Dr. Erez Soref, president of ONE FOR ISRAEL, joined together with the Board of the National Conference of Congregation Leaders in Israel to call the nation to prayer. The date chosen was 24th February, right before the Fast of Esther when Israel was called together to pray for deliverance thousands of years ago. At the close of the day, Dr. Soref hosted a zoom meeting where some thousand participants joined together in prayer. Erez shares the current situation which has brought us to our knees:
“We will soon get to a point of somewhat ‘back to normal' and we don't yet know what it will look like, and which challenges it will bring, so we wanted to call everyone together to pray for that. And not just for that, but for our country, our people, our leaders. We will soon have a fourth election, so we should unite, at least through prayer and fasting.”
Emergency prayer time
Together with ONE FOR ISRAEL, two alumni of our Senior Pastor's Program, Meno Kalisher and Yossi Ovadia, were the main instigators who helped get the initiative off the ground. Pastor Ovadia explains:
“The idea had been discussed for a while, and we were thinking of when and how we wished to announce it. As we were praying and thinking about it, Erez Soref called me and suggested we call for a day of fasting. We agreed on some theological basics, and I brought it up before the board. Then we elected a suitable date and how to phrase the invitation. Just as we were doing this, Meno Kalisher called me and suggested the same thing, and I told him we are already working on it.”1
Pastor Meno Kalisher from the Jerusalem Assembly House of Redemption adds:
“I called Yossi Ovadia and suggested it, and they were already working on it. It doesn't surprise me that the idea comes up independently with different people at a time like this,” he said. “I believe that within two months most congregations and synagogues in the country will be back to almost normal. The politicians are doing everything they can to reach a herd immunity and 70% vaccinated before the elections in March.”2
There is much turmoil in the nation and also in the wider Body of Messiah regarding the issue of vaccination and all the chaos caused by the pandemic and political upheaval.
It is a real time of crisis for our nation, and we urgently need to turn to God for help.
Here is the letter they jointly sent out to believers across the land:
Shalom Everyone,
“And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it…” (Ezekiel 22:30)
Fasting and Prayer Day: Wednesday, February 24, 2021
A year of plague …
We have already reached thousands of dead …
Children at home and not at school for almost a year …
Many without work and livelihood …
To get vaccinated or not to get vaccinated …
Divisions in the state's leadership and between sectors in the nation …
Fourth election in two years …
In all of this, the Lord is sovereign and His Word stands forever.
Therefore, we invite all the Messianic congregations in Israel to join a day of prayer and fasting to intercede for our people and our country at this time. We call on congregations' leaders to encourage the members to join as one body in this time of prayer and intercession. It will be clarified that this is not a day of national confession (although everyone is invited to do so in person or as a congregation, of course) but a day of prayer for intercession for our country and our people at this time – before the Lord's throne of grace to receive mercy from Him.
In addition, we are trying to arrange a zoom meeting (s) according to geographical location at 7pm for about an hour of praise and joint prayer. Notice of this will follow. Next week we will also send suggestions for specific prayer points.
Best regards,
The board of the National Conference of Congregation Leaders
Israel College of the Bible (ONE FOR ISRAEL)
If you would like to join us, we would be so glad!
Please pray:
- For those grieving loved ones and livelihoods in the wake of Covid
- For Israeli children after being out of school and society for so long
- For wisdom wrestling with the vaccination issue and the practicalities
- For God's hand in the elections and choosing our leaders
- For help and salvation for our nation in crisis as we get back on our feet
