Pray For Israel:

	Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

 Support for a Palestinian State is Support for Jihad

On Friday, 23 September, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will formally request of UN chief Ban Ki-moon the unilateral establishment of a Palestinian State. The General Assembly and the Security Council will then vote on it. If this approved it would essentially mean going back to the pre-1967 borders. Thus, we we’re talking about losing The Temple Mount, The Wailing Wall, the newly reconstructed Hurva Synagogue, The Jewish Quarter of the Old City, The Rockefeller Museum, Hadassah Hospital, the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Room of the Last Supper, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Hebrew University, to name a few.

It is clearly stated in Joel 3:1-3, that the nations that cause Israel’s land to be divided will be judged.

In those days and at that time,
when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
I will gather all nations
and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
There I will put them on trial
for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel,
because they scattered my people among the nations
and divided up my land.

We have already seen the disaster that followed our misguided giving up of Gaza. As Caroline Glick from the Jerusalem Post [21.9.2011] summarizes:

Since the IDF and the Foreign Ministry and the rest of the government bureaucracy embraced the PLO as Israel’s “peace partner” 18 years ago, they have been operating on the assumption that the PLO and its spinoffs — Fatah and the PA — are interested in reaching a peace deal with Israel. But this has never been the case. As far as Israel’s “peace partner” is concerned, Israel can never concede enough. There is no deal that Israel can ever offer that the Palestinians will ever accept.

The much vaunted Palestinian security forces organized, funded and directed the terror war. And the internationally financed PA budget paid for it.

The reason that the Palestinians are turning to the UN is not because they cannot receive statehood in the framework of a peace deal with Israel. They are going to the UN because they don’t want a peace deal with Israel. They want sovereignty and they want to remain at war with Israel.

Please be praying that this request will not be approved for the sake of name of the Holy One of Israel.

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” [v. 10]

 Israel’s Leaders

Prime Minister Netanyahu will present his strategy before the UN on Friday to combat the Palestinian Authority's unilateral request for statehood recognition. He said in a recent cabinet meeting, reported in the Jerusalem Post [21.9.2011] that,

"My UN trip will have a double goal," he said  "The first goal is to ensure that this move to bypass negotiations does not succeed and is stopped in the Security Council. The second goal, he said, is to present the truth about "our desire for peace" and Israel's historic rights to the country that go back "only 4,000 years.”

Netanyahu will argue against any major change in the Middle East until things settle down in all the surrounding countries from the “Arab Spring” uprisings. He will maintain that

much more caution is needed now, than in the past, because who really knows what will develop. If Fatah can lose control of Gaza to Hamas in a matter of weeks, if the Egyptians leadership can now talk about re-visiting and perhaps trashing a 30-year peace treaty, then previous assumptions and strategies and ways of doing business need to be re-thought.

Netanyahu's will explain his "strategy for the short term at the UN – to explain why recognition of a Palestinian state would only serve to destabilize an already reeling region – and for the long term, why Israel should not be expected, or pressed, to take any giant steps at a time when the Middle East's tectonic plates are shifting."

So far, Netanyahu has been refraining from conceding on the issues with the Palestinian Authority. Please keep him in prayer that he

• remains strong and steadfast in his position to not give up any land to the PA, as it is the God-given inheritance of the people of Israel
• not allow himself to be influenced in any way by any opposition to his standing according to Scriptural principles
• will be prevented by God from compromising in any way that would jeopardize Israel
• will be given Divine wisdom and discernment, as well as God’s strategy as to how to proceed in leading Israel, and that he will listen to it
• come to a greater understanding that his position is God-given and seek a committed relationship with the Giver

Pray that the Lord will continue to expose those leaders who are corrupt and bring them to justice and that He would raise up leaders who will walk in righteousness. Pray that God will prevent distracting and divisive interference by leaders who are selfishly motivated. May the Holy One cause Isarel's leaders to put aside their personal political agendas and do what is best for the nation.

Ask God to give wisdom and discernment to all the leaders and His strategy to the military leaders, particularly with respect to being prepared for any major attacks that could occur, whether by man or nature.

 Israel’s Security

One of the major concerns now is secure borders. Smuggling has always been an issue along the southern border but has only increased since the revolution in Egypt. This could lead to massive amounts of weaponry to be smuggled into Gaza. In addition, there have been new smuggling attemps along the eastern border with Jordan. 

Please pray that

• the borders can be secured
• accurate and timely intelligence is received by Israel in order to thwart intended terror attacks and kidnappings
• the security services would be alert and discerning of any terror attempts
• the plans of the enemy will be exposed
• the Israeli government would do whatever it takes to protect Israelis
• the continued incitement in the media, mosques, and schools to kill, maim, and annihilate the Jews would be fully exposed and the PA leadership would be held accountable for this by the world community, and that it would stop!

Please call on the Lord to protect the people of Israel.

 Israel’s Leaders

Prime Minister Netanyahu has been refraining, so far, from conceding on the issues with the Palestinian Authority. Please keep him in prayer that he

• remains strong and steadfast in his position to not give up any land to the PA, as it is the God-given inheritance of the people of Israel
• not allow himself to be influenced in any way by any opposition to his standing according to Scriptural principles
• will be prevented by God from compromising in any way that would jeopardize Israel
• will be given Divine wisdom and discernment, as well as God’s strategy as to how to proceed in leading Israel, and that he will listen to it
• come to a greater understanding that his position is God-given and seek a committed relationship with the Giver

Pray that the Lord will continue to expose those leaders who are corrupt and bring them to justice and that He would raise up leaders who will walk in righteousness. Pray that God will prevent distracting and divisive interference by leaders who are selfishly motivated.

Ask God to give wisdom and discernment to all the leaders and His strategy to the military leaders, particularly with respect to being prepared for any major attacks that could occur, whether by man or nature.

 Israel’s Relations with the International Community 

Continue to keep Israel’s relationship with the United States in prayer. Pray that President Obama would stop pressuring Israel to concede to not building new housing and for any concessions that would compromise Israel’s security or integrity.

Pray that Israel’s leaders would realize that they do not have to be dependent upon the United States as the relationship forces us to have to do things in ways that do not necessarily benefit Israel.

Pray that Israel’s leaders would start to have the dominant attitude and perspective of acting in the best interests of Israel, not acting in a defensive posture and being unduly influenced by world opinion.

 No Continuation of Building Freeze

The Palestinian Authority continues to demand a continuation of the building freeze in Jerusalem neighborhoods as a condition for participating in the peace talks.

The Palestinian Authority and Arab countries reject Israel's claim to Jerusalem and have demanded that all parts of the city that were once under Jordanian control be given to the PA to be used as the capital of a new Arab state. The PA's seat of power is currently in Ramallah.

Under the Obama administration, the United States has largely backed PA demands, and has criticized Israel for allowing Jews to build new homes throughout the city. France, Russian, and Jordan, to name a few, are urging the Israeli government to reconsider its granting building permits of 240 apartments in Jerusalem, so as to not hinder the reengagement of the stalled peace talks.

Please pray for Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu to stand up to continual international pressure to continue the freeze of building new homes. New homes are a necessary element for natural population growth and for Israel, to accommodate all the new immigrants that the Lord is bringing home.

I will also enable you to dwell in the cities, and the ruins shall be rebuilt. The desolate land shall be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass by. So they will say, “This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.” Then the nations which are left all around you shall know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken it, and I will do it.

         Ezekiel 36:33-36

 Economic Growth and Stability

Please continue to pray that countries that have decided to boycott Israeli goods will change their minds and no other countries will follow them. There needs to be a growing and stable economy to support all those whom the Lord has gathered and is gathering to Israel as He promised to do.

In addition, please pray for the people and governments of your own countries to support Israel economically and politically.

Pray that the Lord will continue to give creative and innovative ideas to Israelis that are simple to make and needed by everyone.

 Rain

There is a special prayer from the siddur that acknowledges God as the one who makes the wind blow and the rain descend.

We ask God to bless Israel with rain as a declaration of who He is, the true source of all waters.