Pray for Israel

For those of you who are not familiar with the term eschatology, it is the study of last things.  In the case of Christianity, it is the study of mankind’s destiny as revealed by the Bible.  The major issues and events involved in this study include: death; the afterlife; Heaven and Hell; the Rapture; Christ’s second coming and the Tribulation, to name but a few.  Israel, and her people, figure prominently in end time prophecy.  If you have been listening to the news, the southern portion of Israel is under rocket attack, by Hamas forces,  as I write this. As Christians, it is not only our spiritual duty to pray for our Jewish brothers and sisters, but our great priviledge.  A Facebook friend of mine, posted this from a person living there now. “My dear friends who lives out of Israel, I would like to share with you, some moments from my life, from our lives here in Israel's south. Please share my story so others in the world will hear about it too...I live in a beautiful place, with wonderful people, great education for our children, friendly neighbors, and all the rest is very much o.k. BUT I live in the south, and here our lives are different then yours, and also different then lives of other Israelis. And I mean about 1 Million Israelis feels the way I feel!!! Not only the little village that I live in. For about 12 (!!!!) years we suffer from rockets that are being shot at us from Gaza. Yes, eventually you hear only about what happened there in Gaza, the "innocents" people that only want "peace". But right now I want to tell you also about our side. The side of people that cannot take their children out to play like normal children, because of the fear from alerts and- attacks, the side of children that do not feel safe in their own homes, that wakes up at nights because of alerts and need to go to a shelter, and those who do not have a shelter to go to..The side of parents which cannot give security to their children. That every time there is an attack, the Arabs wait for the hours that we take the children to kindergartens or schools, or when we take them back, and then they shoot.. All the scenarios that run in the parent heads of what could happened, and if I will go out now will I be sorry for it forever? These are my life. I don't have another place to go to…Could you live like that? Could you?"
Daniel then shared this prayer from the sidur prayer book:
He Who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob -- may He bless the fighters of the Israel Defense Forces, who stand guard over our land and the cities of our God, from the border of the Lebanon to the desert of Egypt, and from the Great Sea unto the approach of the Aravah, on the land, in the air, and on the sea.
May the Almighty cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down before them. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, preserve and rescue our fighters from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness, and may He send blessing and success in their every endeavor.
May He lead our enemies under our soldiers’ sway and may He grant them salvation and crown them with victory. And may there be fulfilled for them the verse: For it is the Lord your God, Who goes with you to battle your enemies for you to save you. And let us say, Amen.
Dear friends, please be praying for the peace of Israel.  Become informed and aware of our government policy regarding Israel.  Remember, what happens to them will affect us all. Shalom!! “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May they be secure who love you!” Psalm 122:6.