We just finished a 21-day fast praying for Israel. Some of you joined in and wonder what’s next. Some of you feel like you ‘missed out’ by not joining and wonder if it’s too late. Some of you wonder if your kids will walk with God and hear His voice. Some of you may have prayed for Israel but feel like all you came up with was more questions instead of more understanding, or you don’t feel like you care any more for Israel than you did several weeks ago. Whatever place you find yourselves in, you can press into the Lord and get God’s heart for Israel.
Beginning in 2016, I was busy having and raising babies, so I couldn’t always go to Hope City, where we were mainly serving at the time. I served in our main global prayer room, notably Tuesday mornings, when we pray for Israel weekly. When I started going, I thought, “I don’t want to pray for Israel as I don’t really have a heart for them. But it works in my schedule, so I guess I’ll pray for them.” One of the quickest ways to get God’s heart for something or someone is simply just to pray for them. The easiest way to know how to pray is using the prayers in the Bible!
All these years later, I see it was a significant time of God beginning to stir my heart for Israel, and it is only the beginning. I see God’s heart for Israel emerging in my children as well. All three of my older boys grew in desire and love for spending time in the prayer room during this fast. I asked my kids if God showed them anything about Israel, and Jeremiah replied, “God takes it very serious. He will never leave Israel alone!”
Our emotions can be a poor gauge of how God feels or what is really happening on the inside of us. If you don’t feel anything, it doesn’t mean He isn’t working in you! It can take time, but if we keep turning to Him and asking for His daily grace to walk in His ways, we will be transformed and have God’s heart for Israel. Wherever you find yourself, keep going after God.
Pray-reading the scriptures is one of the best ways I’ve found to grow in revelation and understanding of the Word. There are two main parts to prayer reading. First, if a passage is exhorting us to obey, you can thank God for the truth and ask Him to help you obey it. Secondly, if a passage is a truth to believe, you can thank God for His truth and ask Him to help you understand and to show you more about it!
