HaYovel mobilizing help to these farmers!
“They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.” (Isa 61:4-5)
• Pray that God will send confusion into the enemy’s camp so that the terrorists begin to fight each other!
“As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.” (2 Chr 20:22-23)
• Pray that God will scatter the terrorists!
“Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, who said, ‘Let us take possession of the pasturelands of God.’ Make them like tumbleweed, my God, like chaff before the wind. As fire consumes the forest or a flame sets the mountains ablaze, so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your storm. Cover their faces with shame, LORD, so that they will seek your name.” (Ps 83:11-16)
• Pray that God will raise up strong prophetic voices to proclaim the truth and warn the leaders of the earth to not divide God’s land!
“Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One. …Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” (Ps 2:1-2,10-12)
• Pray for a hedge of protection around Jerusalem!
“’And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will be its glory within.’” (Zech 2:5)
• Pray for strength and wisdom to the leaders in Israel, especially Prime Minister Netanyahu!
“I will restore your judges as in days of old, your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City.” (Isa 1:26)
• Pray that Israel will hope in the LORD!“No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you.” (Ps 33:16-22)
• Pray that the Spirit of God will be poured out so that Israel will look up and see the one that was pierced for them and repent!
“On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem. And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.” (Zech 12:9-10)
• Pray that God’s name will be glorified in all the earth through the restoration of Israel!
“Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame; …You have enlarged the nation, O LORD; you have enlarged the nation. You have gained glory for yourself; you have extended all the borders of the land.” (Isa 26:11,15)
• Pray for a mighty harvest into the kingdom of God in the Muslim world!
“The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in him the Gentiles will hope.” (Rom 15:12)
May God bless you as watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem!
