LATEST PRAYER REQUESTS

This weekend, I will brief The Joshua Fund's board of directors on the latest geo-political developments in Israel and the epicenter. Our staff will brief the board on TJF's latest projects to bless those who are poor and needy in Israel today, and pre-position supplies ahead of the next war. We will also spend several days in prayer for the peace of Jerusalem and for the Lord to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus.

Here are a few of the specific prayer requests we'll be focusing on. Would you join us in lifting these needs before the Lord?

1. First and foremost, let us continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the entire region.

2. While we pray for peace, let us also pray that the Church would be prepared for the next war -- prepared with food, water, medical equipment, and other relief supplies.

3. Please pray specifically for the leadership of The Joshua Fund to make wise decisions in acquiring a warehouse and stocking it with the right supplies, and pray that we can move quickly, not knowing how much time we have before the next war.

4. Please pray for evangelical pastors, ministry leaders and believers to answer God's call to bless the people of Israel physically, spiritually and emotionally, and to do so sensitively and humbly -- with a willingness to learn from and walk alongside those men and women who already live and serve there.

5. Please pray for righteous and courageous national leaders to emerge in Israel.

6. Please pray for God to change the hearts of the leaders of Iran, or to put new leaders in office there, so there will be peace, not war.

7. Please pray for the next American President and the new leaders in Congress to stand bravely for the defense, support and blessing of Israel, while also showing love and compassion to Israel's neighbors.

8. Please pray that the evangelical Church around the world would be prepared to stand with Israel with unconditional love, even if our commitment begins to cost us personally.

9. Please pray for the believers in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza to have the grace, courage, wisdom and strength to be a shining light for the Lord, to love their neighbors, to love their enemies, and to a beautiful model of peace and reconciliation to all who live in that region.

10. Please pray for the pastors in Israel and the Palestinian territories to proclaim the "good news to the poor" as the Prophet Isaiah instructed, and to teach the Word of God in their congregations verse by verse, chapter by chapter, book by book, so that people really know the Bible inside and out and are motivated to obey God's Word more than ever before.

11. Please be praying for courage, protection and wisdom for Christians in the Iraqi city of Mosul (ancient Ninevah), where violence and persecution has worsened dramatically in recent weeks. Latest headline: 15,000 Iraqi Christians Driven Out of Mosul. "More than 15,000 Iraqi Christians, or 2,500 families, have been driven out of Mosul over the past two weeks," reports the Christian Post. "The number skyrocketed from last week’s estimate of some 3,000 Christians that fled the northern Iraq city, which is said to be the last urban stronghold of Al-Qaeda. Officials in Mosul also reported that some 13 Iraqi Christians have been killed in the past four weeks and at least three Assyrian Christian homes were bombed on Saturday alone, according to the Assyrian International News Agency." Please also pray for comfort for those affected by the violence, and for God's peace and tranquility to descend on that city and the entire country of Iraq.

12. Please also be praying for courage, protection and wisdom for Christians in Afghanistan. A Christian aid worker was just murdered in the capital city of Kabul, only a week or so after Jeremy Grafman and I visited there. Please also pray for comfort for the family and friends of Gayle Williams, 34, who was shot dead by two gunmen. Please also pray for God's peace and tranquility to descend on Kabul and the entire country of Afghanistan.

Thank you so much and may the Lord bless you for your faithful prayers.