Great is Your faithfulness…

The head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces, General Martin Dempsey, is in Israel to meet with Israel's leaders about coordinating activities. It is important that he hear what they are seeing and the clear and present danger that a nuclear Iran presents to this nation…

We prayed into the increasingly dangerous Iran situation. First, we asked God to move sovereignly and deal with that nation's wicked leaders and its dangerous nuclear program…

Both in Biblical and in modern times, God has used Israel as His weapon of war to judge nations (Jer. 51:20). He may choose that method again to thwart Iran's plans. If so, we need to be standing at our posts, praying for Israel to be ready and protected…

After praying for Israel's physical water situation - and we bless God that this nation is getting some good rain and snow, although we need a whole lot more - we turned our eyes to Israel's spiritual water situation and asked God for all Israel to be saved. As usual, we prayed for specific groups. Here are some of the folks we prayed for. May Messiah's Spirit direct you as to whom you should pray for…

The Palestinian Israeli 'peace' process is still being shoved down Israel's throat, even though the Palestinians will not talk unless Israel agrees with all of their demands before they talk! No, there was no mistake in that last sentence, but still the world forces Israel to talk and give more 'good-will' gestures and, and, and…

We ended by praying for IFI's International Prayer Conference here in Jerusalem which starts this coming Monday. We will try to provide you with video updates during the first week of the conference, but not during the week of the prayer tour. [We apologize that the video updates will only be in English.] The next Friday Prayer Alert will come out on February 10^th…

This week's prophetic portion begins with the following verse…

The north of Israel is receiving much needed rain and snow. The forecast is for wet weather to continue and spread over the rest of the nation during this weekend…

Another Iranian nuclear scientist was assassinated this week. Iran has threatened to get revenge both on America and Israel - 'the Zionist entity' - an not just in the Middle East, but globally. Israel has placed all of its overseas missions on high alert…

We continued to ask God to push Iran into making a major mistake in judgment so that nations will need to take action to stop this fanatical regime from obtaining nuclear weapons…

God's will might be to use Israel as His weapon of war in dealing with Iran's overlords. While not our first choice, it is how God has dealt with His enemies in the Middle East ever since He restored this nation (Jeremiah 51:19-24; Ezekiel 37:9-14; Micah 4:11-13)…

Under the auspices of the ME Quartet [the US, UN, EU & Russia], meetings between the Palestinian Authority and Israel have been held in Amman, Jordan. There are conflicting reports of the results. The PA leadership still insists that Israel agree with all of their demands before they enter 'real' negotiations. Of course, at that point what is left to negotiate? Since 'peace' will result in a 'Palestine' being created on God's land He has given to Israel for His glory, a successful conclusion of these talks is against His revealed will. So we prayed for them to simply fail and for the 'peace' process to die - once and for all…

We held up before the Lord some of Israel's leaders who have stood firmly against the tide of appeasement and compromise. Although not agreeing 100% with everything they say and do, these brave souls are standing in the gap for Israel politically before a very unfriendly world. There are more, but we list the following and may the Spirit guide you in prayer…

We also prayed for the divisions that are appearing in this nation - between secular and ultra-Orthodox, settlers and non-settler, left and right, rich and poor, Ethiopian and other groups, native born Israelis and immigrants, men and women. While these conflicts are going on in many other nations, this nation has a promise from God that He would make us one in His hand when we returned from exile and inhabited the mountains of Israel (Ezekiel 37:21-22)…

We ended by praying for IFI's International Prayer Conference starting January 23^rd…

We began by reading Psalm 46…

The Iranian situation has intensified - and not just with Israel. Iran has threatened to close the strategic Straits of Hormus, through which about 40% of the world's oil is exported. Iran has also threatened the US to not send any more warships into that area - an area in which one of the largest US Naval bases is located. On top of this, sanctions are biting deeply as the Iranian Rial has lost much value recently. So Iran is hurting and that makes its' current regime that much more dangerous. Now is the time to stop this nation from developing nuclear weapons. We prayed for Iran to continue to make mistakes in dealing with the international community…

We prayed that Israel would know what to do and when to do it - concerning Iran…

The Islamic noose is tightening around Israel. Egypt's elections have given to the Moslem Brotherhood - who are not moderate, regardless of what blind Western statesmen say - the right to form the next government. Islamic fundamentalists are also in charge of Tunisia and are on the rise in Libya and Syria. We prayed for Israel to watch and be ready…

We were led to pray for the Body of Messiah here in the Middle East…

The top news in Israel this past week has been about an extreme ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect that is causing great division in the society because of their views of women, dress codes, and in many other areas. While this is just a small section of the Orthodox community, many secular Israelis and the media have reacted very strongly against the whole community. We prayed for unity - based on truth - to prevail in Israeli society…

This led us to pray about the division in the Body of Messiah. The unity we prayed for is that which is based on truth - not just a humanistic, feel-good, unity. And the truth that Yeshua wants our unity to be based on is the Word of God…

We prayed for an increase in aliyah, the return of the Jews to the land which God swore to give to our forefathers…

This has been a very exciting year prophetically. There have been political, physical, economic and spiritual shakings in most areas of the world. It is good to know that despite all the changes - our God remains the same! There are no emergencies in heaven…

As Paul encouraged us to pray first of all for those in authority, we stood in the gap for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin 'Bibi' Netanyahu…

Various divisions have surfaced in Israeli society. The one this week is between the ultra-religious Haredi and women. Last week it was between the settlers and the rest of the nation. And the division between those who want 'peace now' and those who see what a danger it is to divide this land - is always present. All this is besides the divisions that crop up in the Body of Messiah.
This week's prophetic portion (Ezekiel 37:15-28) encouraged us to stand against division in the land of Israel…

2011 has seen Israel's overall security situation become much more dangerous. The 'Arab Spring' has enabled Islamic fundamentalist governments to arise in several Middle East nations, like Tunisia and Egypt, with more to come, most likely Libya and Syria, very soon. Even Jordan is being challenged with this. Then there is Iran and its continued quest for nuclear weapons. As the Spirit of Islam hates Israel, none of this is good news. Already, some of the new governments have taken anti-Semitic stances against this nation, demanding a Palestinian state to replace the Jewish state. So 2012 will be a very 'interesting' year for this small nation - which, thankfully, has a very big God…

We next prayed about the Iranian threat…

Ultimately we trust in the Lord God of Israel to protect and defend this nation that He is in the process of restoring - for His holy name's sake…

The prophetic portion for the Shabbat of Chanukah week is Zechariah 2:10-4:7…

We began by praying for Israel's still critical water situation. The forecast is for rain this weekend - including snow over Mt. Hermon starting Christmas eve and continuing all Christmas day…

Israel is on a high security alert throughout the nation, as danger lurks on many sides. In the south Israel faces Hamas and other terror organizations in Gaza, as well as terrorists in the Sinai. In the north, there are threats from Hizbullah in Lebanon, and the situation in Syria is a real danger to Israel. We prayed for all of Israel to be prepared for the days ahead…

We then prayed about the Iranian nuclear threat hanging over Israel and much of the rest of the world…

The Palestinian Authority's Fatah and the terrorist group Hamas are holding more unity talks and this time it appears that they have a chance of being successful. The plan is to incorporate all the various Palestinian groups - most of which are terrorists - under the PLO umbrella. If this happens, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has already said the 'peace process' would be finished. After all, how should Israel negotiate with groups whose goal is to wipe it off the map and kill every Jew in the world! (http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/hamas_charter.pdf) And since the 'peace process' is based on the unbiblical 'land-for-peace' formula, we prayed for these unity talks to succeed…

The Chanukah/Christmas season is a wonderful time to press into God and ask Him for many of the house of Israel to receive their Messiah and Savior Yeshua…

We continue to pray for aliyah - the return of Jews from exile to the land of Israel…

In this past week, there have been some very troubling things happen in Israel A far-right wing radical group broke into a military base to do damage and harass soldiers. Later, this same group wrote the words "Nazi" and "price tag" on the wall of a check point. Finally, this group is said to also be responsible for the vandalism of some mosques in Judea and Samaria. The media is doing its best to lump all settlers together with this radical group. PM Netanyahu has had to move a little more left in some of his comments because of the actions of this group. If left unchecked, these types of occurrences could inflame the entire country and demonize the settlers; most of whom just want to build homes on the Land God gave them. This situation needs our prayers…

For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Ezekiel 36:24-27

The ultimate solution for the problem is salvation of the Jewish people. We turned our prayers to pray specifically for the settlers to come to know their Messiah, because of how much they value living in the Land of their Fathers…

With the upheaval the world saw in the Arab Spring, much has changed here in the Middle East. Most of us who were praying could see that this "democratic" challenge to Arab governments would result in groups like the Muslim Brotherhood coming to power. All the changes have put believers at risk in those countries. With more Muslim control, comes a crackdown on true believers who speak the Gospel. We took some time at this point to pray for their protection and encouragement in the face of increased persecution…

There have continued to be mysterious explosions in various facilities around Iran. The latest was in a steel mill which was working on a unique metal used in the fashioning of nuclear weapons. Strangely, it was reported that some North Koreans were killed in the explosion. We have no idea who is doing this or how, but we see the Iranian race towards nuclear weapons being severely hindered by it. Having said this, Iran is clearly continuing the push for nuclear weapons. We need to continue our prayer watch over this dangerous situation…

Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, great and small: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the LORD. And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book. And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the LORD their God. And all his days they departed not from following the LORD, the God of their fathers.

2 Chronicles 34:29-33

Prime Minister Netanyahu announced this past week that he was re-establishing a regular Bible Study in the Prime Minister's residence. This is something that Ben Gurion established as the first Prime Minister of Israel, but which was stopped years later. There has not been a bible study of this sort in the Prime Minister's home for many years. This is very encouraging to hear and we pray the Lord would bring much fruit from it…

We had a great start to the rainy season here in Israel, but we have had very little rain since. Israel is in desperate need of rain.

That you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Matthew 5:45

We need to entreat the Lord about this and ask Him for mercy…

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song. Let God arise, Let His enemies be scattered; Let those also who hate Him flee before Him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; As wax melts before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God. But let the righteous be glad; Let them rejoice before God; Yes, let them rejoice exceedingly. Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, By His name YAH, And rejoice before Him.

Psalm 68:1-4 NKJV
…

Security of Southern Israel

More rockets fell yesterday in Beersheva. We thank the Lord that there were no people injured We prayed…

Israel's leadership

The rockets were ostensibly a response to Israel's army killing of an important terrorist leader in a recent surgical strike - in which only those wanted terrorists who are targeted by Israel are killed. This is symptomatic of a more pro-active stance taken in recent months by the Israeli authorities in contrast to simply waiting for and reacting to terrorism…

US Elections

As America's Presidential Election campaign is getting into full swing we prayed for the role of Israel in this campaign…

Iran

In the past week a US drone, an unmanned, reconnaissance aircraft came down in Iran and is being shown off by the Iranians. This piece of equipment is the very latest in technology and its loss represents a major coup for the Iranians over the USA. In accepting the loss without any action President Obama gave a clear signal that he is afraid to enter into a conflict with Iran. This is, in turn, a clear message to Israel's leaders that we stand alone and we cannot expect any military action from Obama against Iran…

Benyamin Netanyahu

Our Prime Minister is under pressure from all sides. It seems that every week he needs a new strategy in order to handle a new shift in world events.

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

1 Timothy 2:1-4 NKJV
…

Syria

Over 4000 people have been killed during months of internal conflict between protesters and government forces. President Bashar al-Assad has threatened to attack Israel if military action is taken against him. If Assad falls this would break the link between Iran and their proxies Hezbollah in Lebanon. This would be of benefit to Israel. However, Assad could well be replaced with a Moslem Brotherhood regime in Syria which might well be much worse for Israel…

Aliyah

The Jewish Agency recently initiated advertising in the USA directed towards the Jewish community, challenging their assimilation into the US culture and encouraging them to make aliyah. This caused great offence to leaders in the Jewish community and such a reaction that Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered the cancellation of the advertisements…

International Prayer Conference Jerusalem: January 23^rd - 30^th 2012

This will be our 28^th annual prayer conference. We are seeking to encourage young people to participate in intercession and are willing to offer scholarships to enable those aged 18-30 to attend. In particular we want to offer these scholarships to young Israel believers so they can be taught and equipped for a calling as intercessors…

We continue to lift up our government which is under intense pressure. The former head of the Mossad Dagan is becoming more vocal by the day in his criticism of the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister. He is accusing the PM of being undemocratic and says that any military attack against Iran would be a huge mistake. In a time when Israel is threatened from all sides, voice such as his from within Israel can do great damage if left unchecked. Israel needs to be united and encouraged, not divided and made afraid…

Many have seen what has transpired over this last week in Iran. A mob attack and occupied the British Embassy in Teheran which has brought a strong response from Europe. Britain has already closed its embassy in Iran and thrown out the Iranian ambassadors in London. Other European countries have taken similar actions and are now threatening new tough sanctions against Iran. We have been praying for a long time for the Lord to deal with Iran. We continue our prayers in light of what has just happened…

There have been a number of explosions and nuclear and military sites in Iran. Israel is getting the blame (or credit depending on who you ask) for what is happening. We still need to fervently pray that God's Will would be done in the situation around Iran's nuclear program. If the Lord chooses to act sovereignly, or if he chooses to use Israel as His weapon of war, our prayer is the same. We pray that the nuclear program in Iran would come to an end so that Israel would not have to live in the shadow of an Iranian nuclear bomb…

There were several rockets fired across Israel's Northern Border from Lebanon this past week. No one expected this, but also no one was surprised by it. Israel's Northern Border needs continued prayer. Syria is in full civil war according to the UN. Over 4,000 people have died in the fighting and now there are reports of several from Assad's military defecting to the opposition. Despite the chaos, Russia finalized a weapons deal with Syria that would give Syria anti-ship cruise missiles. There is fear that these missiles will find there way into Hizbollah's hands. If that happens, Israel's ships in the Mediterranean could be targeted. The North needs our prayers…

The staggered elections in Egypt are coming to an end. The results are something that we all thought would happen. It looks like the Muslim Brotherhood has received a huge victory through this "democratic" election. Despite what the western powers want to believe, the Muslim Brotherhood is a radical Islamic group who is known to be the ideological father of Hamas. Needless to say this group hates Israel with a passion and this new government in Egypt can now put the whole region at risk…

Thus says the Lord GOD; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob. And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the LORD their God.

Ezekiel 28:25-26

We pray that You would fulfill Your Word and bring the Jewish people back to their Land through Aliyah…

We continue our prayer vigil for the government of Israel based upon 1 Timothy 2:1-3 which directs us to pray for our leaders. The pressure upon this government to bow to the world is immense and there is no way for anyone to stand firm in their own power. The leaders, especially PM Netanyahu, need the strength of the Lord and the clarity of vision they can find in His Word…

The events that have been going on in Egypt over the last weeks have been quite troubling. It looks more and more like the Muslim Brotherhood will come to power in the next round of elections. A fundamental Islamic government in Egypt could threaten the stability of the entire region. We need to keep watch in prayer and seek the Lord for His will in this situation…

The Iranian threat continues to be a major issue in the Middle East and the world. The world is proving once again that it does not have the will necessary to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons. Even if new sanctions are imposed, Russia and China have made it clear that they will continue their business with Iran no matter what. It continues to be clear that either the Lord needs to intervene, or Israel will be used as the Lord's tool of intervention…

The last week was a huge blessing to the Land of Israel. We had steady rain everyday for a week. We wanted to thank the Lord for His blessing of water, but we also need to continue our prayers that more rain would come. Israel is in the middle of a prolonged drought that continues to threaten our fresh water resources…

As in the rest of the world, there have been economic difficulties in Israel. Many people are finding it hard to live and feel like they are trapped with no way out. The government needs to know how to meet the needs of the people in this nation and also to know how to fix the problems in our economy…

This January marks the 70^th anniversary of the Wannasee Conference that was held in Germany. This conference finalized the implementation of Hitler's "final solution" to the Jewish problem. Anti-Semitism is on the rise again all over the world and there have been new calls for Israel's destruction from the leader of Iran. The Church needs to wake up to this reality. Apathy and indifference characterized the majority of the Church in Europe while this "final solution" was being implemented. There is a danger that the church is once again settling into an apathy and indifference to Anti-Semitism…

There seems to be an increasing polarization of the Body concerning the question of Israel. More and more, we are starting to see extremes in the Body when it comes to the scripture as it relates to Israel. The truth of the Word needs to overrule any polarization there is in the Body…

Thanksgiving

We gave thanks for the rain which has fallen in Israel in recent day causing floods in some parts of the country. Sadly the flooding is a result of inadequate drainage and storage of water rather than Israel's water shortage being over. We thank and praise God that He is on His throne; His kingdom is forever; He is the King of kings…

Iranian Threat

1. Amid abundant reports in the media of a possible attack on Iran we spent much of our prayer time focusing upon Iran and the threat to Israel. The American Defense Secretary Leon Panetta recently declared that a military conflict with Iran would ruin the economy. While there might be damaging effects resulting from a military conflict, the world's leaders also need to recognize the likely economic and other consequences of failing to attack Iran and prevent them becoming a nuclear power. Also they need to know what is more important if it's a choice between allowing Iran to destroy Israel and enduring some economic hardship…

2. Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak stated in a recent interview that he would probably seek nuclear weapons if he were Iran…

3. We prayed too for the continued "hidden war" - ways to undermine or delay Iran's nuclear programme. Whether or not a huge explosion last week at a nuclear facility in Iran was the result of sabotage we continued to pray that the Lord would use such events for His purposes…

4. Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani remains under sentence of death in Iran on account of having converted from Islam to faith in Jesus…

Gaza

Rockets continue to be fired into Israel from Gaza. IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz recently advised that another invasion of Gaza might soon be necessary and that this would need to be quick and decisive…

The Jewish Agency

The Jewish Agency was established to promote aliyah and building up the land of Israel. Recent changes have shifted the priorities with more of an emphasis on Jewish education to encourage Jewish identity in the diaspora. Recently there was a lack of $2 million in funding needed to bring some 900 young Russian Jews back to Israel which exposed this priority shift…

Economy

Israel's economy seems to have weathered the world economic storms relatively healthy. However, the Histadrut (Trade Union Association) is continuing to threaten a General Strike. Last week, praise God, the strike which was called was limited by the Labour Court to only 4 hours, but they are continuing to threaten further disruption; doctors are threatening to resign over their poor pay and working conditions; there is a recognized lack of affordable housing for people on lower incomes, especially in the cities. 30% of all wealth in Israel is owned by only 18 families. All these and other issues are prompting continued unrest and division…

Prayer Conference - January 23^rd to 30^th 2012