Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

"Nazareth!  Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked.
"Come and see," said Philip...                                                     John 1:46

You may remember us sharing in May about the Global Day of Prayer event in Nazareth, where Arab and Jewish believers came together to worship, pray, and intercede for their nation, Israel.   We received a wonderful report from Rania Sayegh, the director of HOPE – House Of Prayer and Exploits, and coordinator of the GDOP in Nazareth.   Below is a summary of this and other testimonies we received:

Jewish & Arab believers come together for GDOP

The Global Day of Prayer 2012 was held on Pentecost (Shavuot) May 27th in the city of Nazareth at the Golden Crown Hotel under the auspices of HOPE - House Of Prayer & Exploits and the Evangelical Convention of the Churches in Israel.  Arab and Jewish believers, as well as foreigners from all over the Holy Land came to attend the day, celebrating their common love of the Messiah in three languages, Arabic, Hebrew and English.

Various Jewish and Arab pastors shared messages from their hearts, interspersed with Hebrew and Arabic worship from Adonai Roi and The Lord is my Banner congregations:

Pastor Avi Mizrachi shared a short word following the Hebrew worship from Judges 7-8, where he encouraged God's people to stand firm - Gideon won the battle against his enemies with only 300 people - we have a great God!   Avi then declared Psalm 24 - welcoming the King of Kings, Jesus, to Israel, to this place:  “Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory!”

After a powerful time of praise in Arabic, Pastor Rajai Samawi shared from Revelation 1:2-6, highlighting the message of returning to our first love and preparing our hearts for repentance, giving a challenge to return to the foundation of the book of Acts by giving the Holy Spirit the full control and following after Him.

Arab & Jewish Pastors praying for each other

More worship was followed by a time of personal repentance, returning to first love and intimacy with God.  Pastors Edward Tannous (Arab) and Avi Mizrachi (Jewish) both publically prayed and repented to one another on behalf of their people groups, extending forgiveness to each other and embracing.  As they did this simple act, their sincerity allowed healing to flow in the hearts of the people, evidenced by the quiet weeping heard around the large room.  Arab and Jewish believers then paired off, praying for one another and asking the Holy Spirit to pour out over their land and their lives.

What a powerful time as Jews and Arabs stood, uniting together for the outpouring of the Spirit, many being touched by the Lord and refilled with the Holy Spirit. The Lord's presence was so clear as the cry of the thirsty reached to heaven.

God continued to move as the youth stepped forward, to be blessed by the fathers and to pray for their generation, releasing the fullness of what God has for them.  Rania also led a time of prayer, focusing on Isaiah 60 and Matthew 25, asking God to awaken the bride of Christ in Israel, to keep her watchful and filled with Holy Spirit oil in her lamp. Prayer was also made for the government of Israel, asking the Lord to give wisdom to those in authority and for righteous leaders to be raised up in the land of Israel.

One New Man!

At the end of the meeting, these Israeli believers shared the Lord’s Supper together, taking bread and wine as one body, as one new man in Yeshua/Jesus.  What an incredible and powerful testimony of believers coming together – and even more so when you realise this is happening in a place where the media tells us there is only hate, malice and injustice between Arabs and Jews.  Pray for the believers in Israel, that their unity will open the gates for the King of Glory, the Prince of Peace, to come and reign in their Land!

HOPE still has outstanding expenses from hosting the GDOP.  If you would like to partner with what God is doing in Israel in the area of reconciliation between Jewish and Arab believers, click the 'Donate' button at the top of this page and write ‘GDOP’ in the notes section.