Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are my Rock and my Refuge, my Cornerstone and Coming King (Psalm 18). I listen for Your leading as I seek to begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit. ...
“The Lord is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land.
You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more” (Psalm 10:16-18 NIV).
10 days ago as Israel celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles, rockets began to rain down terror in waves of indiscriminate horror on civilian homes. Women and children and the elderly were kidnapped and taken hostage. Hundreds upon hundreds of Jewish people were systematically murdered, slaughtered in moments of genocidal rage by racist terrorists.
We pray for a day when they will “terrify no more.”
King Jesus--Messiah of Israel and all nations of the earth--come in Your justice and Your mercy. Hear the cries of the afflicted, the fatherless, and the oppressed. Come set things right. Set the captives free and heal the brokenhearted (Isaiah 61). Even use what has happened to open the eyes of the world to the terror the people of Israel face every day.
Terror is never justified. The slaughter of the innocent is always evil.
Yet terror will not have the final word and evil will not have the final say. We don’t give in to a passive mentality that says “Whatever will be will be.” No, we take up the weapons of our warfare to fight in the Spirit by the leading of Your Holy Spirit in this spiritual battle of good and evil being manifested before our eyes (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). There is spiritual warfare behind this evil and terror. We fight this battle, we “fight the good fight of the faith,” on our knees in prayer and with our voices in faith (1 Timothy 6:12). We all need to join into this spiritual warfare by praying on our knees daily over the war in Israel and Palestine.
And as we fight, as we pray, we take our stand with You for Israel. We pray You would be a “Wall of Fire” of her protection, her vindication, and her restoration. “For I,’ says the Lord, ‘will be a Wall of Fire all around her, and I will be the Glory in her midst’” (Zechariah 2:5).
With Your Spirit in our hearts as we pray, we obey Your command and answer Your call to “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Palm 122:6). We pray for the peace of God, the shalom of God, to cover all the people of that land and fill the hearts of all the people, whether Jew or Gentile, Israeli or Palestinian, even Iranian or Syrian, as You move to turn every heart to You as Messiah and King of all the earth.
We know from Your Word that horrific and evil events will occur on this earth before Your return. Both good and evil, the seeds of wickedness and the seeds of righteousness, will come to full maturity; but even that is preparation for the great “harvest” of souls at “the end of the age” (Matthew 13:39).
So let us be found faithful in our prayers for good to prevail and righteousness to come. Even cause this evil that has happened to work together for good (Romans 8:28) so that in the end, “All Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26).
Between this day and that day to come, come into that land as a Warrior and Defender, a Rescuer and Father to set things right in the righteousness of God that only You can do. Remind us that our true battle is not “against flesh and blood,” not even against wicked people and leaders of nations that would carry out their evil actions of terror and cruelty to seek to destroy a nation. But that our true battle is “against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
As we express our grief and sorrow, our shock and anger, at all that has happened and may yet happen, as we continue to pray and fight the good fight of the faith on our knees and through our authority in Christ on behalf of all people of this land and every land, let us remember “the battle belongs to the Lord!” (1 Samuel 17:47) And our God will always prevail (Isaiah 46:10). In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray you may join in prayer with me and take your stand for Israel and all the people of the Middle East and the world to know Jesus as Messiah, Savior, Defender, and Rescuer, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
Please share your reflections and prayers in the comment box below with us from todays reading.
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