Join in RETURNing to the Lord in prayer and fasting . . .
Last week, here at Jewish Voice Ministries, we held our twice-a-year Week of Prayer and Fasting. I am inviting you into our focused theme of “Return.” It is a fitting focus as we just emerged from the Hebrew month of Elul and celebrated Rosh Hashanah. Elul is a season of teshuvah (repentance), which carries the invitation to return and draw near to God, to reflect personally on the state of our own souls and relationships with Him. It is a time of spiritual accounting in preparation for the fall Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah (also known as Yom Teruah or the Feast of Trumpets) and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
We wanted to share with you the Scriptures and themes we meditated on and prayed into during our staff’s Week of Prayer and Fasting so that, in this season of the Fall Feasts, you can join in worship and personal reflection before the Lord, praying along the theme of “Return.”
Returning to the Lord Myself
“Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord” (Lamentations 3:40).
Lord, show me, show us, any ways that we have gotten off track in our love for You, our thinking, our relationships with others, or in our focus or affections. We want to be whole-heartedly Yours.
Calling Israel and the Jewish People to Return to the Lord
“Therefore tell the people: ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Return to Me,” declares the Lord Almighty, “and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty’” (Zechariah 1:3).
Adonai Tzevaot, Lord of Hosts, give us opportunities and boldness to call Your people back to You, and Lord, prepare their hearts to hear You calling and respond.
Calling the Church to Return to God’s Heart for Israel and the Jewish People
“But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always” (Hosea 12:6).
Lord, our hearts are grieved at the many ways Your body has turned against and even persecuted Your Jewish people over the centuries. May the Church repent and receive Your heart for Your people, extending kindness, seeking justice where wrong has been done, and sharing Yeshua (Jesus) with humility and love.
Calling the Nations and the Jewish People in Them to Turn to the Lord
“All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before Him” (Psalm 22:27).
Lord, may every Jewish person, every person on Earth, and every tribe, tongue and nation, have the opportunity to hear of You and turn to You. The day will come when all the families of the nations will worship You together. Until then, we pray.
Calling the Lord to Return and Dwell with Us Forever
“He who testifies to these things says, “’Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).
Lord, we are committed to occupying until You come, loving one another and taking the Good News of salvation to the Jewish people and their neighbors. But oh, Lord, how our hearts long for Your return! We join in with the cry of our brothers and sisters over the centuries and throughout the world today, saying, “Yes, come, Lord Jesus! Come!” In His name, we pray, AMEN.
Thank you for joining us in these prayers. It is very meaningful and sacred for us to be connected with you in this way.
