What a privilege it is to pray for the nation of Israel. These are interesting times indeed. Let us pray for the United Kingdom, whose Foreign Secretary disappointingly indicated that he has no immediate plans to ban the IRGC, despite significant support in government to ban the Iranian terror arm. Despite this, during his visit to Israel, he assured Israel of Britain’s support against the threat from Iran and drew the direct relevance to Britain, saying, “Israel’s security is our security.”
Meanwhile, the US has allowed the transfer of $6bn to Iran in a prisoner swap deal in which four American and one British citizen wrongly imprisoned in Tehran will be released in exchange for 5 Iranian prisoners in the US. The lifting of the current sanction that enables this undermines the methodology of sanctions – the very thing that UK Foreign Secretary says are working and is the given reason why the IRGC doesn’t need to be banned. Pray about this situation, especially because the Iranian regime has subsequently said it will do what it pleases with the 6 billion dollars, despite earlier US assurances, that seem very naïve, that the money would only be used for humanitarian needs. At the heart of our prayers for this situation is prioritising the defense of our greatest ally in the Middle East, the state of Israel. Pray that there will be no repercussions upon Israel’s security as a result of America’s or Britain’s decisions. Pray for wisdom for leaders in the US and UK in dealing with Iran.
Israel and Jews around the world are marking the start of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, also known as the Feast of Trumpets. The trumpets are blown every day of the Biblical feast in accordance to Jewish law, ushering in a new agricultural year and what commemorates the birth of Creation. As the blasts sound, our attention is turned to the Creator Himself, embarking on a season of Jewish feasts that include Yom Kippur and the Feast of Tabernacles.
Our Creator God is the author of new beginnings. We pray that this new season will be one of blessing for every Jewish person around the world and a time of deep personal connection with the God of Israel.
Our support for Israel is rooted in the Bible and what God says about His chosen nation. As we enter this new season, may we grow our support for the Jewish state with renewed passion and fervency. May we only look to our Creator God as the source of our hope for the future, believing that He has a perfect plan for Israel and for the Church. We need the church in this land to awaken to the sound of the “trumpet” in rally in support for Israel. And it must begin by returning to the Biblical roots of our Christian faith. We pray that this will be a new season here in Great Britain that is motivated by a love for the nation of Israel, and that we will see a manifestation of this love by an outworking of support for Israel and against antisemitism from Christians who recognise this is our Biblical mandate. May this result in answers to prayer and a change of direction in our country’s attitudes and actions towards the Jewish state.
We close with a promise that God gave the nation of Israel through the prophet Isaiah:
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11-13
