The endless power of prayer:
There is no way to know how many of us are praying for Israel, but it is working and prophecy will be fulfilled to the letter of God’s Word. I have an important point I want to make about prayer, but first I want to share a couple of new stories of miracles coming out of Israel.
In one instance, missiles were fired by Hamas into Israel somewhere north in the area near Ashkelon. Sirens warned residents to move to shelters quickly, and the Iron Dome began targeting missiles for destruction before they could land. Witnesses saw something amazing. One missile made it through the Iron Dome defense system. Suddenly, as the missile was enroute above Israel, a strong wind came from nowhere and carried the missile out to sea. What is interesting is that these missiles are designed to compensate for the powerful gusty winds that are typical of higher altitudes. The wind was so strong that the guidance system technology in the missile could not compensate for the incredibly strong wind and it fell in the sea! As you can imagine, the people began shouting “high praises to Yah! He who neither slumbers nor sleeps watches over Israel!”
In another situation, a small platoon of IDF forces were encountered and trapped by Hamas forces inside of Gaza. The soldier that tells the story said that rocket propelled grenades and machine gun fire were whizzing by their heads and they were pinned down, unable to move. A rocket grenade was fired at them and they thought there was no way to survive. But the rocket grenade went around them, hitting a nearby structure, and none were injured. One of the soldiers suddenly realized that many of them should have been hit already and killed, but the bullets from the machine gun fire were not making contact. It seemed the bullets and grenades were going around them and not striking any of the soldiers. One of the soldiers shouted, “Yah is with us! Let’s move!” And they began working their way out of the line of fire, bullets whizzing right past their heads, but none of the men were even injured.
As the IDF soldiers made their way to new positions giving them a tactical advantage over Hamas forces, the tables turned and the Hamas forces were pushed back. As reinforcements began to arrive, the combat situation reversed and the Hamas fighters were on the defensive, forced to withdraw. The soldier that told this story to his wife in a letter, said they witnessed the hand of God over them, there was no other explanation for having survived rocket propelled grenades and machine fire without a single soldier being injured when they were outnumbered by at least 10:1. This has been the history of the battles between Israel and its enemies since before they were known as the sons of Jacob, yet in the loins of Abraham.
Have you ever considered how many times Israel was near being wiped out as a nation had it not been for the prayers of 1 person? In the story of Esther, then king of Persia Artaxerxes was preparing for genocide against the Jewish people. Esther fasted for 3 days, and knowing she might have been beheaded, approached king Artaxerxes in a plea for mercy on behalf of her people. If you know the story, the man manipulating Artaxerxes behind the scenes, Haman, was killed instead and the Jews were spared.
But perhaps my favorite account is from Exodus chapter 32. Moses has been on Mt Sinai for nearly 40 days, and the Hebrews were restless, thinking he had been killed by whatever was causing the roaring thunder to echo down from the mountain. God (this was Yehshua on Mt Sinai, not the Father) informs Moses that the Israelites have made for themselves a golden calf and have bowed down to it. He says “these are a stiff necked people” and continues by informing Moses to leave Him to His own anger and destroy the Israelites and build a new nation from Moses’ own descendants.
Moses pleaded with God to spare the Israelites, stating that He had done so much to bring them out of Egypt, not to mention promises made to Abraham, what would the Egyptians think of this kind of God who saved His coveted people only to exterminate them a short time later!
Moses then proceeds down the mountain, and is greeted by Joshua who had already separated himself from among the people. Joshua tells Moses that the people are making sounds of war, to be advised. Moses replies, “they are singing!” as he proceeds and sees with his own eyes, the chaos that has overtaken the Israelites. They are dancing naked and singing before the golden calf, and in Moses’ fury, he throws down the tablets of the law and breaks them into pieces.
The Levites had also separated themselves from the other tribes, and Moses commanded them to kill whoever was not on the side of God. The King James says there were 3000 men slain, but older translations indicate there were 3000 Levites doing the slaying and 23,000 killed was nearer to the actual count. In either case, the point is what Moses does next.
Moses returns to the top of the mountain where the Lord awaits, and recounts the events, stating that if He chose to wipe out the Israelites, to kill Moses along with them and bear their sins upon himself. He even goes so far as to say “and blot my name out from your book”. The Lord replies that He will blot out the names of those who were against Him, and spare the rest.
Whether we see God or not in our prayers, we are always standing before Him when we pray just as Moses stood before Him on Mt Sinai. We should find a place in our homes or places of prayer that become our own personal Mt Sinai where we come before the Lord and enter into intercession with Him. The very definition of intercession is important to understand and comprehend for effective prayer. The American Heritage dictionary defines intercession as follows;
Intercession: The act of interceding; mediation; interposition between parties at variance, with a view to reconcilation; prayer, petition, or entreaty in favor of, or (less often) against, another or others.
In this account of Moses on Mt Sinai, 1 man stood between God and the Israelites as a mediator between the 2 parties. Because of the position Moses took in favor of both parties, killing only those who stood firmly against God and sparing the rest, the nation of Israel was spared the total annihilation that God was considering to follow through with.
I personally have become so angry with the political situation in America and the world that I cannot stomach the daily news. These politicians in Washington have been such a corrupt putrid lot that they don’t deserve the oxygen they breathe. But when I recall these stories of Moses or Esther, or how Abraham pleaded for Sodom if 10 righteous men be found there (Genesis chapter 18), I suddenly became aware that I am partly responsible for our putrid political condition, as are all Christians.
In 1 Timothy chapter 2:1-4, Paul emphasizes something very important. As Christians, our first duty is to pray for political leaders, that we may live a peaceable life in Godliness and honesty. As you ponder that, ask yourself when is the last time you prayed for current political leaders? I find myself praying that someone else win an election, but rarely, probably never for the ones actually in office because I despise all of them. Is there 1 good one in the whole lot of them? They engage in satanic acts, many of them engage in child sacrifices, etc, and are a disgusting lot. But the Holy Spirit can persuade and influence their decisions IF we pray, not matter how Godly or ungodly they may be. Artaxerxes was man of pagan gods, yet because of Esther’s “intercession”, the Holy Spirit influenced his thoughts and the Israelites were spared.
If 1 man or woman through intercession could spare the nation of Israel, a stiff-necked people God preferred to destroy than to save, how much more can we as the Body of Christ influence the fate of a nation through intercession before God? God follows through with destruction for lack of qualified intercessors. How do we qualify? Through the blood atonement of the perfect sacrifice of the perfect lamb without blemish, we stand as righteous as Moses did before God and can influence His decisions by the authority given us through Yehshua.
Am I preaching to myself? I don’t believe so. In Robert Henderson’s book “The Courts of Heaven”, he saw in a dream that the twin towers would be destroyed, while in the background hearing these words “BOC DENIED! BOC DENIED!” He later realized that BOC was the Body of Christ, and satan’s was the voice he heard in the dream. If the Body of Christ had been a little more awake at the time, and not caught up in prosperity preaching that sounds more like praying to Santa Claus, it is very possible a different course would have been set for the nation of America. The Body of Christ was asleep, and now we are still paying the price for that event.
While our best hope for restored leadership in America depletes his resources in the courtrooms, we need to pray for Donald Trump. But as well, we need to pray that sleepy Joe will have an epiphany before God and come to Jesus quick before he stumbles again. Pray for both, pray harder for Donald. 😊 The power of prayer can spare at least some of the destruction of this nation. Meanwhile, we must separate ourselves from the soon to be judged.
Please join me in intercession for our political leaders, that they will come to know Jesus in time for their own good and for ours. Let Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Esther, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Joel, Zechariah, and others be examples and an inspiration to us, to know that even 1 prayer warrior atoned by the blood of Yehshua can change the fate of a nation. How much more can we do as a group?
In addition, continue to pray that He that neither slumbers nor sleeps will continue to keep His watchful eye and strong right arm (Yehshua) over Israel and restore peace in Jerusalem forever!
When we pray for the nation(s) and for others, we are partnering with God in something He already wanted to do, just waiting for us to ask!
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. (Even sleepy Joe…ugh)
1 Timothy 2:1-4
