Praying in One Accord
Intercession in Israel: Defeating “Fear” and “Divisions”

There can be hundreds of prayer topics and prayer requests for Israel but there should be one common intercession strategy.

The main problem in intercession in Israel today is that, although we have many faithful, well intentioned prayer warriors, there is hardly any link between them and each group has his own prayer strategy and vision. It is like an army with several combat units but different plans. It is not surprising that the progress is very slow, to say the least.

I believe the root to this problem is to be found in the Old Testament, in the life of our forefathers the Jewish patriarchs.

Gen 13:7 And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.

Abram and his nephew Lot were in good terms, but there had been some incidents that sparked their separation. It is to be remarked that the text relevantly mentions that, at that time, the Canaanite and the Perezzite were in the land.

The Canaanites were symbolical of the spirit of fear. Remember that we see the same kind of scripture in Gen. 12:6 just before Abraham decided to flee to Egypt despite God's promises for him and his descendants. But the Perizzites are symbolical of the spirit of division. In this episode of the separation of Abraham and Lot we see division for fear that conflicts between their herdsmen might degenerate.

We see the spirit of division and separation at work in other passages. Ishmael is separated from his own family and becomes a different, hostile people…to this very day. Jacob, although he is reconciled with his brother Esau after kisses and hugs, is unable to walk and unite with him in Gen. 33. They separate! The spirit of the Canaanites are not just territorial, they have become generational.

Today we cannot say that there is complete disunity between the leaders and the fellowships in Israel. In fact we are on very good terms. We gather in pastors' retreats, share our burdens and may even have joint meetings with our fellowships together. However, like Abraham and Lot, like Jacob and Esau, we fail to walk together with the same common strategy to defeat the enemy. I am afraid that the spirit of the Perezzites is still at work in our midst and it has to be dethroned.

Let us pray that the lord will quicken to our hearts the urgency of this matter. The salvation of our people is at stake and who knows if we have been called for such a task and for such a time as this.

By Claude Ezegouri MorningStar Fellowship in Tiberias e_claude@netvision.net.il