 Good morning and welcome to morning prayer. And welcome those of you with us here in the room as well online. Just stand to your feet wherever you're at as we enter into this time of prayer and worship. We'll be opening this morning out of Psalm 84. It's in verse one. How lovely is your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts. My soul longs, yes even faints for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home and the swallow a nest for herself. She may lay her young, even your altar is a Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, they will still be praising you. Blessed is the man whose strength is in you, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the valley of Boga they make it a spring and the rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength, each one appears before God and Zion. Lord of hosts, hear my prayer, give ear, O God of Jacob. O God, behold our shield and look upon the face of your anointed. For better is a day in your courts than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a Son and a shield, the Lord will give grace and glory. No good thing will he withhold from those who walk up rightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in you. So God, we come before you today and we just say that your tabernacle is lovely. Your courts are lovely. We still desire to be here. We still desire to dwell in your presence. We still desire to worship before you, to lift our prayers to you. God, as we go from strength to strength, from sunrise to sunset, Lord, we just say that your tabernacle is lovely. There's no place we'd rather be. Better is a day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I'd rather dwell in the house of my God. I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. Just to get to be near your house, Lord. We come before you and we just say that your tabernacle is lovely. We love your presence. We love worshiping you. We love beholding you. And whatever state we're in, however we're coming, your tabernacle and your presence are lovely. Let's worship. Hear your holiness. We declare that you are the Most High God. All the angels cry out to you that you are holy. We thank you that you are mighty. We thank you that you are powerful. There is no power above yours. Transition into a time of intercession for the nation of Israel. We're going to be praying out of Psalm 2. Verse 1, Why do the nations rage and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed sain. Let us break their bonds and pieces and cast away their cords from us. Who sits in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall hold them in derision. Then he shall speak to them in his wrath and distress them in his deepest pleasure. Yet I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree the Lord has said to me, You are my son, today I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will give you the nations for your inheritance. In the ends of the earth for your possession you shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel. Now therefore be wise, O kings, be instructed you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear. Rejoice with trembling. Kiss the sun lest you be angry and you perish in the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are those who put their trust in him. Come before you and we acknowledge that the nations are raging. They're plotting a vain thing. But the kings of the earth, the rulers have set themselves and taken counsels together against you and against your anointing. Their objective is to break their bonds and pieces and cast away their cords from them. Lord we just come before you and we acknowledge Jesus that you are the most high God. But you sit in the heavens and you laugh. You laugh at their attempts to come against you. You laugh at their attempts to to come against your people. But we lift you high this morning. We declare that no principality, no power, no plan of man can stand against the most high God in derision, Lord. To those principalities and powers in your wrath, those who would dare to come against your holy people of Israel, your holy beloved, distress them in your deepest pleasure, Lord. Only one person has the nations as their inheritance and that's you, Jesus. For there's coming a day you will break through the clouds and you will return to earth and Israel and the church will be your bride, your physical bride. Or the land of Israel is your inheritance. It's not Hamas' inheritance. It's not Hezbollah's inheritance. It's not Iran's inheritance. Lord the nations are your inheritance. The nation of Israel is your inheritance. They are your people who you have set apart for yourself long ago. And as man tries to overtake them God, we just ask that in your almighty power that you would defend your people. Lord, as the nations plot of anything that you would step in and defend your people. That their plans would fall flat, that you would disrupt the plans of the jihadists who are attacking Israel. Lord, let the nations rage. Let Hamas use their tunnels. Let Hezbollah fire rockets. He who sits in the heavens laughs. You, God, are the defender of Israel. You are the holy God who loves Israel. You have set her apart for yourself. So God we ask we petition on their behalf for you to move and to be their defender, to be their bridegroom, to be their lover. These people come against your bride, Lord, but you move to action. Remember the covenant that you have made with them. Do not let them be destroyed in this hour, God. Come against Hamas. Come against Hezbollah. Come against anyone who would dare set their eyes on the nation of Israel. It's God in Jesus' name. Be the defender of Israel. Yourself up in your zeal. Come as the man of war. Fight on their behalf, Lord. Them is yours. That you would avenge your name. But those who have declared war on Israel have declared war against the God of Israel. The one who has made a covenant with them. But these people, they're not just not just coming against another people group. They are coming against you. So God we ask for you to arise and to defend your cause. To defend your people. Oh man of war, would you stir yourself up? Would you stir yourself up in your zeal? To go forth, to let loose a shout? Would the lion of Judah roar on behalf of Israel? Would you devour her enemies? Push back the principalities and powers of darkness who would dare come against your beloved people? Oh the nations are your inheritance. The ends of the earth, your possession. Ask that this plot of land that has been where there has been conflict over it for years and years and years. Would you claim it is yours and defend it against anyone who would come against it? On Israel is your holy people. You're first chosen. Lord we as Gentiles have just been grafted as wild olive branches into the tree. We're grateful but Lord we ask that you would defend your bride. Defend the people that you set apart for yourself. Pray that across the earth kings and rulers would be wise. The judges of the earth, the nations who had the opportunity to stand in support of Israel to come to her defense. That they would serve the Lord with fear and trembling. Joyce with trembling. That they would kiss the sun lest he be angered. Lord we're asking for nations to stand with Israel. God would you give courage and boldness to leaders across the earth to the United States and other allies of Israel to nations who may not even be allies with Israel but that in this hour that they would choose to stand with your people. Holy Spirit the hearts of kings are like water in your hand. So we ask that you would turn the hearts of kings turn the hearts of presidents turn the hearts of rulers today to stand with Israel even where there may be generations and generations of hate of bitterness towards that nation towards that people. We ask today for a mighty move of the Holy Spirit for a mighty move of God that you would raise up nations and leaders to stand with your bride to stand with your people and allies Lord that they wouldn't be fighting alone but they would have the support of countries of big political leaders to stand with them. So God in the name of Jesus move the hearts of leaders to stand with Israel even the hearts of the leaders let them have your eyes in the eyes of their hearts to see as you see Psalm 74 Verse 18 Remember this that the enemy has reproached O Lord that a foolish people has blasphemed your name O do not deliver the life of your turtle dove to the wild beast do not forget the life of your poor forever have respect for the covenant for the dark places of the earth are full of pawns of cruelty O do not let the oppressed return a shame but the poor need to praise your name God as Israel is in this hour in this time of need and a foolish people have blasphemed your name have come against your name God our cries do not deliver the life of your turtle dove to the wild beast but would you not look upon them with a heart heart even as they've gone astray if they have rejected your son as they have rejected Jesus as the true Messiah we ask that you would look upon them with compassion that you would have merciful eyes set towards Israel that your heart would not be hard that you would remember your promises to her that you would remember your covenant but we as your people ask in your name in the name of your son Jesus that you would remember the covenant that you would remember your plans and your purposes for your people how she is to to be your bride you've longed for her for years and years God remember the covenant that you have with her do not deliver the life of your turtle dove to the wild beast God as a foolish people come against her as they have tried to take the life of the people of Israel God we ask that you would look upon them in mercy in Jesus name when you remember your covenant with them remember them Lord a covenant keeping God never once have you broken a covenant remember mercy remember compassion remember how you delight in her your delight is in her remember Lord your desire to be with her that you would remember your people that you would look upon them with mercy and compassion we're going to enter back into a time of worship but God we just ask do not have a hard heart against your people even though they've rejected your son look upon them with compassion remember the cross remember the debts that you paid remember what it was like to live a life that was spiritually dead in the joy of our salvation we remember this morning what it was like for the first time to feel free what it was like for the first time to feel truly known and loved to have someone see the worst parts of us and choose to hang on a cross in our place anyways remember that this morning I want to take the last five minutes or so and enter back into intercession praying that the same God who resurrected us from the dead who paid our debts recognizing that he has also paid the debts of those over in Israel he's paid the debts of the Israeli people of the Palestinian people of even those in Hamas and in Hezbollah he's paid their debts and I want to pray for salvation for them so Lord we come before you acknowledging that the debts that you paid weren't just for us but it was for those who don't know you yet Lord no one was more dead in sin than us no one was more dead in sin than me but yet the wonder working power of the blood the wonder working power of the cross resurrected us from the dead and back to life it's the same power that brought Saul to be Paul one who was persecuting you when a moment when you revealed yourself just like you revealed yourself to me it brought about a complete life change complete 180 repentance so God we ask for those in Israel in Gaza Lord those imprisoned that they would be visited by the man in white that you would visit them in dreams and envisions that you would reveal yourself that they would hear the audible voice of God Jesus that you as the Son the resurrected Son the one who is beaten death hell in the grave would reveal yourself to those who don't know you yet in such a dark place Lord would you release your light would you bring your light Lord Lord bring your light into the cages that people are being held in right now bring your light into the spiritual cages where a demonic fog is clouding the vision of those persecuting Israel would you bring your light would there be testimonies of salvation across the board Lord of the Israeli people of the Palestinian people of the terrorists Lord that there would be testimonies of salvation testimonies of the man in white God you are the most powerful most high God there's nothing you can do there's no heart that's too hard there's no heart that's too far gone so we ask Lord that you would release a spirit of wisdom and revelation in Jesus name Lord would you release a spirit of wisdom and revelation lose salvation on earth that you've loosed it in heaven for salvation pray for the softening of hearts pray for scales to fall off of eyes feel the man Jesus in this hour call to Paul conversion takes one look you Lord take yourself to them Lord release salvation release encounters but we come and we know that we're praying big prayers but few are the men who've dreamed too big with you so God we pray full of faith knowing that whether we hear about it or not that you're going to answer our prayers and that there's going to be salvation in Israel there's going to be salvation among the Palestinian people there's going to be salvation among the terrorists persecuting Israel that you're going to give them a new name and they're going to do mighty works for your kingdom we pray full of faith Lord but we thank you for this time to worship and intercede on behalf of your people to host you and God we just close and asking that you would be the defender of Israel today and forever Defend your people in Jesus name Amen Thank you for joining us We'll be back here at noon at 6.30 tonight and we hope to see you at one of our weekend services Have a good day