A Strategic Way to Pray for Israel, Syria, and the Chemical Weapons Threat

Dear Friends,
I believe most of you are very aware of the need to pray for Israel and Syria at this time, especially concerning the threat of the use and transfer of chemical weapons. We have just released a new YouTube prayer alert which you can view via this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWPB0WWiQt4

One of the things I share in this link is a vision I received December 4th, 2012, which is described in the article below. I had seen the Lord using angels over weather as a primary means to protect Israel, and the innocent in Syria, from the threat of chemical weapons. It is interesting that media were reporting on January 8th, 2013, that the Syrian army had started mixing chemical weapons that could be delivered within two hours after being mixed:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9787329/Syria-has-chemical-weapons-that-could-be-used-within-two-hours.html

On January 9th, 2013 a storm system blew into our region that was described as “the storm of the decade”. It came with fierce winds, rain, snow, and hail, all of which are mentioned in the Scriptures we had been proclaiming.

After that storm, we had beautiful weather here until this week. After the reported sabotage of the main underground nuclear facility in Iran, and Israel’s targeted destruction of a weapons facility in Syria, the threat of chemical warfare is once again much in the news. We had been proclaiming this past Monday the Scriptures given below concerning weather, and, once again, we have had several days of rain.

Please join us in continuing to pray for the protection of Israel, of the innocent in Syria, and for the Lord to give “beauty for ashes” in Syria.

Grace and shalom from Jerusalem,
Rick Ridings

(to help support the 24/7 worship and prayer ministry of Succat Hallel here in Jerusalem, click on: https://www.succathallel.com/Groups/1000085112/Succat_Hallel/Donate/Donate.aspx )

Following is an article describing my vision that was published in December, 2012 by the United States Reformation Prayer Network. I am now writing an article for them most months. If you desire to read those (and new) articles, you may register to search their site at: https://www.usrpn.org

“Urgency and Hope for Syria and Israel”

Throughout 2012, through visions and prayer, the LORD highlighted that the intercessors should focus on the protection of Israel’s borders. The conflict with Gaza in November reinforced that point as Hamas and its allies fired rockets deeper into Israel, even setting off the air-raid sirens in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv (1, 2).

I do not believe we’re finished with conflicts on our borders, only finished with one particular phase. We need to guard against being lulled into a false sense of security. We still need to secure the borders of Israel. For more on this topic, see our previous RPN articles:

Prayer for Israel in a Strategic Season
A Vision of a ‘Gideon’ Victory in the Middle East
The Looming War and Coming Harvest
A Vision Concerning the Israel/Gaza Conflict

I believe in this new year, the region will heat up again, and it will be even hotter and more severe.

The situation in Syria will most most likely get worse before it gets better. Now is the time to be vigilant in prayer.

As the civil war continues to destablize Bashar al-Assad’s control in Syria, the Middle East neighbors and the world worry about his chemical weapons. Will he use them against the rebels? Will he use them on Israel? Will he pass them to anti-Israel Hezbollah in Lebanon? Will the rebels acquire them and use them on pro-government forces or on Israel?

The rebels reported as recently as Christmas Eve that Assad’s forces had used chemical weapons (3), though Israel says it has seen no evidence of such attacks (4). Soon after, British-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper reported that Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Jordan’s King Abdullah to discuss the chemical threat (5).

The point is that the chemical weapons threat is a real one.

On December 4th, 2012, The LORD gave me a vision concerning Syria and Lebanon:

I saw that the LORD posted four very strong angels in four places – the northeast corner of Syria, the northwest corner of Syria, the southwest corner of Lebanon and the southeast corner of Syria. The two angels to the north were holding clouds and rain, which they would release when needed. The two in the south were angels of the winds, releasing winds from the south and east. I sensed these two angels were protecting Israel and also the innocent in Syria and Lebanon.

At the end of the vision, I saw much of Lebanon and Syria covered with ashes. However, butterflies began to rise out of the ashes.

I believe the vision shows the LORD’s protection should chemical weapons be released. Wind can redirect a released poison, and the rain washes it out of the air (6).

As for the end of the vision, there are already a lot of ashes, burning and destruction in the region. In a recent interview, Joshua Landis, Director of The Center for Middle East studies stated that “It’s likely that [President Assad] will hang on to Damascus and that the city will be destroyed, as Aleppo has been destroyed, before it is relinquished (7).”

I am glad to report, though, that I’ve already seen firstfruits of new life from this conflict in Syria. I met two Syrian refugees at a house of prayer in Turkey. They met Jesus after they fled to Turkey, where believers reached out to them. These two Syrian refugees were glowing with the joy of the LORD.

So let us pray into God’s protection and renewal. Pray into the long-term spiritual blessing promised in Isaiah 19:23-25 where the LORD says that one day He will be be able to call Assyria (both modern Syria and Lebanon were part of ancient Assyria) His “handiwork” and that together with Egypt and Israel, they will become a center of blessing to the whole earth.

Pray that spiritual life will arise in Syria and Lebanon, and that He would bring forth life and beauty from their ashes.

Prayer points

Job 38:22,23– The LORD is over the weather patterns, and uses them in times of war.
Psalm 78:26 (NIV) – “He let loose the east wind from the heavens and by his power made
the south wind blow.” The LORD has used the wind to protect Israel before.
Psalm 91:3– The LORD saves from pestilence.
Isaiah 19:24-25 (NIV) – “In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying ‘Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.’”
Isaiah 61:3(NIV) – Pray for a“crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair” for the people of Syria.

Works Citied

Staff and AP. “Jerusalemites shaken, not stirred, by ‘surprise’ siren.” The Times of Israel. 16 Nov. 2012. Web. 26 Dec. 2012.
Shmulovich, Michal. “Rockets in Tel Aviv? ‘That’s something I couldn’t have imagined’.” The Times of Israel. 21 Nov. 2012. Web. 26 Dec. 2012.
Kais, Roi. “Syrian rebels report 18 cases of chemical attacks.” YNetNews.com. Yedioth Internet. 25 Dec. 2012. Web. 26 Dec. 2012.
“Israel says has no proof poison gas used in Syria.” Reuters. Thompson Reuters. 25 Dec. 2012. Web. 26 Dec. 2012.
Benari, Elad. “Netanyahu and Jordan’s King Discussed Syria’s Chemicals.” Israel National News. Artuz Sheva. 27 Dec. 2012. Web. 27 Dec. 2012.
“Dispersal and Fate of Chemical Warfare Agents.” Noblis.org. Noblis, Inc. Web. 26 Dec. 2012.
Hilleary, Cecily. “QUICKTAKE: Is an Alawite State in Syria’s Future?” Middle East Voices. Voice of America. 20 Dec. 2012. Web. 28 Dec. 2012.