Pray for Israel, Pray for the Nations!! Pentecost 2023
"For the Jew first and also for the Gentile" Romans 1:16
Sisters and brothers I am writing this post to encourage all of us to take part in a world-wide prayer movement that starts May 7, 2023. Millions across the globe will be coming together to pray for the salvation of our world. It will go from May 7 to Pentecost (or Shavuot in Hebrew), May 28. We are praying for God to move mightily amongst the Jewish people in Israel and everywhere, so they may accept Yeshua as their Messiah. We are also praying that the Gentiles, also known as the nations or the ethnos, will also come to believe in Yeshua, as Romans 1:16 states.
In the books of Matthew and Acts we are told what Jesus said about spreading the Gospel message. In Matthew 28:19, known to most as the Great Commission, Jesus says "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Jesus is specifically telling us we are to take the message of the kingdom to all the nations of the world. Luke tells us even more of what Jesus said in Acts 1:8 "And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." The message of Jesus as Messiah bringing the kingdom of God, starts in Jerusalem and spreads from there to all the nations. Jesus came first to His people, the Israelites. Jesus' entire ministry was contained within Israel, and most of it within the area surrounding Galilee. God established the Israelites as His people starting with Abraham and formed them in Exodus. Israel was to be God's blessing to the nations and to lead the nations to God. These are a few verses explaining that:
Genesis 12:3 "I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
Exodus 19:6 "And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation"
Jeremiah 4:2 "Then when you [Israel] swear by My name, saying, 'As surely as the Lord lives,' you could do so with truth, justice, and righteousness. Then you [Israel] would be a blessing to the nations of the world, and all people would come and praise My name."
Isaiah 60:3 "The Gentiles shall come to your [Israel's] light, And kings to the brightness of your [Israel's] rising."
Israel could not keep the covenant it made with God to honor and worship Him, but neither could we who are called the Gentiles/nations. So out of Israel comes the Messiah who will save her and us. This is what Isaiah 49:6 says "It is too light a thing that you should be My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth." God's purpose has always been for His chosen ones to follow Him and be a light to the nations. He has not forgotten them or put them aside. Paul reminds the Gentile believers of this in Romans 11:1 "I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not!" Continue reading Romans 11 and Paul explains how we, the Gentile believers, are grafted in to Israel. He explains how when they return and accept Yeshua, there will be "life from the dead," see Romans 11:15.
We need to be praying for Israel's salvation and supporting the believers in Israel who are working to bring the message to Israel. Romans 15:26-27 talks of how the Gentile believers in Macedonia (area around Greece today) sent money to the believers in Jerusalem to help them. It explains how they felt indebted to the Jewish believers because they got to share in the spiritual blessings with the Jewish believers. So the Gentiles wanted to help the Jewish believers.
Isaiah 62 is God's declaration that Israel has not been forgotten; that her salvation is still important to Him, and it is coming! Isaiah 62:6-7 states "O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray day and night, continually. Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord. Give the Lord no rest until He completes His work, until He makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth." This has become the cry of the prayer movement of millions of people that will take place this month of May. People are committing to pray for Israel every day during this month and some to fast. But the nations have not been forgotten. It is also for the Gentile. We will pray for Israel and for the nations.
If you would like more information, please click on the links below.