Shabbat Shalom!

Dear Family,

It has been an incredible time here since the last time I (Devin) wrote to you.  The Lord has brought us through so much as a family, that it would be hard to write it all and not have it turn into a book.  Let me just say that we appreciate all the prayers you have raised up for us.  They mean more to us than you will ever know.  The pressures of living in this part of the world and specifically in this city can be overwhelming at times, and it is your prayers that help lift us up.  I am continuing my work with the school here and seeing some real favor that may help open up future doors for us here.  We really see the Lord's hand in it all.  Callie and Aviel are in the States right now visiting family for the first time in a year and a half.  The Lord impressed upon me how important it was for them to go visit, but being this far away is not easy for us.  Please pray that the Lord would give us the strength to be apart for this time, and that he would bring us back together safely. Callie and Aviel will arrive here on February 1. Please pray that the Lord would use this time for His glory. 

This next week is a crucial one in the days that we are living in.  On January 22nd, Israel will have a general election that will decide who the next prime minister will be.  This is crucial because of the condition the Middle East is in at the moment.  Syria is in flames with a civil war that doesn't seem to have an end.  The Syrian conflict is spilling over into Lebanon.  Egypt is being lead by the Muslim Brotherhood, who are not exactly friends of Israel.  Last but not least, Iran is running on the path towards nuclear weapons and 2013 will be a critical year on that path.  We need to pray that the Lord would raise up a leader in Israel through whom He can glorify His name. Before this election was even a possibility, the Lord moved the leaders of Intercessors for Israel to have our yearly prayer conference beginning this year on the 21st of January.  We open our prayer conference the night before the elections and we will be praying through the whole week for the Lord to build a strong government here to deal with the situation Israel finds itself in.  The Lord knew this election was going to happen and he organized it so that continued, intercessory prayer would be going on in Jerusalem at the same time.  Please pray with us as we ask for the Lord's will to be done in this nation.  Please syand with us on Monday and Tuesday as we press into this prayer as a Body here in Jerusalem.

Prayer is something that we must utilize in the coming days.  Too often, we in the Body look at prayer as a convenient thing to have in our pocket.  It is something we can turn to when we get into trouble, or when we have real need.  I am as guilty as anyone of treating prayer this way.  The truth is, that prayer is a tool in the hand of the Lord.  He uses our prayer to do His will on this earth.  It is one of the mysteries of the Lord that we may never truly understand until we can see Him face to face. In Proverbs, it says of that the Lord hears the prayers of the upright and that He delights in prayer.  In Daniel 9, the prayer of Daniel moved the Lord to fulfill the word he had given through Jeremiah.  Prayer is a powerful tool that we in the Body must start to utilize more.  Why is it that weekly prayer meetings are so poorly attended?  Why is it easier to sing songs for an hour rather than pray for an hour?  Prayer is crucial to our walk with the Lord and it is a important for building the Lord's kingdom.  My prayer is that the Body of Messiah would wake up to how important prayer is.  We need to be a Body who prays together, now more than ever.  Blessings to you all.

 In Yeshua,

Devin, Callie, and Aviel