Prayer at Oct 7 terror sites: Israeli Messianic congregations unite to sing and pray #SetTheCaptivesFree #Isaiah61

As part of the campaign #SetTheCaptivesFree #Isaiah61 , the ALL ISRAEL NEWS staff organized a time of prayer, worship, and intercession in Sderot and Re'im on Feb. 26, bringing together hundreds of Messianic believers from different congregations all over the Land of Israel, from Carmiel in the north to Eilat in the south.

Believers from many congregations (called "kehilot" in Hebrew) gathered together in Sderot, located approximately one kilometer from the Israeli-Gaza border, to sing and pray the words of Isaiah 61:1-3. The prayer gathering was at the exact location of Sderot’s former police station where a horrific terrorist attack cruelly took the lives of more than thirty policemen and civilians on October 7th, one of many sites attacked by Hamas in the Israeli border communities near Gaza.

With deep emotion and heartfelt sincerity – amidst onlooking soldiers, police officers and passers-by, including Orthodox Jews drawn to this unique gathering - the community of believers fervently implored the Lord for the release of the hostages still held captive in Gaza by Hamas. It is written in Isaiah 61:2, "proclaim freedom for the captives" or in Hebrew, "Likro l'shvuyim dror" לקרוא לשבויים דרור.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and console those who mourn in Zion
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy instead of mourning,
The garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair (Isaiah 61:1-3)

All that remains today at the site of the former police station is a devastated plot of land with twisted rebar protruding from the ground, surrounded by walls still bearing fresh bullet holes, a menorah with memorial candles lit in honor of the victims, and a huge painted mural recalling the tragic events, ensuring that the memory of these horrendous events is never forgotten.

RE'IM MUSIC FESTIVAL SITE

After singing and praying in Sderot, some of the group of believers travelled south approximately 20 minutes to Re'im to the site of the Nova music festival site where 364 people were brutally murdered and 40 were kidnapped. At this site where the most unimaginable evil was unleashed by Hamas terrorists, numerous believers united in prayer and intercession, asking God for comfort, mercy, grace and restoration that He promised through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah more than 2700 years ago.

To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy instead of mourning,
The garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations (Isaiah 61:3-4)

Our hope is that the people of God, the body of believers, both in Israel and around the world, will continue to unite together to sing and pray and proclaim the words of Isaiah 61, which were also recited by Jesus in the temple in Nazareth in Luke 4:18-19.

If you want to take part in helping to mobilize Christians around the world to sing and pray Isaiah 61 to "proclaim freedom for captives" and "to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes," then please sign up at this link "I pray Lord, SET THE CAPTIVES FREE." We will update you with more details on how you, your family, friends, group, church can make a difference and stand with Israel through the campaign #SetTheCaptivesFree #Isaiah61.