We are regularly asked to share details with Christian friends in the nations about what is happening in Israel, often for the purposes of prayer. We love helping keep the international Body of Messiah informed as to how they might understand and bless the Jewish state. In this post we share with you what we perceive to be among the most critical issues currently facing our country. As you know, however, “facts” reported about Israel are not only highly complex, but often hotly contested. Israeli commentators and journalists, however skilled, and even if they/we are believers, sometimes have very different perspectives on those same “facts”.
Because accurate details about events impacting Israel can sometimes be hard or impossible to unearth or verify, we urge you to keep in mind and heart the broad biblical overview of what God is doing with the Jewish people. If we keep in focus the general trajectory of His redemptive plans, our views and prayers will regularly re-calibrate to His Word, even when we lack detailed knowledge of rapidly changing, multi-nuanced circumstances.
First and foremost, God’s chief desire for Israel is that she be saved (Romans 10:1). A prerequisite to her salvation is Gentile believers provoking the Jewish people to jealousy for their Messiah (Romans 11:11). This happens through the fullness of the Gentiles, which can be broadly understood as the Gentile Church being full of God’s Spirit (Romans 11:25-26).
Secondly, in these last days, the Jewish people are being restored to the Land and to the Lord (saved) according to the broad strokes outline of Ezekiel Chapters 36 through 39. This lengthy prophetic passage describes aliyah (immigration to Israel) and a type of resurrection from the dead. The end result is Israel turning to God on a national level.
In Ezekiel 37:1-14, God breathes on dry Jewish bones to form an “exceedingly great army” (KJV). He does not describe Israel as a great nation or people, but as an army. This can be difficult for some Christians with pacifist leanings to understand. But God knew Israel was going to have to fight from the start just to stay alive.
For perspective, recall that when YHVH delivered the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt, He described them as a tsava (Exodus 12:41, 51). Tsava is a Hebrew word meaning military outfit or army. It is sometimes translated in English as “hosts.” (You may be familiar with the phrase Adonai Tsivaot, referring to God as Commander of Angel Armies or Heavenly Hosts.)
From the day Israel first became a nation, she faced strong military opposition, beginning but not ending with Pharaoh’s armies. Reborn as a nation in 1948, she faced a similar scenario. Within hours of declaring independence, the fledgling Jewish state was attacked by armies from Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Yemen—decades before she allegedly occupied or oppressed anyone. Since then, military contention against her has not ceased, especially in the form of terror. Little wonder that God resurrected her as an “exceedingly great army.”
Ezekiel 38 through 39 speaks of nations contending against Israel’s last days’ restoration and invading her land. Eventually, their collective military campaign against her is such that God Himself defends Israel, and miraculously so. He executes judgment on her enemies, which He sees as being at enmity with Him (Ez. 38:3). In the process, His glory is revealed to Jews and Gentiles alike. Collectively as a nation, Israel turns to worship Him alone (Ez. 39:22, 29). Many other prophetic Scriptures confirm or elaborate on this general theme.
In summary, Ezekiel 36 through 39 informs us how to pray for Israel’s restoration to the Land and to the Lord. We are to pray for her “exceedingly great army” to accomplish what it must, when and how it must, consistent with God’s character and leadership, for His glory.
There’s still more. Ezekiel 37:15-24 implies or hints that in the process of her progressive restoration, internal disunity threatens to tear the Jewish state apart. The passage does not state whether or not Israel is indeed divided again into two kingdoms, as in biblical history. What is clear is that God re-unites the Jewish people into one nation, serving one King. Therefore, we ask you to continue praying that Israel remain united as one nation through her current shakings.
As we pray, at least as important as what God says He will do with Israel, is who He says He is. Our prayers are to be informed by our knowledge of the character and heart of The One receiving them. Our Beloved King is all powerful and holy, yet loving. He is righteous and just, yet gracious and merciful. He is faithful and true to His Word. He desires all peoples to be saved, even today, for today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2, 1 Timothy 2:4). So while the day of Israel’s national salvation has not yet come, today is the day for the salvation of some individual Jews, as well as some Gentiles.
To recap, if we keep in mind the Bible’s general outline of prophetic events, we can pray effectively into complex current events pertaining to Israel, even if we cannot unravel all the underlying details, historical context, and military-political intrigue. And so, based on Ezekiel 36 through 39, here’s how you can pray for Israel as we transition from 2024 into 2025. Please note the last prayer point is the most time sensitive.
Ezekiel 36-39: Prayers to Shield Israel – December 2024 through January 2025
1. Israel’s salvation
Pray for an outpouring of grace to inspire Jewish people to seek God with all their hearts, for then He will be found by them (Jeremiah 29:13). Pray for His healing and comfort to be released and felt across Israel and by Jews in the nations reeling from antisemitism.
Pray that as Jewish people turn to God, the veil causing partial blindness and resistance to the Gospel will be removed (2 Corinthians 3:15-16).
Pray that wounds due specifically to Christian antisemitism over past centuries will melt as believers who are full of God’s Spirit extend love, comfort and aid to the Jewish people.
Pray that Spirit filled believers who love Israel will share the Gospel with Jewish people and not unconsciously succumb to the growing heretical belief that Jews can be saved apart from Yeshua.
Pray for the maturation, strengthening, protection, anointing, boldness and fruitfulness of Israeli believers and outreach ministries. Pray for the manifestation of God’s glory through them.
2. Domestic Discord
Pray for national unity and internal shalom among Israelis.
Pray for exposure and cessation of demonic sources of internal civil strife: prideful political posturing and grudge bearing; globalist/Marxist funding, manipulation and resources; unhealed generational and personal wounds; religious disputations; confusion over our national identity and calling; and more. Pray for love and truth to overtake hate and lies.
Pray that our ongoing domestic shakings will result in a divine cleansing and repentance from injustice, unrighteousness and corruption, with a turning toward purity in our government, institutions and culture.
Pray and proclaim Ezekiel 37:21-22: Israel is being restored as an undivided nation.
3. Aliyah
Pray that Jewish people in the nations will discern and respond to God’s call to return to their covenant land.
Pray for the Israeli government to discern and respond to God’s call to properly absorb new immigrants.
Pray that ultra-Orthodox Jews, who have tightly controlled and restricted aliyah, will permit all Jews to return to their covenant land, especially Jews who believe in Jesus.
4. Ezekiel 37 Military Armies
Pray for Israeli soldiers, intelligence and security forces, police and military officials, to be supernaturally protected, strengthened in mind, body, and spirit, and aligned with God’s will.
Pray for the defense and protection of Israeli civilians from terror and war.
Pray that the enemies of Israel, chiefly Iran and its proxies, will be defeated or severely set back. Pray for the Iranian regime to either repent or be removed, along with its rogue nuclear program, and for a replacement government not hostile to the Gospel.
Pray for new governance that will prove favorable to the Gospel in war torn Lebanon, Gaza and Syria.
Pray for all the hostages held by Hamas to be released in a way that does not harm Israel. Pray for the hostages’ comfort, strength, protection and salvation.
Pray for a season of reprieve from war in Israel and the Middle East. We believe God would be pleased for a season of peace that is conducive to a widespread spiritual harvest in the region before an end times anti-Christian, antisemitic, anti-God rule over Israel and the nations (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
5. Ezekiel 37 Nonmilitary Armies: Time Sensitive!
Pray regarding the ongoing, nonmilitary forms of war against Israel expressed through lawfare, media warfare and global antisemitism.
Pray mercy and grace not only for Israel, but for the nations. Recall Yeshua’s parable of sheep and goats in Matthew 25:31-46, foretelling of His judgment on nations that mistreat the Jews.
Since our last news and prayer update, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The warrants were based on allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza. The charges, like others of the past, were founded on outrageous misapplications of international law, backed by equally outrageous lies (including staged visuals) labelled ingenuously as “evidence.” (As we’ve shared before, Islamist theology mandates lying to achieve jihadi goals.)
The ICC does not have legal jurisdiction over Israel or Gaza. But that does not mean Israel is not experiencing repercussions from the arrest warrants, including rapidly mounting isolation from the global community—diplomatically, militarily, economically, scientifically, technologically, in the arts and just about every other sphere of international relations. Israel is fast becoming a pariah state in many respects. Pray for God’s merciful justice on Israel and the nations as we inch closer to the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38 and 39. Pray for His timing of these events.
Continuing on the theme of non-military warfare, on January 20, 2025, US President Biden is scheduled to step down from office, with President-elect Trump resuming the position. Many Israelis optimistically expect the Trump administration to prove more supportive than the Biden administration. However, there is also concern that Mr. Biden could seriously harm the Jewish state by an 11th hour action taken before he leaves.
This would not be without precedent. In 2016, days before leaving office, POTUS Obama green-lighted UN Security Council Resolution 2334. The resolution declared any and all Israeli presence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, to be illegal. It gave official recognition to a future Palestinian state. Although Obama and Netanyahu had a notoriously uncooperative relationship, this act was perceived by Israel as a shocking betrayal.
If enforced, Resolution 2334 would require Israel to relinquish all of biblical Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem to putative Palestine. A future American administration would not have legal authority to reverse or un-do what has already been done at the Security Council. Prophetic Scriptures such as Joel 3:2 indeed point to the likelihood (or perhaps inevitability) of a future Palestinian state.
President Biden’s policies toward Israel and her enemies these past four years have been a mixed bag. He has provided substantial military support to the Jewish state, for which we are sincerely grateful. But at the same time he has repeatedly tied Israel’s hands, thereby prolonging our war(s) with Hamas and Hezbollah, much to our detriment.
Mr. Biden likely seeks a legacy in which he will be remembered as being even-handed toward Palestinians and Israelis alike. Repeatedly stating that he wants to see a sovereign Palestinian state, he has reportedly gotten quite frustrated with, and angered by, PM Netanyahu. Moreover, Mr. Biden appears not to be functioning at full mental capacity, but depending heavily on the decisions of others whose sympathies seem to lie more with Palestinians than with Jews.
We encourage you to pray that President Biden would not stab Israel in the back on his way out the door in the manner of his mentor, Barak Obama. Pray and proclaim that America will bless Israel, and therefore be blessed, and therefore be positioned to be a blessing to many (Genesis 12:3). To God’s glory!
Thank you for lovingly standing with us, with Israel and with the Jewish people. Your every prayer makes a difference.