As Israelis have been coping with this war for many months now, many are now asking the bigger questions, “Where was God on October 7th? Does He really care about us? Is He really even there?”
The heaviness of this moment in history has led to many Israelis missing the big picture. And that’s exactly what our newest evangelistic video that just came out in Hebrew about the miracle of Israel reminds them of: It shows how even when we as a people haven't been faithful to Him, God was faithful to His promises to bring us back to this land, to revive the Hebrew language, to grant victory in wars against all odds, and much more.
The video also helps them to see why He did all these amazing things for us: so that we would turn to Him and receive a new heart and a new spirit through the Messiah – Jesus, Yeshua!
Thank you all for your prayers for this video – by God’s grace, it’s already reached about 100,000 views in a short time, and is impacting Israelis’ lives.
We’ve been blessed to hear testimonies from several fellow Israeli believers who are sharing this video with all their non-believing friends, and have had very powerful conversations about Yeshua afterwards as a result. Also, the day it was advertised, we had more orders of evangelistic materials than on any one day in our history! Praise God!
Right now is a crucial time to be praying for Israelis, that the losses and challenges of this time wouldn’t lead to more secularism and doubt, but instead that God would stir people to seek what is eternal and true and unchanging. Let’s pray that Israelis would lift their eyes above the intimidating mountains and deep sorrows and see where their help comes from – so that ultimately each one would be able to declare in confidence, “My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:2).
Prayer Points
- That they'll know that God hasn’t forsaken them in spite of the Holocaust and other tragedies, but that He has been faithful to His covenant, He’s preserved a remnant, and brought them back to their land so that they will meet with Him
- That they'll sense an emptiness from all the pleasures and philosophies of this world, hunger for truth, and find fulfillment in the only One who is Truth, Yeshua
- That Israeli believers will be able to show an example of abundant life in God as opposed to the dryness of Orthodox Judaism, so that secular Israelis will see the beauty and love of God as expressed in Yeshua
- That there will be a deep and widespread repentance for the rampant practices of abortion, homosexuality, drugs, etc., and that they'll choose the path of life and righteousness in Jesus
- That they won’t follow the worldly example of the rest of the nations (just like in Biblical times), but will embrace God’s special calling to be a blessing to the nations through Yeshua
Key Scriptures
Isaiah 49:14-16 But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me.”
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me.”
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
Isaiah 62:12 [Of the Jewish people and Jerusalem]: And they shall call them The Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord; and you shall be called Sought Out, a City Not Forsaken.
Isaiah 4:2-3 In that day the Branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious; and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing for those of Israel who have escaped. And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy – everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem.
Isaiah 26:8-9 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah….“Yes, Lord, walking in the way of Your laws, we wait for You; Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. My soul yearns for You in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for You. When Your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.”
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Luke 15:17-19 “But when [the prodigal son] came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’ ”
Ezekiel 20:32-35 “What you have in your mind shall never be, when you say, ‘We will be like the Gentiles, like the families in other countries, serving wood and stone.’ As I live,” says the Lord God, “surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you. I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered…. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will plead My case with you face to face.”
Isaiah 44:21b-23 “O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me! I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and glorified Himself in Israel.
Watch and listen to our podcast on this topic.
Many Israelis are secular because they feel God has forsaken them or they just want to live life their own way. But some like Zahava are finding redemption and healing in Jesus. Join us in praying they’ll become a truly holy people!
Please Pray With Us:
- For our newest evangelistic video – that it would spread like wildfire, that the Gospel would bring forth new life and hope for many in Israel, and that God would give great anointing for follow-up evangelism and discipleship.
- For the rebuilding of our ad campaigns – as we shared before, one major social media platform completely shut down our ad account, and we were experiencing blockages with others. But what the enemy meant for evil, God is beginning to turn for good. First, as we recently asked for increased prayer on this topic and many of you prayed, God broke through and now one of our most important search campaigns that was blocked for almost a year is now running and bearing much fruit. Then, we were able to launch a new ad account on that one platform and are currently rebuilding all our ads there – but because we have more experience and God is giving great grace, these ads are becoming more effective than before. The result of all this together, including having the new video, is that during the past few weeks, we’ve had the most visits to our Hebrew evangelistic website from Israelis in the last year and the most orders of evangelistic materials ever! And we’ve actually only rebuilt about 15% of the ads, because it’s an arduous process, so we’d appreciate your prayers to rebuild them all and for even greater fruitfulness!
- For more laborers in the harvest – it’s a dangerous thing to really focus on praying for every team member to enter into the fullness of their callings. We’ve prayed for that over and over for the last few months, and we’re seeing how multiple team members are now finding that calling in a deeper way here in the ministry, but several sense that God is actually calling them to be somewhere else. We’re releasing them with God’s blessing, and would appreciate your prayers for God to send solid, quality laborers who are called and anointed for this work!
- For all the new believers (see more stories here), including:
– Our team members Rachel, Gabriela, and I met with one of the new believers recently. She asked for prayer for healing in her teeth which have been hurting. I came over and was about to pray for her, but then sensed there was a spiritual root to the issue. As we gently probed, it turned out that she had some very negative experiences, including related to a believer, and as a result harbored some bitterness and fear and often tried to avoid contact with believers. As we opened the Scriptures and counseled her, she confessed and repented of her sins, and she came back to her congregation afterwards! Praise God! Please pray for her and others – that the enemy wouldn’t be able to stir them to distance themselves from other believers, but instead that they’d stay connected and be constantly growing. - For follow-up with thousands of Israelis online and on the streets, including:
– A dear Orthodox Jewish friend of mine. Because of the sensitivity of his situation, I haven’t written about him here before, but I really would appreciate your prayers for him now, as he’s at a crucial point in his spiritual journey. For many years, he’s occasionally been interested in Yeshua at some level, but over the last few months, he’s launched the most intense and sincere quest to find the truth I’ve ever seen. Even though he has many daily responsibilities, he’s taking hours every day to study the Tanakh (Old Testament), the New Testament, rabbinic objections to Yeshua, Messianic answers to those objections, etc. He’s sent dozens upon dozens of questions, and I’ve done my best to answer. We’ve had some impactful meetings as well. And now he’s so close to believing. My heart’s desire and prayer to God for him is that he’d be saved! Please pray God would give him supernatural revelation to confirm the truth he’s seeing in the Word and, even though following Yeshua could jeopardize almost everything and every relationship he has, that he’d have the courage to take a leap of faith with Yeshua. - For our Pro-Life and Gospel Campaign, including:
– Rina (24) grew up in a religious Jewish home, but unfortunately was raped at the age of 15, then had an abortion in secret. She got married and got pregnant again but didn’t want to be a mother. Our hotline counselor Rene comforted and encouraged her, and assured her that we could help her practically. And praise God, Rina chose to keep her baby and gave birth through Cesarean section. Please pray for an open heart and an open door to share the Gospel with her, and that she’d find true and deep healing for her soul in Yeshua!
– Fatma (26) is a Muslim divorced mother of two children, and is 5 weeks pregnant. Her boyfriend told our counselor Rachel that abortion is their only choice, since Fatma’s family won't allow them to get married and in their culture it’s unacceptable to bring a child out of wedlock into the world. Please pray for a miracle, that God will intervene, reveal Himself to them, and that they’ll change their minds!