Video Transcription

Hi. I’m Heather Johnston, president and founder of JH Israel. I am so excited to get to join you on this 40-day journey of fasting and prayer leading up to Shavuot and Pentecost. I think that we are living in the most extraordinary time for the nation of Israel. God foresaw a generation that he would put his trust in, that would carry Israel. If you can understand for just a moment the restoration of modern Israel which has taken place, really since the early 1900s leading up until this day, has involved a few important things. One is that God said, “I’m going to ingather Israel back into the land, I’m going to restore their national sovereignty, I’m going to cause the land to burst into bloom itself so that they can thrive with what they build and develop. I’m going to rebuild their cities.” And finally He brought in one of the most important prophecies of all and that is, “I’m going to beckon to the Gentiles” that is, I’m going to cause there to be an awakening across the world. 

He said in Isaiah 49:22 I will beckon to the gentiles and lift a banner to the Nations, and they’re going to carry you O’ Israel. They’re going to put your daughters on their shoulders, their sons into your arms, and they’re going to be vital to your lifeline, to your growth, and to your development. And so we see this today that the gentiles are playing a very important role in the support of modern Israel. This fast is coming at a very catalytic time. Israel is crossing a milestone of having come out of a pandemic, covid 19, just like the other nations of the world are. They’re crossing over one of the most difficult political seasons that they’ve ever gone through in modern history. It’s taken three elections to get through to finally come up with the prime minister that’s supposed to lead the country. And so we’re coming into this season, this window of fasting and prayer, at the right time to come alongside Israel, alongside her prophetic destiny and promises, and be able to pull those things into reality in our prayers. So I want to highlight Ezekiel 36:26. I believe that this is the most important prophecy unfolding in the nation of Israel today. It says very simply, “In those days and at that time, I’m going to take out the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I’m going to put a new spirit in you.” Basically, what Ezekiel saw 3,000 years ago, that is in the restoration of modern Israel. Israel would undergo a spiritual and cultural shift, once they were back in the land. They would actually go through a process of bringing the biblical heritage, for example, back into the schools, which is happening today. They would bring it into their military positions, into their government, and they would actually take on and realize their personal and spiritual identity. You know it’s very clear that God says when you’re a stranger to yourself, when you’re a stranger to God, you’re a stranger to yourself. And isn’t that so true that our identity is wrapped up so completely in God? Well, Israel more than any other nation on the earth has been given the promise to be a light for all nations. So as we in this 40-day period come alongside and we pray into that verse Ezekiel 36:26. We’re going to be able to see in these next months, in these next years ahead, Israel come into that reality more and more. I’m going to be talking with you over these next few weeks and give us some real practical prayer points on how to pray into this nation: alongside their educational system, their government. And we’re going to understand where we are in time and how we step up onto the wall as watchmen, and take our place to observe what’s going on, and then to preserve. I’m looking forward to being on this journey with you.