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Hope in Difficult Times

Friday, March 1, 2024

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Every week, we post seven to ten news stories from Israel with a suggested prayer focus and scripture for each one, guiding readers how to pray for Israel’s most urgent needs. This Prayer Update is also sent to over 18,000 subscribers every Friday by e-mail. Please contact us at [email protected] if you would like to receive this Prayer Update by e-mail.

Prayer Focus
Cry out to the Lord that Yahya Sinwar will be found and captured with no harm to the hostages that are believed to be with him. Pray that they will be safely returned to Israel, and ask the Lord for rest, peace and healing for each of them and their families. Also plead for all of Hamas’s plans for Ramadan to be thwarted by the IDF.

Scripture

But the LORD your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed.


- Deuteronomy 7:23 ESV

Prayer Focus
Pray that Israel will be successful in pushing Hezbollah back past the desired 6-mile or 9.6-kilometer limit through the negotiated agreement Israel hopes for. Beseech the Lord that this situation will be resolved without opening a full-on front on the northern border and pray that ongoing plans to strengthen the border will be successful in eliminating the threat to civilian life.

Scripture

You are my King, O God; ordain salvation for Jacob! Through you we push down our foes; through your name we tread down those who rise up against us.


- Psalm 44:4–5 ESV

Prayer Focus
Cry out to the Lord for wisdom and resolve as the nations put increasing pressure on Israel. Beseech the Lord that any agreement that is reached will in no way hinder Israel’s abilities to completely dismantle Hamas, eliminate the terror threat in the south and achieve the release of the remaining hostages.

Scripture

The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.


- Psalm 33:10–11 ESV

Prayer Focus
Thank God for the many young Israelis like Itay Kahana who are wholly committed to putting their lives on hold to defend their country. Beseech the Lord for their safety, courage and a soon decisive victory. Also pray for His supernatural protection as they battle pure, unadulterated evil.

Scripture

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth! That your beloved ones may be delivered, give salvation by your right hand.


- Psalm 108:5–6a ESV

Prayer Focus
Praise the Lord for the Strategy and Third Circle Directorate and their commitment to readiness. Pray that the Iran Unit will find solutions to the complex challenges they will face should strikes on Iranian sites become necessary. Pray that the Lord will reveal strategies that will keep Iran’s nuclear program from “moving forward at an alarming rate.”

Scripture

“No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD.”


- Isaiah 54:17 ESV

Prayer Focus
Praise the Lord that Gazans are beginning to recognize who their enemy actually is. Pray for their protection as they speak out and demonstrate against Hamas. Also pray that their frustration will lead them to cooperate with Israel in defeating the terrorist entity that has been oppressing them for decades. Pray that their courageous actions will lead international leaders and the media to the same conclusion.

Scripture

Do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy; free them from the hand of the wicked.


- Psalm 82:3b-4

Prayer Focus
Shame on those who gave permission for this genocidal warcry to be emblazoned on an historic landmark like Big Ben. Pray for increasing voices to be raised against anti-Semitism and that these voices will be heard in the United Kingdom and the rest of the world. Beseech the Lord that Christians would recognize their responsibility to courageously fight this evil and ask the Lord for His supernatural protection to surround every Jewish community in the world as violent anti-Semitism sweeps the globe.

Scripture

Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish.


- Isaiah 41:11 ESV

Prayer Focus
Pray that the sites responsible for this campaign of disinformation will be shut down and their “information warfare maneuvers” brought to a halt. Pray that as war rages on the ground, Israel will be victorious in the propaganda war as well.

Scripture

You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.


- Psalm 5:6 ESV

Prayer Focus
Pray that the United Nations as an organization will be held accountable for its horrific anti-Israel bias and its support of terrorism. Pray that the members of UNWRA who actually participated in the October 7 massacre will be forced to face the consequences of their actions. And pray against any kind of arms embargo that would weaken Israel’s ability to reach its objectives. At the same time, pray that the Lord will remind Israel’s leaders that it is Him that is their shield and defender and the One who will guarantee their victory.

Scripture

O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God! For behold, your enemies make an uproar; those who hate you have raised their heads. They lay crafty plans against your people; they consult together against your treasured ones. They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more!” For they conspire with one accord; against you they make a covenant.


- Psalm 83:1—5 ESV

Prayer Focus
Pray for Mishmar Yehuda, the newest community in Gush Etzion, and the complexities its builders will face. Pray for the growing population in Judea and Samaria as they are forced to deal with the constant threat of terrorism from their neighbors and are often vilified by the international community.

Scripture

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me.


- Psalm 138:7 ESV