The Holy Spirit Works in the Lives of Israeli Soldiers

This past Sunday, April 7, marked six months since Hamas terror operatives stormed into Israel, brutally massacred 1,200 men, women, children, babies, and elderly, seized more than 240 hostages, and bombarded major civilian areas with rockets. Today, 134 hostages remain in Hamas’ hands, and the widespread rocket barrage has lessened at times—but never ceased.

The rest of the world seems to forget the atrocities, rewrite the narratives, swallow Hamas’ lies, and circulate the mantras demonizing Israeli soldiers. May we remember their blood, sweat, and tears these past six months of putting their lives on the line so their homeland and hostages—and even the people of Gaza—might be free from Hamas.

Here are two soldier stories to encourage you.

A Soldier Saved—and Saved!

Oren* first connected with our staff on social media late last summer—several weeks before October 7. Although he grew up in an atheist family in the city of Sderot in southern Israel, he found himself increasingly questioning his beliefs about whether God exists. After starting his mandatory military service duty, he began reading the Tanakh (Old Testament) he received in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). He specifically mentioned reading the prophet Isaiah, and chapter 53 deeply touched his heart. He asked to meet with us and learn more about how this chapter of Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled in the life of Jesus.

One of our staff happily arranged to meet with Oren at the Tel Aviv Messianic Center. During the conversation, his face changed as he learned how the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus. He took notes and expressed delight when our staff member gave him a Hebrew copy of the book Isaiah 53 Explained by Mitch Glaser, president of Chosen People Ministries.

We met a few more times, and then October 7 happened. We lost contact with Oren for several weeks and were unaware of what was happening in his life. We prayed the tragedy of October 7 would not shake his new desire for faith in God, but instead, he would search the Scriptures, be filled with God’s light, and then pass along what he is reading to inspire other young people in the military during this difficult time. Little did we know how perfectly God would answer our prayers.

At the beginning of November, Oren reached out again. He explained how, due to recent events and his military service, he was unable to stay in touch. He also told us about how—somehow—during the initial days of the terrorist attack in southern Israel, he miraculously survived. Because he was saved from the attack while so many others were killed, despite the challenging circumstances afterward, his hunger for the truth about God continued to grow. He made an effort to read from the Bible, pray, and talk about what he read with the other young soldiers in the IDF with him. When the situation in southern Israel improved, he asked to resume meeting once a week or have regular phone conversations to deepen his understanding. We were happy to say yes!

During one of our meetings, we read together from John chapter 3. When he reached verse 16, Oren—according to his own words—realized the depth of Yeshua’s love for him. He asked our staff to pray with him to confess his belief in Jesus as his Savior. Soon, he began regularly attending our Messianic congregation in Tel Aviv. Now, Oren has expressed his desire to undergo water baptism, and we prayerfully plan to arrange it on his first day off from the IDF.

A Saved Soldier Saved

All our staff in Israel have several—if not many—personal friends who serve in various units of the Israeli Defense Forces. At one point, nearly 800 believing soldiers had been called to active duty during this war with Hamas. The current number rests around 600.

Over the past six months, we have been working closely with these soldiers to help provide the basic supplies their units lacked and the prayer support they needed. We also invite them to our Messianic center on their time off to rest, pray, sit back, talk, have coffee, take a nap, or whatever.

Gabi* recently came to visit some of his other believing soldier friends at our young adult Bible study in the Tel Aviv Messianic Center. A leader in his unit, respected for his integrity as a soldier and believer in Jesus, he has always been genuine and bold in talking with other soldiers about his faith.

He told us how, early in the war, the soldiers in his unit carefully watched how he reacted to the news when his younger brother was critically injured by Hamas in the north. Prayer and the Scriptures constantly gave him strength and wisdom.

Then, a few weeks ago, Gabi was sent home for a short visit with family—for which he was grateful. While he was gone, his commander and best friend was killed in a strike by Hamas. If he had not been sent home, he would have been right next to his commander like normal and would have died too.

On one hand, as a good soldier, he feels both grief and a sense of guilt for escaping death while his friend did not, and yet he also recognizes the Lord must have further work for him to do both as a leader in his unit and as a believer and ambassador for Messiah. Gabi asked for prayer now more than ever to lead wisely and to represent Jesus well.

Prayer Points

Amid these challenging times, pray for the Lord to empower believing soldiers to be:

• ready for battle (Psalm 144:1–2)
• prepared to give an answer for the hope within them (1 Peter 3:15)
• strong in the Lord and in the power of His might; armed in His truth, righteousness, gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:10–19)

Pray also for the Lord to enable our staff to:

• uphold these soldiers’ witness with prayer and encouragement (Colossians 1:9–12)
• wisely follow up with more Israelis opening up to the gospel than ever before (Romans 10:14–15)
• disciple well-trained leaders for future ministry in Israel (2 Timothy 2:1–3)

*Name changed for privacy