It is good to give thanks to the Lord, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night, On an instrument of ten strings, On the lute, And on the harp, With harmonious sound. For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands.

O Lord, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep. A senseless man does not know, Nor does a fool understand this. When the wicked spring up like grass, And when all the workers of iniquity flourish, It is that they may be destroyed forever.

But You, Lord, are on high forevermore. For behold, Your enemies, O Lord, For behold, Your enemies shall perish; All the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.

But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil. My eye also has seen my desire on my enemies; My ears hear my desire on the wicked Who rise up against me.

The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing, To declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

Psalm 92

Thank You, Lord:

  • that You are our Rock.

  • for this beautiful day.

  • for the coming Shabbat.

  • that the heavens declare Your glory.

  • for Your faithfulness.

  • that You are good.

  • for calling us to Yourself.

  • that Your mercies are new every morning.

  • that You are the great victor, the most high God.

  • You neither slumber nor sleep.

  • You have called Your people to proclaim Your word on earth.

  • "Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!"

  • Great is the Lord; and greatly to be praised; in the city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, the City of the Great King!

  • What a privilege it is to praise You in Your holy city!

  • How great is our God!

  • Thank You that You inhabit the praises of Your people.

 

The Lord then led us into a short time of silence.

 

  1. Rain

    Are there any among the idols of the nations that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Are You not He, O Lord our God? Therefore we will wait for You, since You have made all these.

    Jeremiah 14:22

    • Thank You, Lord, that the level of water in the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) is a meter higher than at the same time last year!

    • Thank You for the foretastes we have already had, even this week, of the rains to come. We ask you to send rain in abundance!

    • Give plenty of snow on Mount Hermon and throughout the north of Israel!

    • Send rain which is slow and steady and will give the land a good soaking rather than lots of water at once which will run off and be lost.

    • May Your people turn to You in this season for the provision of rain. Use this time to give Your people understanding of who You are!

  2. Rockets fired from Gaza

    During the past week there has been a fresh assault of rockets fired from Gaza on part of Southern Israel. Hamas has claimed responsibility for this assault and Israel has made a limited response. Now we have a temporary ceasefire. Israel's response is not an answer for the trauma suffered in towns such as Sderot where the people live constantly under fire. They go about their lives knowing where every bomb shelter in town is located, prepared to run for their lives at a moment's notice.

    God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

    Psalm 46:1

    You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day.

    Psalm 91:5

    In the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by.

    Psalm 57:1

    • Lord, comfort Your people!

    • May Your people turn to You and find refuge in You!

    • Meet the people in their bomb shelters, o Lord. Bring light and life!

    • May their hearts not be made cold and close, but open to You!

    • Give wisdom to the government and the military to know what to do!

    • Give them the boldness to act on the wisdom You give them; to do what is the right thing to do today, not shackled by the politics of the US elections or the Israeli elections!

    • Lord, hear the arrogance of the Hamas leaders! Bring their words to nothing! Act, o Lord, to uphold Your name!

  3. Security

    With turmoil growing in the nations round about us we continued to pray for Israel's security. Egypt is unable to control the growing influence of al-Qaeda and other Islamist organizations active in the country. The internal conflict in Syria is spilling over into Lebanon. Jordan is looking increasingly vulnerable to the rise of Islamic power.

    • Give alertness to all Israel's security forces!

    • Inspire all Israel's surveillance operations - give eyes to see every place of danger.

    • Cause those bent on the destruction of Israel to fight among themselves!

    • Lord, You have 360 degree vision in every dimension. You see all the dangers. Help Israel's security forces to see the dangers from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, from the air, from the land, from the sea, from those who make out that they are our friends!

       

      The Lord then led us into a further time of silence, listening to Him.

  4. Israel's Government to have ears to hear

    • Give the government ears to hear and the stillness to hear Your voice!

    • Raise up true prophets in our days and give discernment to know what and who is from You!

    • May our leaders turn to You in times of trouble!

    • Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.

      Zechariah 4:6

    • Still the hearts of our leaders so they may hear Your voice through the noise of all the other voices screaming at them!

    • In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.

      Isaiah 30:15

    • Do the impossible in this election season by causing the leaders to hear you in the stillness!

    • Cause Bibi Netanyahu to recognize the Bible as Your Word!

  5. Ears to hear in the Body of Messiah

    • Cause there to be silence and supernatural stillness in our fellowships and among the pastors which will enable us to hear God's voice and do it!

    • Pour out the grace to enable us to be still before You, Lord, both as individuals and corporately.

    • Break down the suspicion which causes rifts between us. Heal the broken relationships!

    • Revolutionize our hearts. Heal from pain and hurt. Refresh and heal Your body!

    • Sharpen the swords of those who wield Your word!

    • Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has made desolations in the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

      Psalm 46:8-11

    • By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

      John 13:35

    • We prayed for the Body of Messiah in the light of these verses that in the stillness we would hear the Lord's voice calling us to heal our divisions and love one another.

  6. Believers in Syria and the nations round about us.

    The Moslems are celebrating Eid al-Adha starting today. This is the Feast of Sacrifice commemorating their understanding of Abraham's sacrifice of Ishmael (not Isaac as in the Bible).

    • As the Moslems celebrate, may the Christians be known by their love!

    • Do miracles among them and through them, that many Moslems might see You for who You are!

    • May Your fame, o Lord, be known among them!

  7. We thank You, heavenly Father for the freedom You have given us to gather this morning to pray. Grant us all stillness to enter this Shabbat.

Shabbat Shalom!