Praying for Israel and the Jewish People
Join the Global Day of Prayer For The Jewish World on Pentecost
This year, on Pentecost Sunday (May 19th), millions of believers around the world will be joining in a Global Day of Prayer for the Jewish World. During 10 Days Pentecost (May 9-19), hundreds of locations are joining in 10 Days of Prayer for the Middle East and Israel.
On this occasion, I wanted to share both why we should pray for Israel and the Jewish people, and how to have our hearts transformed so we can pray effectively. I’ll be drawing out three principles from Romans chapters 9-11.
God’s Heart Longs for the Jewish People to be Saved
There’s something special about your firstborn child. While parents love all their children, the firstborn holds a special, enduring place in their hearts. God the Father calls the nation of Israel His firstborn son. So, we can imagine His anguish of heart over their rejection of Him.
Think about it from God’s perspective. After thousands of years of preparation and prophecy, He sent His only begotten Son to be the Messianic King and savior of the nation of Israel, and through them, to bless all the nations of the earth. And yet, in their moment of visitation, the majority of the nation rejected the very Messiah they were longing to see. Thousands of years of preparation were seemingly squandered. Tragically, most missed their hour of visitation.
In Romans 9:1-5, the Apostle Paul shares his heart for unbelieving Jews, which reflects the heart of God.
“…I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites…and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.”
Paul’s love for his unbelieving countrymen is so intense, His heart is so broken that he would willingly be separated from Christ for all eternity if it would allow them to come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ. When I consider my own heart on this matter, it is evident to me that I’m falling short of what the apostle describes. And yet, I have no doubt that Paul’s heart more clearly represents the heart of Father God for Israel.
If we want to pray effectively for unbelieving Jews, we need God to give us hearts that are broken because of their separation from God and rejection of their Messiah. The apostolic heart of Paul for unbelieving Israel is an accurate reflection of God’s heart for them.
Let’s ask God to give us the broken heart of Paul for unbelieving Jews.
Not All Israel: Praying for the Remnant of Jewish Believers
In Romans 11:1-5 Paul makes it clear that while Israel as a whole has rejected their Messiah, there is a remnant from the nation, including Paul himself, who have been chosen by grace.
It is striking how little the situation has changed in almost 2,000 years. Today as well, the majority of Jewish people reject the gospel, and yet there is a remnant of believers who are Jewish. I have Jewish friends who are part of the Messianic movement, believers in Yeshua who express their faith in a distinctively Jewish way. I know other Jewish believers who are part of church communities that are not distinctively Jewish. The point is this—God continues to maintain a remnant from the Jewish people as His own possession. And this remnant is special to God because it represents a first-fruits of His firstborn nation.
As we consider God’s unfolding plan, let’s take special care to thank God for contemporary Jewish disciples and to pray especially for movements of Jewish believers in the land of Israel to be strengthened, stay faithful, grow, and flourish.
“Life from the Dead”: The Importance of Natural Israel in God’s Plan
We’ve considered what heart attitude we ought to have for unbelieving Jews and the remnant of Jewish believers. However, unless we understand God’s continuing purpose for the Jewish people, we will be limited in our prayers for them.
Many believers throughout history have believed that God’s purposes with the Jewish people and the nation of Israel are finished. In fact, from 70 AD to 1948, there was no physical nation of Israel. Somehow, without a national government for nearly 1900 years, Israel somehow maintained a cultural, religious, and national identity. This itself is a miracle.
Romans 11:25 is very clear that God’s plan for natural Israel has not come to an end—it is ongoing in New Covenant. This plan is a mystery—a hidden thing of God, something that would be easy to overlook!
“I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the [other nations] has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved.”
And again in Romans 11:15
“If [Israel’s] rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?”
Israel has experienced a partial hardening for the past 1,991 years. And yet, the plan of God is to show mercy to them and to save them as a nation once the full measure of the other nations of the earth have come to know the Jewish Messiah. As we look at the progress of the gospel in the earth, we can see that we are getting very close to the “full measure of the nations” as modern technology and transportation open doors for the gospel into the most remote corners of the earth.
Remove the Veil, God!
The drama is incredibly intense. After almost 2,000 years, Jesus is beloved and worshipped by more than 2 billion people from the nations. Jewish prophecies that Israel’s God would be worshipped by people in every nation are fulfilled before our eyes. And yet, of his own countrymen, his own flesh and blood, only a tiny remnant know Him, love Him, and serve Him. The rest remain blind to their own Messianic King.
God is calling on those two-billion followers of the Jewish Messiah from the nations to agree with His plan for the salvation of Israel in prayer.
Let’s ask God to give us an apostolic, broken heart in prayer for the Jewish people. Let’s strengthen and encourage Jewish believers, especially those in the land of Israel, helping them with our prayers and in any practical ways we can. And let’s ask the Lord to remove the hardening from the hearts of the Jewish people…after all, “what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?”
It would be easy for us to overlook this mystery, but instead, let’s participate in it by agreeing with God’s plan for the salvation of Israel.
P.S. If you’d like to learn more about this topic, here are a few Presence Pioneers podcast episodes related to Israel and the Jewish people.