 Good morning. Welcome to morning prayer. We're so happy to have you here with us praying and worshiping the Lord seeking his face this morning. We're going to open up out of Psalm 27 verse four. This one thing I have desired of the Lord that I will seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple for in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion in the secret place of his tabernacle he shall hide me he shall set me high upon a rock Lord we come before you this morning and this is our one desire this is the one thing that we will seek to dwell in the house of the Lord to be in your presence Lord to sit and behold your beauty to gaze upon your majesty we want to see all of you we want to continually gaze upon the beauty of Jesus seeing new sides of you new attributes or we just start this morning with simply gazing fixing our eyes lifting our heads from the things and worries of this world to just look at the beauty of Jesus to just gaze so as we begin let's just do that this morning just take a moment lift our heads lift our hearts to just behold the beauty and the majesty of the king one day in your courts and a thousand elsewhere you are so much better than anything else anything else we could ever experience anything else we could ever have or you in your glory are better we thank you Jesus we're gonna shift into our first cycle of of intercession we're gonna start by praying for for Israel praying for the Lord to raise up intercessors here in Kalamazoo we'll be praying out of Isaiah 62 starting in verse 6 I have set watchmen on your walls oh Jerusalem they shall never hold their peace day or night you who make a mention of the Lord do not keep quiet and give him no rest till he establishes until he makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth so that we come before you and we start Lord just by asking for us for those of us here in the room those of us watching online Lord would you give us your heart for Israel Lord would you would you burden us with what burdens you would we weep for what you weep for goddess we see attacks rising up against Jerusalem against your people against your nation of Israel or would it break our hearts to see your people being persecuted God would you break us for the people of Israel your chosen people your beloved but we ask even in our own hearts Lord we admit that we need your help we admit that we don't know how to pray for Israel the churches has lost that discipline God we don't know how to pray for her so God we ask that you would give us your heart that you would strengthen us with your spirit give us wisdom give us the language Lord to pray for your people so even in our own hearts God in Jesus name Lord make us ones who pray for Israel Lord we are praying in your hands and if prayer for Israel is what you want then that's what we'll pray for Lord if you want watchmen to stand on the walls of Jerusalem Lord that's where we'll set our hearts but that's what we'll commit ourselves to is praying for your people Lord do we be ones who don't hold our peace day or night would we not keep silent will we give you no rest and intercession for Jerusalem for Israel for your people until she has made a praise in the earth until your promises for your people Lord have been fulfilled God we continually pray day and night would you wake us in the night call us to pray call us from our beds call us from our lives of comfort disrupt the natural order of the way that we're living our lives you have full access to us God full access to our hearts full access to how we spend our days but call us away call us to pray raise up intercessors here in Kalamazoo God with Kalamazoo be a holy a holy air force base Lord that that prays and that is the the spiritual air support for Israel God with Kalamazoo be a city that that weeps and mourns and prays at the altar for Israel that joins Jesus the great intercessor as his heart cries out as his heart cries out for the salvation of Jerusalem for the peace of Jerusalem to see the the prophetic promises fulfilled God with Kalamazoo join Jesus at the altar when we join Jesus in prayer join Jesus and travail for the people of Israel God that can only happen if you grip our hearts if you grip the hearts of this city if you grip the hearts of the churches in the city if you grip the hearts of the church leaders in this city God do whatever you have to do but Lord in Jesus name will Kalamazoo be one who prays for Israel Kalamazoo give you no rest God like the persistent widow attend with you Lord God we are clay in your hands speak to our hearts give us your heart we celebrate when you celebrate God you say in Psalm 84 blessed is the one whose strength is in you whose heart is a highway to Zion and God that that verse just just grips me Lord make us ones whose hearts whose in whose hearts is the highway to Zion God with the the path to praying for Israel be a well-worn path in our hearts free of obstacles would it not be a winding road that takes forever to get there we have to to drive slow but God with our hearts would they be a highway to Zion where when you call it is a well-worn path that we would develop the the discipline of praying for Israel the choice Lord that we would choose to do what's uncomfortable and to give our time to give our hours give our days to intercession for Jerusalem to intercession for your people God that when you call when your Holy Spirit pulls us turns us to pray to intercede that it wouldn't be like we have to find our way or ask for directions God but that our hearts would hold a highway to Zion or that we would when we see disaster come upon Israel that we would know what to do that we would gather in the place of corporate prayer and intercession and that we would lift up Israel to you or that we would we would sense the urgency of the hour which we live in and that we would we would pray without ceasing that we would give you no rest we would give you no rest until Jerusalem has made a praise in the earth until your promise is for her fulfilled but help us we come before you Lord we admit that we don't know the way we haven't prayed for Jerusalem enough we haven't prayed for Israel enough so God hear our our hearts before you we stand before you Lord and we ask as you would make our hearts a highway to Zion be Jesus name care for Israel flow out of our mouths feel the burden Lord mystical free a well-worn intercession call us to stand in the gap on behalf of your people your chosen people we give you no rest constantly interceding constantly standing in the gap going to war for Israel pulling at your heart attending for you to move for the hand of God contending for you to make Jerusalem a praise in the earth attending for your prophetic promises who would be ones who contend and pray yes Lord would we be ones who pray would we be ones who give you no rest but our hearts be a highway to Zion let you would call us out from the comfort of our lives into intimacy with you the intimacy of intercession I even specifically just I just want to pray for for the young people in Kalamazoo the young students Lord but you you are after their hearts I even think of the the Gen Z rally that we had this week where hundreds of those who belong in the generation of Gen Z gathered together to worship you to praise you and just seek the Lord God as they hunger for you would they receive your spirit and along with that the burden to pray for Israel God I'm asking for young people to to feel the burden of praying for Israel would you give them your heart set them apart from a young age teach them Lord teach them how to pray what's your heart for Jerusalem what's your heart for Israel come alive in the scriptures but as they're getting to know you would they get to know your heart for your people Lord even in this day and age where a spirit of anti-semitism is is trying to to invade the heart of the church God I ask that here in Kalamazoo that our young people would pray for Israel that our young people would stand with Jerusalem that their hearts would be turned towards Zion God that the the spirit of the age and the spirit of anti-semitism would would have no place in the young people here in Kalamazoo but that they would have tender hearts toward Israel tender hearts towards the Jewish people God would they weep with you over Jerusalem would they pray next to you God would you raise up young intercessors here in Kalamazoo young intercessors who who set their hearts towards Jerusalem this this this prophetic promise in Isaiah 62 Lord those watchmen that you set on the walls of Jerusalem God would some of those watchmen be the young people here in Kalamazoo intercessors God would go into the secret place the intimacy of intercession who spend their mornings and their nights praying for Israel set them apart God so in Jesus name Lord set apart young ones in Kalamazoo to pray for Israel it's burden Gen Z burden Gen Z with the heart for Israel the people Lord they weep over Jerusalem they weep over Israel give themselves to a life of intercession intercession on behalf of Israel in your heart Lord break their heart for what breaks yours promises for Jerusalem in the scriptures God pure burden Gen Z to pray for Israel the intercessors who seek the Lord would Gen Z be a generation that prays for Israel but there'd be mighty intercessors who come out of that generation but set aside for yourself those who would grow up to be like Reese Howell but those who just seek you in prayer praying for your purposes praying for your people contending with them we're going to go back into a time of worship so I just invite you to to stand as we worship Jesus yes Lord let me humbly and boldly approach you this morning asking for you to show us your face God that we would see your glory as Moses did on the mountain God we want more of you do you show us your face but how can we go on how can we go on with our day without first taking a glimpse at the king of kings the Lord of lords the lover of our soul how could we to reveal yourself to us I want to stay right here and continue singing continue singing this song I want to do it as intercession intercession for for Israel that the Lord would be so kind and gracious as to show them his face they need him just as much as we do they need to see his face just as much as we do so as we as we go back into this song I encourage you when we when we sing show me your face set your heart in a place of intercession for Israel begging and pleading with the Lord for him to reveal himself to the people of Israel just having our hearts being a place of contending as we sing this acknowledging that just as we need to see the Lord's face just as we need to see his power and strength they also do so let's let's enter back into the song with our hearts set into place of intercession listen show them your face you show Israel your face love in your eyes that you have for them the kindness and compassion the kindness and compassion of the Father when would you show them how loving you are how you are faithful and true how you're covenant with them Lord it still stands not because of their obedience obviously Lord but because you are a covenant keeping God even though they've they've turned away that they've rejected Jesus as the Messiah Lord you still love them you still care for them you are still compassionate towards them show them your face God we even ask Lord as you would remember all the times that we read about where Israel's gone astray and you lead them back to you but in this time of intense persecution Lord would you lead them back to you as they as they are under attack God would you reveal to them Jesus would you reveal to them your heart your plans your purposes for them or do not delay remember your covenant with them reveal yourself to them as you've done in the days of old but lead them back to a place of worship lead them back to a place of intimacy lead them to repent and to turn away from their sins to see Jesus as the true Messiah Lord that can only come through a genuine encounter so we ask for those encounters Lord that your people your children that they would see your face that they would see Jesus Lord this is our hearts cry this morning we stand in the gap we stand in the gap with Jesus the great intercessor pleading Lord reveal yourself to Israel reveal yourself that you are still their God you are still their father you are still their beloved you are still their bridegroom would show them your face show them your glory we ask for that in Jesus name amen amen thank you for for interceding and praying with us this morning well we'll be back here at noon today 6 30 this evening and we hope to see you at one of our weekend services on Sunday thanks have a good day