JOSHUA FUND CALLS ON PASTORS, CHURCHES TO PRAY FOR PEACE OF JERUSALEM: Epicenter conference "more important than ever" to stand with Israel

UPDATED: The Joshua Fund staff last night held an emergency conference call to pray for the wounded and families of all the victims after a horrifying terror attack at a religious Jewish school left 8 dead and 10 wounded. During that call, we agreed that we are even more committed than ever to encouraging thousands of Christians to go to Israel next month and participate in the Epicenter conference. We believe now is the time to show the people of Israel that evangelical Christians love them, pray for them and will stand with them no matter what happens.

We are calling on pastors, evangelical leaders and churches around the world to mobilize your email and phone prayer chains to pray for the people of Jerusalem and Israel at this critical time. Please also pray for the largely forgotten Israeli citizens who live in Sderot, Ashkelon and other towns along the border with Gaza who are being hit with a seeming never-ending barrage of rockets, missiles and mortars. Please consider having a special time of prayer during your weekend church services for the peace of Jerusalem and for peace along the Gaza border.

Please also pray that God would miraculously change the hearts of the Palestinians who are responsibile such evil attacks. And pray that the Lord would have mercy on the vast majority of Palestinians who hate such attacks and feel trapped by the actions of the Radical Islamic jihadists around them.

A few other specific prayer requests you might consider:

* Please pray for the peace of Jerusalem, as we are commanded in Psalm 122:6.

* Please pray that the Lord would comfort those wounded in the attack, and the families of those killed, and that the Lord would show His people how to comfort all those who are suffering so greatly. "'Comfort, O comfort My people,' says your God. 'Speak kindly to Jerusalem; and call out to her, that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity has been removed, that she has received of the LORD'S hand, double for all her sins.'" (Isaiah 40:1-2)

* Please pray for wisdom for the leaders of Israel to know how best to respond to this attack. May they be like "men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do." (I Chronicles 12:32)

* Please pray for wisdom and discernment for the Christians in Jerusalem and throughout Israel to know how best to comfort their neighbors and be a force for prayer and peace. "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep." (Romans 12:15)

* Please pray for the upcoming Joshua Fund tour in Israel and Epicenter conference in Jerusalem. As I noted above, we believe it is more important than ever to bless Israel and stand with her. We trust that the Israeli authorities are going to keep the city and country safe. And we intend to be on our knees, beseeching the God of Israel to be our hope, our protection, and our shield. Now is not the time to abandon Israel. Now is the time to stand with her in prayer, and in person. "For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not keep quiet....You who remind the Lord, take no rest for yourselves, and give Him no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth." (Isaiah 60:1, 6-7)

* Finally, please pray that the Lord would show you and your congregation how to bless Israel in tangible and practical ways in the days and weeks ahead. "For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me." (Matthew 25:35-36)

Next week, my Joshua Fund colleagues and I fly to Tucson, Arizona where I will address 1,000 evangelical Christian pastors on what is happening in the epicenter and how they and their congregations can bless Israel and her neighbors at this critical hour. By God's grace, we will be able to enlist allies for OPERATION EPICENTER, our drive to provide $120 million worth of humanitarian relief aid to the poor and needy and victims of war and terrorism in the region over the next few years.

If there is any way we can serve you; answer your questions about OPERATION EPICENTER; or help you mobilize your congregations to LEARN, PRAY, GIVE and GO; please don't hesitate to contact Jeremy Grafman, TJF's Director of Special Projects. His email is jeremy@joshuafund.net. Or visit our website, www.joshuafund.net.

Thank you so much for loving Israel and standing with her people. They need you more than ever. God bless you.