The Feast of Trumpets

            This week marks the fifth of the seven feasts of the Lord commanded in Lev. 23, called the Feast of Trumpets.  It marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year and is celebrated by blowing of the Shofar.  It also begins the “ten days of awe”, a time of introspection and self-examination leading up to the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur.

            There is much speculation about the Feast of Trumpets.  Many scholars hold that it will be the time when Jesus returns as King and sets up His earthly dominion.  For the most part, most Christians are not aware of this feast and ignore it completely.

            For me, it is a time to particularly pray for my Jewish cousins that their eyes would be opened to the awesome work Yeshua has done for each of us in His life and death.  This time of year many Jewish people are more spiritually sensitive as they soberly examine their lives.  What a wonderful time to pray that Holy Spirit will bring conviction of sin to their hearts and that they will turn to Yeshua and be saved.  All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved!

            With all the huge, historic things that have happened at the UN this past week, this is a great time to pray that people will humble themselves and pray and be healed.  May they truly hear the Shofar of heaven, calling them to repentance before God Almighty.

Understanding UN Bias against Israel

            If you go to Youtube and type in “understanding UN bias against Israel” you will access one of the best explanations I’ve heard on why the UN passes so many resolutions against Israel.  There is also an invitation to join a protest in New York on Sept. 21^st against the Durban conference.

            The Durban conference is sponsored by Unesco and gets its name from the conference held in Durban, South Africa, in 2001 to combat racism around the world.  In 2009, at the second Durban conference, one of the speakers was Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran.  His speech was, as expected, a diatribe against Israel.  He even concluded that Zionism is the root of all racism!

            This year’s Durban conference is to be held this week in New York in conjunction with the opening session of the United Nations.  It is being boycotted by several nations, including the United States.  I applaud those nations who have taken a stand against this hate-mongering.  Fortunately there is a movement in opposition to this conference.  A call has been issued inviting people to join a protest against the Durban Conference.  It will be held in New York on Sept. 21^st at 11 a.m.

            Most of us will not be able to attend this protest rally, but we can pray.  I urge you to take time this week to specifically pray protection over Israel.  With the possibility that the Palestinian Authority will petition the UN for full recognition as an independent state and the incredible pressure Israel is under, prayer is urgently needed.  If you can’t attend the conference, don’t fret over what you cannot do.  Do what you can do:  pray for Israel.  Pray with the covenants of God as your starting point.  God has given this land to the Jews and has re-established them there to work out His purposes for the last days.  Pray that God’s covenants will not be violated and the His will for all the nations will be accomplished.  May the Holy Spirit guide you as you intercede for Israel.

Focused Intercession

I have found that using scripture is the most effective way to give substance to my prayers.  Along with the Israel Prayer List (available at israel-prayer@glory-of-zion.org), I urge you to use the following scriptures to intercede for Israel during this critical month.


*Psalm 9:3-5; 15-16. "When my enemies turn back, they shall fall and perish at Your presence. For You have maintained my right and my cause; You sat on the throne judging in righteousness. You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked; You have blotted out their name forever and ever.The nations have sunk down in the pit which they made; in the net which they hid, their own foot is caught. The LORD is known by the judgment He executes; the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. (Meditation-Selah).
*Psalm 33:10-12. "The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance."
*Jeremiah 12:14-16. "Thus says the LORD: 'Against all My evil neighbors who touch the inheritance which I have caused My people Israel to inherit-behold, I will pluck them out of their land and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. Then it shall be, after I have plucked them out, that I will return and have compassion on them and bring them back, everyone to his heritage and everyone to his land. And it shall be, if they will learn carefully the ways of My people, to swear by My name, "As the LORD lives," as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they shall be established in the midst of My people."

*Zechariah 9:5-7. "Ashkelon shall see it and fear; Gaza also shall be very sorrowful; And Ekron, for He dried up her expectation. The king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. A mixed race shall settle in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. I will take away the blood from his mouth, and the abominations from between his teeth. But he who remains, even he shall be for our God, and shall be like a leader in Judah, and Ekron like a Jebusite."

Pray for Israel during September! 

A sample prayer

            Father, let the Fear of God be upon the leaders of the nations.  As delegates gather in New York this month, may the fear of the Lord come strongly on them.  May they make no resolutions that are contrary to Your will and the covenants You have made with Your people.  Even if they do not honor You or have knowledge of You, cause the fear of the Lord to shape their decisions.  Just as you raised up King Cyrus to decree a return of Your people to Israel, so raise up delegates who will look with favor on Israel. 

            Confuse all schemes that are against Israel.  As You confused the languages of man at the Tower of Babel, so throw into confusion any and all plans that would be contrary to Your will for Israel. 

            Cause Israel’s leaders to recognize that it is not by their military might or by their wisdom that they will succeed, but only by Your Spirit.  May they bow humbly before You, seek Your guidance, and stand firm on Your counsel.

            In Yeshua’s Name.  Amen.

"I will bless those who bless you..."

            Avi Tekle is on the pastoral staff of Tents of Mercy in Israel.  Avi recently made a trip to Japan and Taiwan with another Messianic believer from Israel and reported on that trip in the most recent issue of Tikkun Ministries’ newsletter (available at www.tents-of-mercy.org).  What fascinated me in Avi’s article was the highlighting of a humble tea farmer in Taipei.  Ching is a fourth generation tea farmer.  A sign on the gate to his small tea plantation states that they harvest tea six times a year.  A normal tea plantation will get three, maybe four, harvests per year!  What is the secret to Ching’s success?

            Every day Ching rises early to go out among the tea trees and pray.  One of his main prayers is for Israel.  Though he has never been to Israel, he faithfully prays for Israel and he attributes the success of his abundant harvests to this one fact—that he prays for Israel.

            It was no idle promise when God told Abraham, in Genesis 12:3, that He would bless those who bless Abraham. 

            It was also no idle warning when God added:  “I will curse those who curse you.”  I fear greatly for the United States.  The path its leaders have chosen in recent months to stand against Israel and call for Israel to return to the borders of 1947 will surely result in a lifting of God’s blessing on the United States.  The State Department has a long history of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel policies.  This is a time for concerted, intense, prolonged prayer by those who understand God’s covenant with Israel and the Jewish people.  Do yourself and your country a favor—pray for Israel today.  And pray for a change of heart among those who lead our country.  May their eyes and hearts be opened to the place Israel holds in God’s heart.