The Jerusalem Prayer List - July 7th 2011

by Joseph Shulam

Do you ever feel spiritually dry, a little shaken in your faith, somewhat in need of encouragement, even may be slightly depressed?  I hope that you have experienced such a condition and if you did you would in good company because many of the most famous characters and personalities in the Bible experienced the same.  It is a hard feeling to go through such emotions, but it is absolutely wonderful to come out of it and see the light.  Let us examine just a few cases from the Word of God and see what we can learn from these cases:

King David: “I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. …I groan because of the turmoil of my heart” (Psalm 38:6,8 ).

For I said in my haste, ‘I am cut off from before Your eyes’; Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications When I cried out to You. Oh, love the LORD, all you His saints! For the LORD preserves the faithful , And fully repays the proud person. Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the LORD. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven , Whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit . When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah.  I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,’ And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah.”  (Psalm 31:22 - 32:2 -5)

These texts above are just a few of the many texts in the Psalms that describe depression, and more specifically spiritual depression.   Note in the text from Psalm 31 and 32 the different words that the Psalmist uses to lift the state of depression:

Supplications that is equal to prayer and asking from God relief and salvation and forgiveness of sins.  The first step to getting out of depression is knowing to speak the release in prayer.

Faithful is one who although falls sometime gets up and continues to march and walk with the Lord trusting God's loving kindness.  A person who is depressed can't trust his own ability to put himself together he can only trust in his own faithfulness to God and God's faithfulness to him.

No deceit, truthfulness and honesty are absolutely necessary for a person wants to come out of his depression.

Acknowledgement of our sins i.e. confession of ins is another one of these indispensable ingredients that is necessary for getting out of depression.

The most important step for getting out of spiritual depression is to accept the forgiveness that God the Almighty One of Israel has provided for us.

Elijah the Prophet: After the great victory on top of Mount Carmel and the killing of the prophets of Baal, Elijah enters some deep depression and goes into the Sinai desert to actually die by starving himself to death:

I Kings 19, 1 "And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.  2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. 3 And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.  5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.  6 And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baked on the coals, and a curse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. 7 And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat;   because the journey is too great for thee.  8 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.  9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What  are you doing here, Elijah? 10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down your altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.  11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: 12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. 13 And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? 14 And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down your altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

It is seen here how this very heroic prophet of the Lord who stood against King Ahab and 450 prophets of Baal is actually a very fragile emotional person who needs encouragement and support and affirmation from both people and God.  After the great victory on Mount Carmel he is so depressed that he wants to die.  He goes to the desert seeking to die.  He is down from the mountain and in the deep deep valley of depression because he is not appreciated and he is alone.  Only when the Lord gives him a new task a challenge and a calling does he get up and move with vigor to face his new mission.  I suppose that we all need the kind of encouragement that Elijah needed from the Lord.  I suppose that after we have a major success and the Lord's blessings there is a danger that we fall of the mountain deep in the valley of depression and need a new challenge and task to revive the spiritual hormones of being needed and useful to the Kingdom of God.

There are great men of God who actually entered a period of spiritual depression and among them are greats like Abraham, Moses, Job, prophets, and Kings.  The common truth is that great men of God are not absolved or guaranteed not get depressed and at times feel rejected, despised and useless.  The cure for spiritually induced depression is in the following steps that are listed above:

1. Supplications and prayer – spend time communicating with God and stop for a little while to listen to Him.  Speak to God and also Hear God.

2. Stay faithful even when you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death.

3. Honestly deal with your situation and evaluate yourself in the wide picture and not only from the last events and successes or failures.

4. Acknowledge your successes or/and your sins and mistakes and confess your feelings and emotions both before the Lord and in front of the people involved.

5. Walk through the doors that are open in front of you even if they don't seem to be the ones that you were dreaming of or desiring.  Just enter the doors with a cheerful energy ready to do anything that God puts before you and excel in all things.

The above does not mean that I am now in depression, but it does indicate that I like every man of God need your prayers asking God in my behalf for a new wind and power to renew strength and vision. I am praying and supplicating before the Lord for a renewed strength and vision.

Israel is again facing the threat of riots and demonstrations that are designed to embarrass and cause international scandal against Israel.  There are some 600 people who intend to fly to Israel on regular commercial airlines and arrive in the airport in Lod more or less at the same time.  They plan to riot and cause problems in the airport for international attention. Israeli police force without any weapons is waiting for these provocateurs to stop them.  Israel needs your prayers every day between now and the month of September when the Palestinians aim to declare unilaterally a Palestinian State in the boarders of 1967.  The Arabs have an automatic majority in the United Nations and the Palestinian resolution in the UN will probably pass.  Only God can direct the course of history and change it for the benefit of His children world wide, and for the joy of His Kingdom and promises.  This is the very reason why your prayers and supplicating for Israel is so very important.

Netivyah continues to do the work of the Lord in Israel.  The dedication of our staff is so very admirable and special.  I ask you to pray for the Netivyah staff and board members and for their lives and work for the Lord and His Kingdom.

Please continue to pray for our sick list:  Ahuva, Liora, Ilana, Leah, Sara, Zvi, Sarit, Lev, Marcia, Merav, David, S., and David.  We continue to pray for Paulo in Brazil, Tim Tucker in Finland, Ishiida San and Sadako San in Japan.

We continue to pray for those among us who are brothers and sisters who are in need of financial help and for work.  The times are hard and difficult and unemployment is high everywhere.  We pray for all those brothers and sisters in Israel and everywhere to find work and sustain themselves and their families in honor and become a blessing to others.  We want to help these brothers and not only pray together with them, but also be practical and give some help also.

I ask you to also pray for the conference in Curitiba, Brazil, that will be held there at the end of this month.  It is a conference to encourage the Anussim / Marrano Jews who's families are victims of the Spanish or the Portuguese Inquisition.  The Lord willing, I shall fly to Brazil for this conference in the end of the month and also do some teaching in Vitoria and Belo-Horizonte.  In Vitoria, the Lord willing, I shall help bless and the dedication of the new building of the congregation and put the Mezuza on the door.  Please pray for what God is doing in Brazil for the Anussim / Marrano Jews and for the Body of the Messiah.

God bless you all and lift up and put you on top of His mountain of joy and peace in Him and in Yeshua our Messiah,

Joseph Shulam

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