To find additional direction about how to pray for Israel, all we have to do is read the next verse in Ezekiel 36. There, God says to the Jews, “I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all countries and bring you into your own land” (v. 24).
As you probably know, the Jews were dispersed all over the world several thousand years ago after the destruction of the first temple. Some of the tribes got so lost that even today nobody can find them. But in our generation, we’ve seen a miracle take place. We’ve
seen Jews streaming back home, back to the land of Israel from all over the globe.
Some Jews, however, are still being held captive because they live in nations that won’t let them go. One group I pray about a lot right now is the Jews in China. Isaiah 49:12 speaks specifically about them. It says, “Behold, these shall come from afar—and,behold, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Sinim (China).”
That’s the verse I base my faith on when I pray for the Jews in that nation to be released. I’ve been told there are about 2,000 of them there right now but I am praying and believing that very soon they will all come home.
I don’t stop there, either. I also pray for the Jews’ spiritual homecoming. I pray for God not only to restore them naturally by bringing them back to the land but to restore their relationship to Him as well. That’s His will and His plan. Speaking to the Jews about the time of their return to Israel, He said:
Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness; and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall heed My ordinances and do them. And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and you shall be My people and I will be your God.One of the best ways I can think of to bless the people of Israel is to pray for their spiritual restoration. What better gift could they receive?
(Eze. 36:25–28 Amp)
Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem
One thing most everybody agrees on today is that Jerusalem is a holy city. It’s holy to the Jews. It’s holy to the Christians. And it’s holy to the Muslims. But it’s only promised to one of those groups. God promised it to the Jews. It is not only a sacred part of their past, it is central to their God-ordained future.
This, too, is something many believers haven’t understood. Certainly, they know about the city’s biblical history. They know Jerusalem was the site for the first Jewish temple, the one Solomon built and that it was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. They know many years later, a less glorious version of the temple was rebuilt by Herod and that it was destroyed by the Romans about 70 A.D.
But that’s not the end of the matter. Bible prophecy reveals that when Jesus returns to reign on the earth, He will come to Jerusalem and build a third millennial temple there. It will rest on the original site of Mount Moriah and be the most glorious temple of all.
I can’t go into detail about it here but to get an idea of how important Jerusalem will be during the Millennium, read about it in Ezekiel 43. That chapter tells how the glory of God will fill the temple at that time and remain there forever. It declares that Mount Moriah will always be most holy and separated unto the Lord.
The prophet Zechariah adds that in those days the Lord Himself will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem:
…and Jerusalem shall be called the [faithful] City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the Holy Mountain. Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again dwell in Jerusalem and sit out in the streets…And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets…Behold, I will save My people from the east country and from the west…And I will bring them [home] and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God in truth and faithfulness and in righteousness.Most wonderful of all is what the book of Isaiah tells us about Jerusalem. It says that during the Millennium “…all nations shall flow to it. And many people shall come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us His ways and that we may walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law and instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isa. 2:2–3 Amp).
(Zec. 8:3–8 Amp)
Can you see how precious Jerusalem is to God? No wonder the Bible says, “Pray for
the peace of Jerusalem! May they prosper who love you [the Holy City]” (Ps. 122:6 Amp).
In Hebrew, the word peace means “to be whole with nothing missing, nothing broken.” So that’s how we should pray for Jerusalem. We should pray that it would not be divided but kept intact under the sovereignty of Israel. We should pray that the people in it would be safe and prosperous.
Because Israel’s leaders are keys to those things, I often pray for them as well. These days I pray personally for the Prime Minister; for the Vice Prime Minister; for the head of the Mossad; for Defense Minister; and for the Chief of Staff. I also pray for generals and others in the military who because of the current situation with Iran are so vital these days.
Oh, friends, let’s not forget to pray often for the peace of Jerusalem!
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A teacher and an author, Lynne publishes a newsletter called Prayer Notes, has written numerous books, and currently serves as the national prayer director for Daughters for Zion. Her passion for inspiring and leading others into the life of Spirit-led prayer continues to take her around the world to minister to believers whose heart cry, like hers, is “Lord, teach me to pray!”
