I decided last night to say "Shema" every day for Israel during this war. If you don't know the Shema, that's okay. Shema (“hear”) is the Hebrew word that begins the most important prayer in Judaism. It is found in Deuteronomy 6:4, which begins with the command to “Hear.” The whole Shema prayer, which includes verses 4-9, is spoken daily in the Jewish tradition:
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Sh'ma Yisra'eil Adonai Eloheinu Adonai echad.
But how can we pray for the Jewish people? Billy Graham once said, "To get Nations back on their feet, we must first get down on our knees."
The first way that we can pray for Israel, is to declare the promises of God on Israel's behalf. There are passages to encourage us to pray for Israel's security and for His holy city, Jerusalem. Isaiah 52:1-2 says
Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean. 2. Shake yourself from the dust and arise; seated, O Jerusalem; loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
Psalm 122:3-9 says
Jerusalem—built as a city that is bound firmly together, to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. There thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem “May they be secure who love you! Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!” For my brothers and companions' sake, I will say, “Peace be within you!” For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.
Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God has good plans for Israel,
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and hope.
The next way that we can pray for Israel, is to pray like Jesus prayed. I know a lot of Christians seem to have a problem with Jesus' ethnic background, but all in all our Lord was a Jew, and there is power is praying the way Jesus prayed. E.M. Bounds says of prayer:
Prayer should not be regarded as a duty which must be performed, but rather as a privilege to be enjoyed, a rare delight that is always revealing some new beauty."
Lastly, we can do as Jewish tradition mandates, "Bless!"
You may not know this, but every Jewish prayer begins with the words "Baruch ata Adonai" -- "Blessed are you, Lord."
When welcoming someone into your home, you bless them with "Baruch Haba" -- Blessed are you who have arrived (commonly translated as welcome.) The first blessing in scripture is recorded over Adam and Eve who are instructed to multiply.
I am reminded of the Rabbi in Fiddler on the Roof, "There is a blessing for everything!" We should ask the Lord to bless Israel, to bless the Jewish people and in doing so we are recognizing that God is the source of justice, mercy, and all wisdom.
I will end this blog today with the words of St. Teresa of Calcutta,
God shapes the world by prayer. The more praying there is in the world, the better the world will be, the mightier the forces against evil.
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