From the Desk of Cheryl Hauer
Proclaiming passages of Scripture is a powerful form of prayer. Our words have power and when we make His words our words, proclaiming that which is not as though it is, amazing things happen. We fill the air around us, in our homes and beyond, with His powerful, creative voice; we fight battles in the heavenlies and take down strongholds. We align ourselves with His will and we remind Him of His promises. Here are some passages for you to proclaim over the situation in Israel and over the hostages, declaring that God is mighty to save. He can redeem and rescue and He will. That is His nature, and nothing is impossible for Him. Please, let’s join together in unity as the body of Christ and proclaim these words in faith and confidence until the hostages are safely returned and Israel has had the victory.
Isaiah 49:24-25
Can the prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be rescued? For thus says the Lord: “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children.”
Luke 4:18-19
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Jeremiah 30:10, also repeated in 46:27
“Then fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the Lord, nor be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid.
Psalm 142
With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord. I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him.
When my spirit faints within me, you know my way! In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me. Look to the right and see: there is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul.
I cry to you, O Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low! Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me! Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name! The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me.
Zephaniah 3:16-20
“Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach. Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. At that time I will bring you in, at the time when I gather you together; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” says the Lord.
Psalm 20
For the leader. A psalm of David. May the LORD answer you in time of trouble, the name of Jacob’s God keep you safe.
May He send you help from the sanctuary, and sustain you from Zion.
May He receive all of all your meal offerings, and approve your burnt offerings. Selah.
May He grant you your desire, and fulfill your every plan.
May we shout for joy in your victory, arrayed by standards in the name of our God. May the LORD fulfill your every wish. Now I know that the LORD will give victory to His anointed, will answer him from His heavenly sanctuary with the mighty victories of His right arm.
They [call] on chariots, they [call] on horses, but we call on the name of the LORD our God.
They collapse and lie fallen, but we rally and gather strength.
”O LORD, grant victory! May the King answer us when we call.
Psalm 83
Do not keep silent, O God!
Do not hold Your peace,
And do not be still, O God!
For behold, Your enemies make a tumult;
And those who hate You have lifted up their head.
They have taken crafty counsel against Your people,
And consulted together against Your sheltered ones.
They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation,
That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”
For they have consulted together with one consent;
They form a confederacy against You:
The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites;
Moab and the Hagrites;
Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek;
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
Assyria also has joined with them;
They have helped the children of Lot.
Deal with them as with Midian,
As with Sisera,
As with Jabin at the Brook Kishon,
Who perished at En Dor,
Who became as refuse on the earth.
Make their nobles like Oreb and like Zeeb,
Yes, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
Who said, “Let us take for ourselves
The pastures of God for a possession.”
O my God, make them like the whirling dust,
Like the chaff before the wind!
As the fire burns the woods,
And as the flame sets the mountains on fire,
So pursue them with Your tempest,
And frighten them with Your storm.
Fill their faces with shame,
That they may seek Your name, O LORD.
Let them be confounded and dismayed forever;
Yes, let them be put to shame and perish,
That they may know that You, whose name alone is the LORD,
Are the Most High over all the earth.
Psalm 121
I turn my eyes to the mountains; from where will my help come?
My help comes from the LORD, maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot give way; your guardian will not slumber;
See, the guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps!
The LORD is your guardian, the LORD is your protection at your right hand.
By day the sun will not strike you, nor the moon by night.
The LORD will guard you from all harm; He will guard your life.
The LORD will guard your going and coming now and forever.
Psalms 130
Out of the depths I call You, O LORD.
O Lord, listen to my cry; let Your ears be attentive to my plea for mercy. ?
Yours is the power to forgive so that You may be held in awe. I look to the LORD; I look to Him; I await His word.
I am more eager for the Lord than watchmen for the morning, watchmen for the morning. O Israel, wait for the LORD; for with the LORD is steadfast love and great power to redeem.
It is He who will redeem Israel from all their iniquities.
If You keep account of sins, O LORD, Lord, who will survive?
But there is forgiveness with You,
That You may be feared.
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
And in His word I do hope.
My soul waits for the Lord
More than those who watch for the morning—
Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.
O Israel, hope in the LORD;
For with the LORD there is mercy,
And with Him is abundant redemption.
And He shall redeem Israel
From all his iniquities.
Siddur Ashkenaz
May He who blessed our fathers, Avraham, Yitschak and Yaakovbless the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces,in their standing guard upon our land and the cities of our Godfrom the border of the Lebanon to the Wilderness of Egypt and from the Great Sea to the approach of the Arava - on land, in the air, and in the sea. May the Lord give our enemies that rise against us plagues in front of them. May the Holy One, blessed be He, guard and rescue our soldiers from all trouble and distress and from all affliction and illness; and send blessing and success in all the work of their hands. May He crush those that hate us below them and crown them with the crown of salvation and with the wreath of victory. And through them let the verse be fulfilled (Deuteronomy 20:4), "For it is the Lord, your God, that walks with you to fight for you against your enemies to save you." And let us say, Amen.
Siddur Ashkenaz
May He who blessed our fathers, Avraham, Yitschak and Yaakov, Moshe and Aharon, David and Shlomo, bless and protect and guard those who were abducted from the Israel Defense Forces and the hostages amongst our brethren the House of Israel who are placed in trouble and in captivity. For this congregation is praying on their behalf. May the Holy One, blessed be He, have compassion upon them and bring them out from darkness and the shadow of death. May He break their bonds, deliver them from distress, and bring them safely back to their families' embrace. "Give thanks to the Lord for His loving kindness and for the wonders He does for the children of men;" and may there be fulfilled in them the verse: "Those redeemed by the Lord will return; they will enter Zion with singing and everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighting will flee away." And let us say: Amen.
Siddur Ashkenaz, Prayer of the State of Israel
Avinu Shebashamim, Rock and Redeemer of Israel, bless the State of Israel, the start of flowering of Redemption. Shield it with Your love, spread over it the shelter of Your peace. Guide it's leaders and advisors with Your light and Your truth. Establish for them Your good counsel. Strengthen the hands of the defenders of our Holy Land and cause them to inherit, our God, deliverance. Place the crown of victory upon them and give the land peace and everlasting joy to its inhabitants. Visit all our Brethren of the house of Israel, in all the lands where they are scattered, and bring them rapidly to Zion, Your city and to Jerusalem, where Your name lives, as it says in the Torah of Moses, Your servant: Even if your dwelling is at the end of the sky, G-d will congregate you from there, and bring you from there, and will bring you toward the land that Your forefathers inherited and you will inherit it and G-d shall benefit you and multiply your numbers greater than your forefathers. (Deut. 30) Then the LORD your God will open up your heart and the hearts of your offspring to love the LORD your God with all your heart and soul, in order that you may live. Unify our hearts to love and worship Your name and to keep all that is in Your Torah, and send us the son of David, the Messiah of Your justice, to redeem those who wait for Your salvation. Appear with the glory and the pride of Your strength, in front of all the inhabitants of the Universe, and all those who have breath will say: The G-d of Israel is the King, and He reigns over everything. Amen, forever.
Blessings and Shalom,
Issachar Community