A million Christians to pray for Jews, Israel on Yom Kippur

More than a million Christians worldwide are expected to pray for the Jewish people and Israel on Yom Kippur, which begins Sunday at sundown.

Mike Bickle of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City and Ron Cantor, a Messianic leader in Israel, spearheaded the call for prayer together, according to the Christian Broadcasting Network, CBN.

Each Christian is asked to dedicate one hour to worship over the 25 hours.

A similar event was held last May in honor of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, when "twos and threes met in homes. Twos and threes even met in cars with their cell phones; they met in dorm rooms. Some of them met in the church foyer" and prayed for Israel and the Jews.

Some 5 million people prayed in the spring, representing 12,000 ministries and 100 languages.

"We have got to continue to stand with Israel," Bickle said in a video, noting that Israel is "at a very critical time right now... We are hearing from our friends that things are heating up - politically, militarily, with Iran - and they really need us to stand with them right now."

More information can be found on Bickle's Isaiah 62 Fast website.

"Isaiah 62 speaks of God placing watchmen on the walls of Jerusalem," Cantor told CBN. These people "recognize that the gospel came to them through the Jewish people and will commit themselves to be watchmen for Israel, contending for her salvation."

Proselytizing to Jews?

Cantor is considered controversial in Israel since he actively tries to share Christian messages with Jewish people to convert them, including running the country's only 24/7 Hebrew language Christian TV channel.

However, this prayer call does not appear to be for Jewish conversion, as it only explicitly mentions non-Jews coming to faith.

Prayers from Kansas City and Israel will be broadcast live on GOD-TV at 10 a.m. EDT, 5 p.m. Israel time on September 25.