And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke you, O Satan; even the LORD that has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spoke to those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And to him he said, Behold, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you, and I will clothe you with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair crown upon his head. So they set a fair crown upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by.

Zechariah 3:1-5

We thank the Lord that He has taken away our filthy garments and we pray that He will soon do the same for Israel!

1. The burden of the word of the LORD in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest there: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the LORD. And Hamath also shall border there; Tyre, and Sidon, though it be very wise. And Tyre did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets.

   Zechariah 9:1-3

   The Golan Heights seem to be coming back to the table of "peace". According to a report, Netanyahu has sent word through French president Sarkosy that he is willing to start negotiations again with Syria as soon as possible. A stand must be taken on behalf of the Golan issue and there must be a declaration that it will forever be Israel's. We prayed:

   • Thank You Lord for the Israelis that do live there.

   • Please don't allow the Golan to be chopped up and given away.

   • Move on Netanyahu, Lord, so that he would not be tricked into selling that which is not his to sell.

   • Thank You for returning the Golan to us in 1967.

   • Let there be an understanding in Israel's government that there is nothing to be gained by giving up the Golan.

   • We ask for Your mercy in the situation what ever that may be.

   • Thank You that the Golan is an expression of Your promises being fulfilled to Israel.

   • Let there be a popular outcry by the Israelis against an sort of deal concerning the Golan.

   • May the sacrifice of the soldiers who fought and died to take the Golan in 1967 be remembered and honored.

   • Let it be clear to everyone that we cannot give up this vital source of water for this nation.

2. PM Netanyahu met with President Obama and President Sarkosy over the last week. The content of those meetings has been largely kept a secret for reasons we do not know. We need to pray for PM Netanyahu so that he would be protected from the immense pressure that comes from the rest of the world. We prayed:

   • Allow us, through prayer, to lift up his hands when he is weary the way Moses' hands were lifted up.

   • Let him remain firm in what he knows to be true.

   • May he know how and when to act appropriately.

   • Place men and women around him to strengthen him in this difficult time.

   • Allow him, Lord, to discern which voices he should listen to and which voices he should not.

   • Provide him with the rest he needs so that his mind may be focused.

   • Lord, let Netanyahu realize that short term popularity is fleeting. Let him see the need for good, long term decisions no matter what the cost.

   • Bless his home, and may it be for him a refuge from the storm. May his family be a constant support for him.

   • Please give him a greater awe and reverence for what You want to do here. Let Your Word come alive in His heart.

   • Let him see clearly the hearts and intentions of our enemies.

3. Iran continues to play a great chess game and the world is going right along with it. The nations must awake to the global threat that Iran is. The destruction of Israel, for Iran, is merely a starting point. We prayed:

   • That God would send a shaking into the world so that it would wake up to the truth.

   • May clarity come concerning what Iran is doing and why.

   • If the world won't intervene, make Israel ready to act appropriately.

   • We ask for Your mercy because every nation in the region is in danger, including Muslim nations.

   • Please break the idol of "tolerance" that is unwilling to make the decision to confront evil.

   • May our enemies not be able to hide or blur their plans.

   • Bring the actions of Iran's "friends" to nothing.

   • Let the equipment break down that is being used to make the nuclear material.

4. The security of the Israel's Northern Border is always an issue here. Head of the IDF Gabi Askenazi said there are tens of thousands of rockets that have poured into Lebanon since the end of the Second Lebanon War. Lebanese officials are telling their people daily that Israel is going to attack soon. The media and political spin has already been put in motion. We prayed:

   • Give insight to the IDF so that it would see what is truly happening on the other side of the border.

   • If we are about to deal with the rockets, let it be a targeted and complete strike with no casualties or collateral damage.

   • We ask that the West would see what is happening here despite its excitement over the formation of the new government.

   • The Lebanese government's unifying factor is their hatred of Israel, so please Lord let this be exposed to the light.

   • Protect our troops from being kidnapped which will force Israel to respond.

   • Let our intelligence officers in Lebanon now be protected and effective in their jobs.

5. We again lifted up to the Lord the city of Jerusalem and its surrounding areas. Most of the world is not aware of the fact that Israel has stopped construction in most of Jerusalem, let alone Judea and Samaria. The construction in Jerusalem has stopped for fear of what the world might say to us.

   And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease. And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, From all places where you shall return unto us they will be upon you. Therefore, I set in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses. And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nothing, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work. And it came to pass from that time forth, that half of my servants worked, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the swords; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah. They which built on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands working, and with the other hand held a weapon. For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so built. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me. And I said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another. In the place that you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us: our God shall fight for us.

   Nehemiah 4:11-20

   We prayed:

   • Lord, fight for us! Allow us to be built and planted here.

   • The places that our Fathers bought are now the places being contended over the most. Let this fact be burned in the minds of our leaders.

   • Don't allow us to be paralyzed by the fear of man.

   • We ask that someone would "sound the shofar" here in this Land.

   • We pray that the Prime Minister would be bold in his relationship with the Palestinian Authority. Give him the courage to act in a way that is right and not necessarily popular.

   • No matter what Israel does, this nation has gained no popularity abroad. May we as a nation starting thinking about supplying for our own people and not about gaining popularity.

   • Open the door for many Jews to buy and build here in Jerusalem.

   • Have mercy at this hour and allow us to settle in our Land with a future and a hope.

6. We lifted our voices and prayed for the families of all the leaders in the Land (political and spiritual). This is the fundamental unit of any society and it is something the enemy desperately wants to break down. We prayed:

   • May our families be all that You have ordained them to be.

   • Give husbands the strength and wisdom to be the heads of the households.

   • We ask that peace would reign in the households of our leaders so that they could truly lead.

   • Turn back the attacks of the enemy on this basic unit that is meant to glorify You.

   • Bring wholeness to the families of our leaders.

   • Remove from the families the chaos that comes in as the "world" creeps in.

7. The European Union has started to take steps to become more federated. They will elect a president who will appoint a foreign minister as well as many other ministers. One other minister of key importance is a minister to help confront Anti-Semitism. As a result, the EU will become a much bigger player on the international scene than it has already become. We prayed:

   • That these new leaders would be godly men who would be favorable to Israel; especially the president and the foreign minister.

   • May the minister who is chosen to combat Anti-Semitism have a strong voice and be used to speak truth.

   • Don't allow this "unity" in Europe to be used as a weapon against Israel.

   • Cause Israel to find favor with this new government structure.

   • The Lord causes nations to rise and fall; May He direct the rise or the fall of this government in accordance to His Will.

8. The meteorologists are now saying that it is impossible to get all the rain we need in one rainy season. We are desperate for the Lord to work a miracle in our water situation. We prayed:

   • May You act in such a way that would confound the specialists.

   • Please be gracious to fill the aquifers and the Sea of Galilee.

   • Open up the heavens Lord and pour out Your rain on us!

   • We know one of Your blessings for this Land is the rain. Please bless this Land so that You would be glorified.

   • Cause us to be good stewards of the water You have given to us and will give to us.

Blessings to all of you from the IFI Team!