50 Days of Prayer: from Passover to Pentecost

The best advice I can offer you about sharing Jesus is this: prayer is the first and real business of evangelism. It may be tempting to think that prayer is asking God to bless our plans before we get to work, but prayer is the most important part of the work. We pray to align ourselves with God’s plans. So, prayer is not the appetizer and it’s not the dessert—it’s the main course!

From Passover to Pentecost

By now you probably know that we are celebrating our 50th year of ministry with an all-out effort to proclaim the gospel to 20 key Jewish audiences worldwide. That effort actually began last month, as we entered into 50 days of focused prayer. We knew that apart from prayer, our gospel proclamation would lack the power and effectiveness we so desperately long to see. That’s why we have been asking God to pour out His Spirit on our Jewish people as we bring them the message of freedom in Messiah Jesus.

Our 50 days of prayer coincide with the 50 days between Passover and Pentecost. In Leviticus 23:15–16, God commanded Israel to mark this time, and it is traditional to do so by daily “counting the omer.” Omer is the Hebrew word for a sheaf of wheat, and this countdown builds anticipation for the harvest festival of Shavuot (also known as the Day of Pentecost). Even though Jewish people today are scattered around the world and the majority are not farmers, it’s still traditional to mark the 50 days with a special “omer” calendar. In the words of tradition, the Jewish people were taken from a life of avdei Pharaoh (slaves of Pharaoh) into a new life of avdei Adonai (servants of the Lord).

Prayer Takes a Load Off Our Shoulders

As we Jews for Jesus join with our people to celebrate this season, we have an added dimension. We believe a life of service to God both invites and requires us to tell others about Jesus, and for that, we must devote ourselves to prayer. We have set goals for our evangelism over three months of outreach. Goals help us prepare and keep us accountable. But goals do not change lives—prayer does.

Prayer requires commitment, but it also takes a great load off our shoulders. Prayer reminds us that true ministry does not depend on our abilities, but on God’s power and His purposes. By making prayer the foundation of all we do, we lay our burdens at the feet of our Lord. And when we ask the Lord for wisdom, He “gives generously to all without reproach” (James 1:5). We are asking for wisdom but also for a liberal harvest of souls.

Pray Along with Our Jews for Jesus Family

Will you stand with us during this special season of prayer? Will you join us in anticipation of the harvest to come as we proclaim the liberty and the freedom we have in Christ?

We’re calling each of our 20 outreaches capstones because they are the result of very carefully, prayerfully made plans to reach these specific groups for Jesus. We began some of our capstone outreaches this month and will roll out the rest in June and July.

Meanwhile, you can download our special Prayer Countdown to Pentecost in the spirit of counting the omer. I would love for you to pray along with all of the Jews for Jesus family as we seek the Lord for this harvest. If you have already been praying for this special effort, now you will know more about what and who to pray for. If you haven’t yet been praying with us, now is a very good time to begin! This month of prayer requests will take you all the way to May 28, the festival of Pentecost as it is recognized on the traditional Christian calendar.

We are so excited that without any planning on our part, a group called International Prayer Connect has declared May 28 to be a day of prayer for the salvation of Israel and the Jewish world! Their vision is to mobilize 110 million Christians to join in those prayers. Nothing like this has ever happened before. Hallelujah! Please join us, along with countless Christians, on May 28 to pray for God’s chosen people to know that true liberty is found only through faith in Jesus the Messiah. We can’t wait to see—and celebrate with you—how God will answer these prayers!