When people mention Israel and the Middle East, most people immediately start thinking about political and military issues. But there’s something far more important we should be focused on: “What is God’s heart and vision for the Middle East?” You might be surprised to hear what He says about it and what He’s already doing right now.
In Hosea 11, God declares that His people Israel were backsliding against Him, serving other gods, and deserving fierce wrath and judgment. But then He says, “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?... My heart churns within Me; My compassion is stirred” (v. 8).
When we see the people of Israel acting in a sinful way, is our heart churning for them? Is our compassion stirred? Does it bring us to a place of passionate intercession for their salvation?
The Apostle Paul expressed God’s heart this way, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved” (Romans 10:1).
As important as it is to pray for good military and political decisions, the Jewish people repenting of their sins, receiving their Messiah – Jesus, Yeshua – and receiving eternal salvation is significantly more important! That’s what God’s heart is for them, and that’s what our heart should be, too!
God’s Heart for Israel’s Enemies
But our God is so great, that His love isn’t limited to one people group. As I was reading through the end of Jeremiah recently, I was blown away to see God’s heart for all the peoples of the Middle East.
God, through the prophet Jeremiah, was warning the nations around Israel of the judgment they deserved, but in the midst of it, He expresses an incredible heart of compassion.
He says of modern-day Jordan, “Therefore My heart shall wail like flutes for Moab” (Jeremiah 48:36), and “I will cry out for all Moab; I will mourn for the men of Kir Heres…. I will weep for you….” (vv. 31-32).
God invites us to join with his heart in weeping for the peoples of the Middle East. And He promised that, “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy” (Psalm 126:5) – there will be a great harvest.
God calls Damascus, capital of Syria, “the city of praise” and “the city of My joy” (Jeremiah 49:25). Do we realize how much God cherishes these people?
He says of Elam, modern-day Iran, “I will break the bow of Elam…. For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies….” (Jeremiah 49:35, 37). But then He says, “I will set My throne in Elam” (v. 38), and then He promises mercy and restoration in the latter days for Elam, just as He did also for Moab and Ammon (Jeremiah 48:47, 49:6, 39).
Are we praying for mercy and restoration and salvation for the people of Iran and others in this region?
God said this of Gaza through the prophet Zechariah, “The king shall perish from Gaza…. But he who remains, even he shall be for our God, and shall be like a leader in Judah” (Zechariah 9:5, 7). God promised that people in Gaza would turn to the God of Israel!
Revival in the Middle East
God also gave this incredible vision to the prophet Isaiah, “In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria – a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, ‘Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance’” (Isaiah 19:23-25).
Egypt, Israel, and Assyria in modern terms are a huge portion of the Middle East. So God’s vision is to see a revival in the Middle East where all the children of Abraham will come to know the Prince of Peace, Jesus, and they’ll be serving God together in unity, bringing a blessing to the entire world.
How We Can Change History
So how will this vision come to pass? Well, probably not through us watching a lot of news or talking a lot about politics and wars. It will come to pass when we, the Body of Messiah, cry out to God together in unity for revival, and also reach out to people in Israel and the Middle East with the love and Gospel of Messiah!
We’re so grateful for all of your prayers, and God already is moving in incredible ways here. Did you know that during this war, Jesus appeared in dreams to over 200 people in Gaza in one night, and they received Him as Lord?!
We’ve had the privilege as a ministry of sharing the Gospel with people across the Middle East and seeing God do wonders:
- A Muslim woman from Egypt, in spite of beatings and death threats, decided to follow Jesus and be baptized after we shared the Gospel with her.
- A Gazan man whose family member is a senior Hamas official, spoke with our team member and decided to give his life to Jesus!
- A Jordanian man spoke with our team member about the Gospel, the love of Jesus captured his heart, and he surrendered to Him as Lord, even though he had to flee his home as a result.
- An Israeli woman watched our evangelistic video, then prayed together with the presenters at the end to receive Jesus. Then later, as wartime sirens were going off in Tel Aviv, another woman asked her where the nearest bomb shelter was. She responded, “Can I tell you something unusual? I believe in Yeshua and He is my shelter.” The lady responded, “I believe in Yeshua, too!” After talking a while, they figured out that she was the presenter in our video who had led this lady to the Lord!
God is transforming hearts across Israel and the Middle East, and He’s inviting all of us to get His heart for these people and join in fulfilling His vision for them.
A Special Invitation
And we have a new way you can join in doing just that. We’re excited to announce our first ever Tree of Life Ministries international Zoom prayer meeting that you’re welcome to participate in on July 11 at 4:00 pm Israel time. We’ll be sharing testimonies of what God’s doing, key insights from Scripture and prayer points, then we’ll come before the throne of grace together in prayer. You are welcome to join our prayer meeting using this zoom link.
One crucial prayer request we’d like to share even if you can’t make it to our meeting is that we currently have an urgent need for new laborers on the team, because we’re not able to fully respond to all the Israeli seekers asking questions about Jesus after seeing our evangelistic videos. Please pray that God will bring the right people very soon.
If you’d like to stay updated with what God’s doing in Israel so you can pray with us and be a part of it, please subscribe and like, and get our newsletter.
Shalom from Israel and God bless!
