Our God of Israel is an awesome God! - Pray for Israel

[Jlutz]

I guess you could say that about most things....


well, not really. The Bible doesn't specifically talk about my transportation needs or specifically address many other issues, however it does specifically address Israel and it tells us exactly what will happen. Thats the difference

[Jacinth]

*poof*

[Jlutz]

The point is really still the same though ultimately....

Also I gave the example of the rapture which the word does say will happen. Do you pray for the rapture?


I don't see the point in praying for something that has been set in stone since the begining of time. The way i look at it is that, it is like praying that the sky will be blue. What is the point, it already is blue?

I'm not saying I'm right. I'm just not sure there is a point in praying for those specific things that i mentioned.

[Beccasue]

How about this. It is a matter of obedience. Abraham was told to sacrifice his son. He didn't ask why, he just did it, and God intervened. God blesses those who bless Israel and curses those who curse Israel. When you pray for someone, you are asking for God's blessing on them, in whatever way He wills. To pray for Israel is to bless them, to show that you respect the covenant that they share with almighty God. I don't need to know "why", it is an instruction from God, and should be obeyed.

If we are in a group and ask for prayer for Israel, it also shows other believers (and non-believers who may be present) that we support Israel as God's chosen people, and in this age, when so many in the Christian community are turning against Israel, or believe in the heresy of replacement theology, this is important. You can pray for the safety of those who are constantly bombarded with rocket fire, for those who have lost their homes, for the hungry the needy. Israel as a nation has the same problems that all the other nations have. They are people, just like us, with the same worries and concerns. You can pray for the missionaries that go and preach the gospel, I would rather as many Jewish people as possible would receive Jesus as their savior before the rapture, because if things are going to be horrific for the world in general, it will be worse for the Jewish people. Just as we know there will be untold multitudes of gentiles that become believers in the tribulation, does that meant we shouldn't share Christ now?

We pray for Israel as a nation because it is what God has instructed us to do and we show obedience to our God.

[Beccasue]

but we already know they won't until the trib.

This is true of Israel as a nation, speaking in generalities, especially true of the orthodox Jews and those that are observant of their faith. However, many Israelis in this day are not particularly religious and there are many that would be open to Jesus, and should be prayed for. We should also pray that individual hearts are softened and eyes opened so that they will be prepared and see what is before them during the coming tribulation.

[Tall Timbers]

1 John 5:14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.


He hears our prayers. Our prayers for Israel are thus a blessing upon Israel. :pray Praying for Israel!

[Jlutz]

you make some good points.

I was unfamiliar with the command to pray for Israel until this thread. That is absolutly reason enough

[Steve53]

http://www.gotquestions.org/support-Israel.html
Question: "Should Christians support the nation of Israel?"

Answer: Christians should definitely support the nation of Israel. We must remember that Israel, the nation, is very special to God. We read in Deuteronomy 7:6-8 these words: "For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt."

God's eternal purpose is to bless the world through Israel. Already He has done so in measure, for "salvation is from the Jews" (John 4:22), but the fullness of future blessing is indicated in the wondrous promise of Isaiah 27:6: "In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit."

The declaration that "salvation is from the Jews” suggests our immeasurable debt to Israel. All that we have worth having has come to us through the Jews. Our Bible is a Jewish Book, and our Savior is a Jewish Savior. Let us never forget to pray for God's chosen people. It is true that Israel, today, is in the place of rejection. The nation is a secular, unbelieving (as to the claims of Scripture and their Messiah, Jesus Christ) nation; but "…at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace" (Romans 11:5). Some Jews are being saved and are becoming members of the body of Christ through faith in their Messiah.

Jews are, biblically speaking, the "chosen people of God" and dearly loved by Him. Another reason for Christians to support the nation of Israel is because of the Abrahamic Covenant. We read of God’s promise in Genesis 12:2-3, "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (see also Genesis 27:29; Numbers 24:9).

One of the United States’ most worthwhile accomplishments has been its consistent regard for the plight of the Jewish nation. No nation in the history of the world has a better record of treating individual Jews with respect than does America. The same can be said for our befriending Israel as a nation. America has committed many sins for which we may well deserve judgment, but as a nation, we have been a consistent friend of the Jews and the nation of Israel, as well as a benefactor. In 1948, President Harry Truman helped persuade the United Nations to recognize Israel as a nation. Since then, the United States has contributed billions of dollars in aid to Israel.

From the biblical declarations of God's love and care for His chosen people, the nation of Israel, and from the history of nations being destroyed because of their evil dealings with God's chosen people, the Jews, Christian believers should give support to the chosen people of God. This is not to say that we support necessarily the methods they use in their relationships with the Arab nations. The Bible warned that conflict would always characterize the relations between the descendents of Isaac and Ishmael. Sadly, this conflict will continue until Jesus comes back to judge the nations and sets up His 1,000-year reign of peace on earth. We must look at the "big picture” with a biblical worldview. While we do not have to support everything Israel does as a nation, we most definitely should support Israel’s right to exist. God will fulfill His promises and covenants with Israel. God still has a plan for Israel. Woe to anyone who seeks to defeat that plan; “whoever curses you I will curse” (Genesis 12:3).

http://www.gotquestions.org/pray-peace-Jerusalem.html
Question: "Why should we pray for the peace of Jerusalem?"

Answer: God tells us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem in Psalm 122:6-9 (http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Psalm%20122.6-9): “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.’ For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, ‘Peace be within you.’ For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity.” From this passage, we see that praying for peace and good to come to God’s holy city benefits those who pray. God promised blessings on those who bless Israel and curses on those who curse her (Genesis 12:3 (http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Genesis%2012.3)), and since Jerusalem is depicted as the center of Jewish life, it follows that those who pray for her peace and security will be granted peace themselves.

Praying for the peace of Jerusalem is most appropriate for a city whose name literally means “peaceful” and which is the residence of the God of peace. The phrase “peace be upon Israel” is found also at the end of Psalm 125:5 (http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Psalm%20125.5) and 128:6 (http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Psalm%20128.6), indicating that it was a common farewell blessing. Further, Jerusalem will be the scene of Christ’s return (Acts 1:11 (http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Acts%201.11); Zechariah 14:4 (http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Zechariah%2014.4)), and at that time He will establish permanent peace with its walls. All Christians should be eagerly awaiting His return and praying for the time when the Prince of Peace will reign in Jerusalem.

Jesus also said that we should be peacemakers, which would include praying for peace. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9 (http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Matthew%205.9)). And we are commanded to do our best to live at peace with others. “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men” (Romans 12:18 (http://biblia.com/bible/esv/Romans%2012.18)). So, God wants us to seek peace among all people, and that would include praying for peace in Jerusalem, especially because of its special place in His heart.

[jeffsd]

God is not dependent on our prayers for Him to do anything, but instead prayer is God's way of soliciting us into His program. In Daniel, Daniel was reading Jeremiah that the 70 years of captivity was about up. What does Daniel do? He goes into fasting and prayer. When Jesus instructed us on how to pray, He said "Thy Kingdom come...." Of course God's Kingdom will be established whether we pray for it or not, but we are to pray for it. All the examples of prayer in the Scriptures, the Prophets prayed for those things that were God's will as shown in the Scripture. As for Israel, there will be peace....When the Davidic Covenant is established, but we are to pray for it in anticipation of it. David prayed the prayer of Ps 83 and it has yet to be fulfilled; and as we watch it begin to unfold on the news, perhaps we too should be saying that prayer. (Just a thought)

When we pray, we need to understand how our prayer fits into God's redemptive program. We are actually going against the will of God if we are praying for peace for a time in which God is allowing no peace. Would we dare pray for God to not allow Israel to clobber their neighbors in Isa 17 (the answer to Ps 83). When we pray for peace, we need to be praying for God to bring peace in the way He has foretold us in the manner in which He has foretold us. He is soliciting us into His program, not the other way around.

When we pray, we should be mindful of what we are praying for and how we are praying for it. Are we petitioning God with our own requests that serve the flesh (our jobs, our finances, our loved one's health), or are we praying for the things that pertain to God's redemptive plan?

[Mitsy]

I hope this doesn't come off the wrong way but for a while now every time i hear someone say "pray for Israel" I just wonder to myself "what for?"

We know God is supernaturally going to protect them and that everything that is going on now is according to His plan so what exactly are we praying for?

I don't mean to sound sarcastic in this thread but I would say that Israel out of all the nations doesn't need our prayer. They are God's chosen people, He is protecting them. He is letting all things happen to fit into His master plan.

Maybe my question should be, "what am I supposed to pray for in regards to Israel"?

Steve53 has already outlined the Biblical reason for praying for Israel.

While God will finish what He has set out to do for Israel we can join in with our prayers. We are sharing in God's work when we pray. Just like a child when they stand side by side with their mother or father doing some little job for them as they do household or yard chores we are benefitting our family when we do our little bit and learning the chores we will do when we become adults.

God I am sure is very pleased when His children help out and God is pleased when we obey Him. "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem", that is what we have been asked to do by our Heavenly Father.

God is doing His work to bring His prophecies to fulfillment and we can do our bit in that by praying.

If you don't know what else to pray then try simply saying "Your Will be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven". Pray simply that God's Will be Done for His Nation. Whatever that may be you have covered it in prayer.