Prophet Receives Revelation About Israel From Deep Prayer Times
Romans 911—Time to Sound the Alarm! is not your average read. It has been written as a comprehensive study book for this era in the church to help all believers (Jewish and Gentile) move into the restoration of the one new man.
We call this message “The Reconnection and Alignment,” which restores the true identity of the church in and with Israel now that Israel’s remnant is awakening. The reconnection/alignment message prepares the church for her end-time roles and the coming of the Lord.
When you read the book, you may be surprised to learn how many apostolic and prophetic leaders are supporting and endorsing this new work. What’s different about Romans 911 is that it introduces us to a new aspect of eschatology for these days that has been hidden during most of the church age, but must now be entered to help pave the way for the last great harvest of souls and Israel’s salvation experience (Rom. 11:25-27).
One such prophetic leader is James Goll, who has been one of the forerunners in this area of the church, and whose prophetic intercessory experiences led by the Holy Spirit have helped to break up some of this ground and open the doors in the heavens for our Father’s plans to restore the fullness of His family to Himself on the earth. My interview with Goll was filled with so many great stories and spiritual lessons that I decided to break it up into two separate articles. This is the first article.
Goll and I have actually known each other since the middle 1980s, when I got saved in New York City. He used to visit our little church in the East Village of Manhattan, along with other spiritual leaders such as Bob Jones, Don Finto and Dick Simmons who were seeking revival in prayer and intercession in those days. It was here as a young believer that I soaked like a sponge from these wonderful men of God and truly learned how to touch heaven when I was praying. In fact, some of those early-morning prayer meetings were so impactful, it actually thundered in the natural at one of our high points in prayer. At another time, we sensed a major breakthrough in intercession to bring new church leaders into the New York City area, like David Wilkerson of Times Square Church and Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian, both of whom came after these prayer events took place to establish their ministries. Some of those prayer meetings are documented in two of Goll’s books, God Encounters and Praying with God’s Heart. And a good deal of the Israel piece is in another one of his books, Praying for Israel’s Destiny, which is a must-read.
Goll Receives the Israel Piece
What some may not know about James Goll is that foundational to his ministry is God’s heart for Israel, the Jewish people and then the overlapping principles of the one new man. In his early 20s, Goll was one of the young leaders coming out of the Jesus and Kansas City Movements in the Midwest area who were seriously impacted by Derek Prince’s teaching on Israel and the church. Derek Prince was one of the church’s foundational teachers on this subject who paved the way for many others to receive it (page 63, Romans 911—Time to Sound the Alarm!). And in those early days, Derek Prince became a spiritual father to Goll.
In 1975 at the Shepherds Conference at the municipal auditorium, Derek Prince spoke a message about Israel on Ezekiel 37:1-10 that pierced Goll’s heart, and he was never to be the same again. This was not one of those passing words, but one rather that stayed with Goll. It was life-changing for him, as the unveiling of the Israel piece is for so many of us when they first receive this awakening and revelation.
In seeking greater intimacy with the Father earlier in his life, Goll gave himself over to prayer and fasting, and in so doing, he quickly learned one of his most valuable lessons from the Lord. He quotes, “If you want to be close to the heart of God, then you want to be close to the people and the places that are close to the heart of God.”
Goll doesn’t remember from whom or where he heard that specific statement; however, he has carried its value for the rest of his believing life, especially the revelation he received through Derek Prince’s ministry: not just to pray for Jerusalem and Israel, but also for its people and the covenants they are connected to in the Father’s plans to redeem the earth.
Goll often states that Jerusalem is the only city in the whole Bible that all people of all times are commanded to pray for by name. As people did so, it wasn’t long before the Father increased the love in Goll’s heart for the state of Israel and the Jewish people. But there was a process here for him to receive this revelation that we both agreed on in our discussion was highly significant to point out, especially to the emerging generations. Because one can read the Word and still have blinders on. Then we can miss the greater depths of what is actually in Scripture, which is certainly true when receiving the Israel piece, which many are still blinded toward in the church at large.
Spirit and Truth
First, this was an impact through the Word of God, the Bible that became revelatory. It was a logos (word) that became a rhema (living or spoken word in the Spirit), a word-encounter under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, which was prophetic, through an anointed messenger—in this case, Derek Prince. So when Goll received the messenger, he also received the message. And when he honored the word, he also received the revelation that is in it.
This is so important for younger believers today, who are looking for too much of their revelation, insight and direction from the Lord from spiritual or prophetic sources without soaking in the Word of God first, and then missing that balance that Yeshua/Jesus emphasized to us between Spirit and truth (John 4:23-24).
As prophetic a person as Goll is, and as powerfully as he moves in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, he will be the first to tell you that the Word of God always comes first. He says, “They can encounter the Word of the Lord and the Lord of the Word!” In reality, the two go hand in hand. The Word first and then the Spirit that brings it to light, and the two work in tandem with each other. Goll’s destiny was shaped in both, as the Lord also called him to prayer and this balance that always needs to be kept in check through our walks with the King.
Very early on in Goll’s life, he talked with God, and God would talk to him. He went on long prayer walks where this type of communication was totally natural to him. Goll also had a praying mother who had an amazing impact on his life. One time after school, he was looking for his mother, but she wasn’t home, and he immediately knew where she was: in the Methodist church praying on her knees, crying out for her children’s lives. Even as Goll was describing this in our interview, he was weeping with these memories of his mother’s earnest supplication.
Goll was marked at an early age through his Mother’s prayer. God bless all of those praying mums and dads for their children’s lives and destinies. Nothing happens without prayer, a message we must reinstate into the family of God during these days as our number one priority. Goll learned early on that prayer time spent with God was not time wasted, but rather, the most effective time used. He says, “Some people say prayers, some people pray, and some people’s lives become prayer.” This has always been Goll’s goal in life: to become like a prayer in his walk with Yeshua/Jesus.
Goll believes that putting these two principles together—the reading and mediation of God’s word, coupled with a life in prayer—laid the correct foundation in his walk to receive the revelation of Israel’s spiritual restoration (and all that it would mean to the body of Messiah/Christ during these end of days), because through these principles and discipline, he was naturally closer to the heart of God. Goll really emphasized this point in our interview, and that the power for the front comes from the back in those committed quiet times in the Word, in prayer and in intimacy with our Lord, and nothing can replace them.
If we want the fire at the front of our ministries, it most definitely comes from the back room and the discipline needed to be regular and consistent in these places.
Now that these principles have been established, in our next article, we will revisit some of Goll’s most powerful testimonies in prayer and intercession for Israel and the church. Stay tuned! {eoa}
Listen to the podcast below to hear James Goll teach on how to have a deep prayer encounter and what to do when you’re in a season of waiting!
Author/speaker Grant Berry, founder of Reconnecting Ministries and Messiah’s House Messianic Center, trumpets his new book, Romans 911—Time to Sound the Alarm! Grant is a Messianic believer in Yeshua, Jesus, and is promoting a new message into the body of Messiah, Christ, during these last days, known as “the reconnection.” This is a new term used to describe the reuniting and full restoration of Jewish and Gentile believers into John 17 unity into the one new man now that Israel’s awakening is upon us. This spiritual transaction has been unseen during most of the church age but is now most vital for the church to move into for God’s end-time plans. It is a power key to the last great revival and final outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the earth. For more information and a special offer on Romans 911, please visit reconnectingministries.org. Fo
