Making of an Intercessor
May 15, 2007
by Ann Chick
I have been a prayer warrior for the Jewish people for about eleven years. Praying for Israel has brought me great joy. How God brought me to the place of praying many hours a day for Israel is a rather unusual story.
I grew up in a small town in “Middle America.” I had a much protected childhood until age eight. At this time, my family went through a great trauma resulting in our moving overnight away from the place of my birth. I was angry at having to leave my home and move in with relatives who weren’t particularly glad to see me and my parents. However, God was orchestrating the whole thing. He moved us into a neighborhood which had many Jewish residents. My first friends in the city were Jewish, including the two kids who lived next door. We moved in just in time for the High Holidays. Since I didn’t even know what a Jewish person was, I marveled at the celebration my neighbors put on for Rosh Hashanah. I was impressed by their sober repentance during Yom Kippur. In fact, through these Jewish friends and neighbors, I began to learn Who God really Is, much better than I’d ever learned it through church.
The student body of my new school was close to 70% Jewish. At holiday time, the non-Jewish kids had fun since the Jewish kids were excused from school and no serious learning took place during this time. Though many of my Jewish friends were secular, they were happy to explain the meaning of the holidays and eager to invite me over to experience such wonders as gefilte fish, latkes and borsch with sour cream! I experienced great love in the homes of my Jewish friends. It wasn’t hard to realize that they had been raised with the love of God in their hearts — even those who only went to synagogue a couple of times a year.
When my mother died, Jewish friends took me into their homes and hearts. I moved in with a Jewish family who had become believers in Yeshua. My best friend in high school taught me the meaning of Shabbat when she invited me over every weekend for an exquisite deli feast, purchased before sundown on Friday. It seemed this Jewish community was returning the blessing for the many Jewish children protected from the Nazis in non-Jewish homes during World War II. Jewish families literally raised me through my school years. They not only taught me about Jewish culture and religion, but above all, about the nature of the loving God many of them knew so well.
Long after I completed high school and moved away from this Jewish community, I was walking and praying one day shortly after accepting Jesus. It was a beautiful sunny day, with not a cloud in the sky. I looked down, and at my feet I saw a perfect circular rainbow. I knew this was a symbol of the promises of God, and also a reminder of the circular rainbow around His Throne. The Spirit of God began to bring to mind each Jewish friend in my high school class. As I remembered each name, I began to weep, and lifted each one to the Lord as He brought them to mind. I knew with certainty that praying for Israel and the Jews was what the Lord put me on earth to do. I realized that despite all the difficulties of my childhood, the Lord had engineered my life so I would become an intercessor for Israel.
My Jewish friends have been a great source of revelation to me about the character, the ways, and the love of God. How could I not be desperate for them to know Yeshua, their real and only Peace? I understand Paul’s longing in Romans 9:3, and I share his hunger to see Israel know that Yeshua is the Messiah and King they have been seeking so long. I praise God that the ministry of Messianic Vision is gaining strength every day, boldly confronting Jewish people with Who Yeshua Is. It is natural for me to pray for Messianic Vision just as I pray for Israel. May God ensure that Sid Roth and Messianic Vision encounter more open doors for sharing the gospel with Jews everywhere. May God pour out fresh provision, revelation, and anointing on this ministry that is so faithfully carrying out the desire of His heart!