"Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city. For the uncircumcised and the unclean will no longer enter you" (Isa. 52:1).
It's time for those who love Jerusalem to recognize the hour in which we live and lean in to God's promises. It's time for united prayer and fasting so we can see God's will in heaven be manifested on the earth.
The present alignment of prophetic timing is no coincidence.
Israel's 70th year of rebirth and Jerusalem's 50th year of reunification point to the larger reality of what God intends to do in the Holy Land. A glance at scripture indicates the significance of both 70 and 50. The Jewish people returned from Babylonian exile after 70 years. The year of Jubilee occurred every 50 years. Both of these events contain the themes of deliverance, planting, rest, presence and fulfilled promises. In this moment of a 70/50 intersection, it's time to see the next wave of God's Spirit sweep across Israel and the Middle East, as we believe for blessing, fullness and peace for both Isaac and Ishmael.
However, just because the time is right does not guarantee the manifestation of God's promises.
Throughout history, we see times like these where it took a deeper level of pressing in to God call forth the manifestation on earth as it is in heaven.
In Daniel 9:1-3, Daniel realizes the strategic hour in which he lives. He realizes he is on the eve of Jeremiah's 70-year prophecy. It's time for the Jews to go home. His response, though, is not casual observance to see if Jeremiah's words will come true. Instead, he uses the prophecy as a weapon of intercession. He responds by setting himself to prayer and fasting. He leans in.
As he does, we read about the manifestation of Jeremiah's words in the book of Ezra. God awakens the spirit of Cyrus, and he releases the Jews to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. The awakening of Cyrus is an answer to Daniel's prayers. He prayed the will of God into manifestation.
Similar to today, with the president of the U.S. moving the embassy to Jerusalem during the 70th anniversary, we must be a people like Daniel who understand the times and know what to do. This is that. It's time for Jerusalem!
For Daniel, extended prayer and fasting were the appropriate response to the hour in which he lived. For us, the answer is no different. It's time for extended prayer and fasting.
Today, Christian leaders, young and old, from around the world (signatures below) are calling for a global 21-day Awake Jerusalem Fast beginning Sept. 10 on Rosh Hashanah, ending on Sept. 30, just one week before the Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem, which is the first Sunday of every October.
This year's fay of prayer also initiates Awake Jerusalem, where many of these leaders and hundreds of young Christians are gathering together in Jerusalem for a 72-hour prayer and worship event summoning Christians across the nations to Jerusalem.
This is an Isaiah 2 moment, where nations are flowing to Zion.
Remember, significant moments demand significant response. This 70-year window of Israel's rebirth will never come again in history. Now is the time to shake ourselves from casual observance to determined intercession.
Like Daniel, will you lean in? Will you answer the call? Visit awakejerusalem.com/call-to-fast.
