2 Corinthians 10:1
Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.
*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 2107
Desire: good pleasure
From the Greek word 'eudokia' (pronounced yoo-dok-ee'-ah): what seems good or beneficial to someone.
2 Thessalonians 1:11,12
Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power,
that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Colossians 1:9-12, specifically verse 9, which brings us to why we pray for the salvation of others.
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
(v13,14) He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
Isaiah 45:22
Look unto Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth: for I Am God, and there is none else.
We pray for your salvation through Jesus Christ. We pray for Israel to know the salvation of God through His Lamb who paid the penalty for sin, once and for all (Hebrews 7:25).
Isaiah 59:16
He saw that there was no man; He was amazed that there was no one to intercede. So His own arm brought salvation, and His own righteousness sustained Him.
Romans 5:10
For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!
Romans 8:34
Who is there to condemn us? For Christ Jesus, who died, and more than that was raised to life, is at the right hand of God--and He is interceding for us.
1 Corinthians 1:21
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
Hebrews 2:9
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.
It is not enough to have the 'heart's desire' for someone's salvation. We can have hopes, wishes, and dreams all day long. But unless we're willing and obedient to put in the effort and time to pray for that person's salvation, hope is rendered useless on our part.
And so we pray, as Paul prayed for the people in his Israelite heritage. He knew they were zealous for God (2 Corinthians 10:2), but their knowledge of God's plan of salvation was lacking. Having believed the Lord for his own personal salvation, Paul now seeks that all Israel may know this joy which he himself has found in Christ Jesus.
As, too, we should have an urgency in our spirit to pray for Israel's salvation. For they are God's elect, the people God set apart for Himself, taken out of all the tribes of earth because they had a heart to worship Him.
You may ask, 'What does it mean to be God's elect'? Simply put, elect means chosen. God called Abram (Genesis 12:1), gave him promises (Genesis 12:2-3) and Abram acknowledged God as Lord (Genesis 12:4).
When God calls and we respond to His call, acknowledging Him as our Lord, we become His people. Genesis 28:10-22 tells us of Jacob's first meeting with God, where God called him, gave him promises and Jacob acknowledged God as Lord (v21).
God Changes Jacob's Name to Israel
Genesis 32:24-32 gives us the history of how Israel got its name. They are the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But only the seed receives the blessing of salvation, not the descendants. So we pray for the descendants (the bloodline of Israel) to become the seed (the bloodline of Christ).
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