Prayer Points: May 2024
Consider these prayer points as springboards into deeper prayer and intercession.
“I will also give you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.” Is. 49:6
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ISRAEL IS IN THE DESERT
Israel is going through a difficult, lonely time at the moment. She is in the desert and suffering greatly in this barren, solitary place.
But it is God who has led her there:
“I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the desert
and speak tenderly to her.
There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Achor [trouble] a door of hope”.
Hosea 2:14-15
Jesus Himself was led into the desert by the Holy Spirit for 40 days and 40 nights to be tempted by the devil. Matthew 4:1
VINEYARDS AND VINES SPEAK OF YESHUA
Yeshua said: “I am the true vine” John 15:1
Yeshua is the “Door of Hope in the Valley of Achor.”
Pray that Israel will know the true vine, the Lord Yeshua. The God of Israel wants them to call upon Him, in these times of trouble, to earnestly seek Him, to return to Him and to say:
“Come, let us return to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces
but he will heal us;
he has injured us
but he will bind up our wounds.”
Hosea 6:1
PRAY FOR ISRAEL’S SALVATION
As watchmen on the walls, brothers and sisters in the Lord, pray for Israel’s salvation. Speak out God’s Words, His prophesies and promises in the full assurance that they will all be fulfilled. And “all Israel”, that final remnant will be saved.
“So you will be My people, and I will be your God.”
Jeremiah 30:22
ISRAEL NEWS
CEASEFIRE AND HOSTAGE DEAL
Hamas is considering its response to an Israeli proposal for a six week ceasefire and the release of some Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 40 living hostages. It is believed that Hamas is offering the release of maybe 30 or as low as 18 live hostages. Some sources believe that there may be as few as 40 hostages still alive in Gaza.
WILL ISRAEL GO INTO RAFAH?
Despite immense international pressure particularly from America not to go into Rafah Benjamin Netanyahu has continued to insist that Israel will go into Rafah to clear out the Hamas battalions there. The plan includes moving the civilian population into Tents. A number of tents have already been erected and Israel has purchased 40,000 tents for the purpose. It would take about two weeks to move people out of Rafah into the tents then the offensive would begin.
PALASTINIAN AUTHORITY ADMITS THAT HAMAS STEALS AID AND KILLS AID WORKERS
Fatah, the ruling party of the Palestinian Authority, has admitted on live television that Hamas steals humanitarian aid and kills aid workers in the Gaza Strip.
The admission confirms what Israel has been saying all along — and goes further, stating that Hamas is not only responsible for endangering aid workers by hiding among them but also asserts that Hamas has been killing aid workers directly.
In an incredible and rare admission, Fatah has corroborated what Israel has been saying that Hamas is responsible for turmoil connected to distribution of the humanitarian aid sent into Gaza. A Fatah TV anchor reported that throughout the war, Hamas has been committing what is essentially a triple crime—it has attacked and killed aid workers in order to control aid distribution, stolen the food and water for itself, and caused food prices to skyrocket.
The Fatah-run TV host said: “Hamas’ persecution of any party who is a source for distributing the [humanitarian] aid or securing it began from the start of the war (Oct 7th 2023 Gaza war), as Hamas persecuted well-known figures and teams of volunteers on the ground in mid-October [2023].”
“It attacked them and killed some of them for two reasons: Firstly, preventing any activity by any [other] party in the Gaza Strip; and secondly, ensuring Hamas control over the aid and its storage, which of course leads to these crazy and unreal prices that no one can pay in the shadow of this destruction.”
“After the occupation (i.e., Israel) bombed storehouses controlled by Hamas, the accumulation of tons of various food and aid products that Hamas had taken exclusivity over became clear, at a time when the Gaza Strip is suffering from hunger.” (BB / VFI News)
MINISTRY OF HEALTH IN GAZA ADMITS IT CANNOT JUSTIFY ONE THIRD OF THE DEATHS IT HAS REPORTED
Tuesday, 16 April 2024. The Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza says it has “incomplete data” for one-third of the Palestinian fatalities it claims to have documented from its current war against Israel. The acknowledgment raises anew questions about the veracity of its casualty count from the war.
The report said that Hamas had “incomplete data” for 11,371 of the 33,091 recorded Palestinian deaths it claims and is missing one or more key data points including identity number, full name, date of birth, or date of death. In a report three days earlier, the ministry admitted the “incompleteness” of 12,263 records. It was not immediately clear why, after three more days, that figure dropped to 11,371.
Before its admission of incomplete data, the ministry asserted that the information in more than 15,000 fatality records had stemmed from “reliable media sources.” However, the ministry never identified the sources in question and Gaza has no independent media.
For months, US and other countries’ media have taken for granted that the ministry’s top-line figure for casualties was reliable enough to include in daily updates on the war. Now we’re seeing that a third or more of the ministry’s data may be incomplete at best—and fictional at worst. It is important to recognize that Hamas is deeply invested in shaping the narrative that emerges from Gaza, particularly regarding the number of casualties in the war. There is a deliberate effort to downplay the number of terrorists who have been killed by Israel in the war whilst upplaying the number of civilian casualties.
The Israel Defence Force has said that at least 13,000 of the Palestinians killed in the war against Hamas in Gaza and another 1,000 slain inside Israel during the October 7 invasion, were terrorists.
Last month, a statistics expert asserted the Hamas claim that 70% of the casualties of the war were women and children was “statistically impossible” and “not reliable at all.”
The ratio of noncombatant casualties to combatants is remarkably low: at most 1.4 to 1 and perhaps as low as 1 to 1. By historical standards of urban warfare, where combatants are embedded above and below into civilian population centres, this is a remarkable and successful effort by the IDF to prevent unnecessary loss of life while fighting an implacable enemy that protects itself with civilians.
IRAN’S ATTACK ON ISRAEL
Praise the Lord for His intervention that meant that Israel and its allies were able to prevent the hundreds of drones and missiles sent from Iran reaching Israel and doing any significant damage. Israel’s response demonstrated to Iran’s leaders that they have the capability to hit Iran’s nuclear facilities and that their defence systems would not be able to stop them.
PRAYERS
Pray for Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet and for the leaders of the IDF. Pray that the Lord will help them to make wise and timely decisions that will bring the war to an end quickly whilst protecting the lives of the soldiers and civilians on the ground.
Pray that the Lord will deliver the remaining Hamas leaders into Israeli hands bringing a swift end y to the war and the release of the hostages and the suffering of the civilian population of Gaza.
Pray that the Lord will give wisdom and discernment to all those who must decide and agree the terms of any hostage deal.
Pray for the physical and mental health of all those still being held hostage in Gaza.
Pray for the safe return of the hostages. Pray for their families and friends and pray the Lord’s protection and comforting from the psychological warfare that Hamas is conducting through them.
Pray for the IDF soldiers who are on the frontlines risking their lives fighting against a ruthless enemy that seeks the destruction of Israel.
Pray for the people in Gaza who have to endure living in makeshift shelters without proper food.
Pray for the families of all those husbands, wives, sons and daughters serving in the IDF. Pray that they may know the Lord’s shalom, peace, strength and comfort whilst their loved ones serve.
Pray that all Israel will seek the Lord Yeshua and receive His salvation.
Pray for the families who are still displaced from their homes, pray that they may soon go home.
Pray that the Lord will have His restraining hand on Israel’s other enemies and that full blown hostilities will not break out with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria, or Iran or the Houthis in Yemen.
Pray for the Lord’s restraining hand to be on those in The West Bank who would cause trouble, both Arabs and Jews.
Pray for the unity of Israel. Pray that the re-emerging divisions will not divert attention away from the most important issues including completely removing Hamas from Gaza and the return of the hostages.
Pray for the open hearts of Israelis as they are witnesses to the love of Christians worldwide that are standing for Israel. May God kindle jealousy in their hearts to know personally the source of that love and conviction.
Pray for the mental health of the nation. So many people are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Praise the Lord that He is regathering His people to His Land despite/because of the war.
“They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever.”
Ezekiel 37:25
Acknowledgement: These prayer points have been consolidated from a number of sources including Prayer Letters and Newsletters originating in God’s Land.