On a beautiful fresh morning in Jerusalem, we gathered together with praise, starting in Psalm 34:
“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together!
I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears…
…When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit…
…Evil shall slay the wicked; and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
The Lord redeems the life of His servants; none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.”Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Psalm 103:1You Lord are the only one who is worthy to receive glory, honor and blessing. (Revelation 5:12) Thou art worthy, O Lord!
You are Lord of hosts (armies) (Psalm 46:7)
My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody!
Psalm 57:7Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let Thy glory be over all the earth!
Psalm 57:11Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His footstool— He is holy.
Psalm 99:5Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods?
Exodus 15:11
Israel’s Government – in recent days there has been intense activity as well as more intense media speculation surrounding reorganization in the government. Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party is to join the government with Liberman (who has very limited military experience) becoming Defense Minister. Current Defense Minister, Moshe Ya’alon is to be offered the job of Foreign Minister. Old enmities are being smoothed over while new ones are being opened up. It has all appeared very messy.
He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.
Daniel 2:21Put the right people into the right offices.
Lord, bring these new appointments into Your order.
Cause Your Holy Spirit to hover over the chaos and bring light and unity.
You see the heart of man. Come with Your light and truth!
Bring an unusual healing and unity with wisdom from on high with no betrayals or back-stabbings.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 9:10Work in the hearts of Liberman and Ya’alon and all those involved in changes of role that they may fear You, seek Your wisdom and desire the best for the nation.
Align the government of Israel with Yourself and with Your purposes. May they understand that they are Your representatives.
Give us a government which is righteous and honoring to You.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
(James 4:10) May they humble themselves before You, so You don’t need to humble them.Remove the veil and save them, O Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:13-16)
Peace Initiatives – Two significant moves have been taking place in recent weeks intended to bring a two-state “solution” to the impasse between Israel and the Palestinians. The plan put forward by France has been postponed because the Americans were busy. The Egyptian initiative may have been derailed by the appointment of Liberman as Defense Minister.
We thank You, Lord for anything which comes against an ungodly division of the land You have entrusted to Your people.
Thank You that the planned conference called by the French has now been postponed.
Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision.
Psalm 2:1-4The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.
Psalm 33:10Our attention is drawn to the tragedy of yesterday’s crash of the airliner travelling from France to Egypt. What are You saying Lord? Are You perhaps withdrawing Your hand of protection as a warning to nations whose leaders are publically seeking to oppose You by dividing Your land? Give us wisdom, Lord!
Bring Your comfort to those who are mourning in France and in Egypt.
Wake up Your people in France and Egypt, and give them boldness and wisdom to speak out on behalf of Your purposes.
Thank You for Your plans to make Egypt one of three with Israel and Assyria. (Isaiah 19:24) and You have called,
Blessed is Egypt My people.
(Isaiah 19:25)
Security of Israel’s borders – we are constantly beset by rumors of threats from one or more of our hostile neighbors.
Lord protect the Gaza border from Hamas and also the alleged infiltration of ISIS into the Gaza Strip.
Protect us from Hezbollah in Lebanon and in Syria.
Put Your wall of fire around every border of Israel and set Your angels there with drawn swords. You are the Lord of hosts.
For I,’ says the Lord, ‘will be a wall of fire all around her [Jerusalem], and I will be the glory in her midst.
Zechariah 2:5Make our security forces alert and ready for every eventuality.
Give anointing and wisdom to Liberman as and when he takes on the job of Defense Minister.
Keep our enemies occupied with fighting each other so they don’t have time to bother with attacking us.
Give courage and protection for those living on or close to our borders.
IDF – Some of the IFI leadership have children who are either in the IDF or on call for regular reserve duty. This gives momentum to our prayers and can equip us to pray into things which are not generally visible.
Lord help the IDF to bring good administrative order especially where there is a constant turnover of personnel going through their years of compulsory service.
Help them to organize good processes of record-keeping and updating.
Smooth the many and frequent handovers of authority.
Restore the sense of honor to serve the nation of Israel. May those who acknowledge You recognize that they are serving You as they serve in the IDF.
Rebuild a healthy patriotism in the nation.
Bless all those who are preparing to go into the IDF for their compulsory service and those preparing to come out after their service is completed.
Aliyah
Thank You that You are gathering Your people from the North, from the South, from the East and from the West. (Psalm 107:3)
Let Your people in the nations distinguish the truth of Your message to return home from the lie telling them to remain in exile.
Let them see the signs of the times and recognize that they no longer have a safe home in the lands they have been scattered.
May they open their eyes to the implications of the B.D.S. movement.
As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day.
Ezekiel 34:12Lord, please seek out Your sheep wherever they are, isolated individuals as well as large communities.
May Israel’s government keep its promise to bring all the remaining Jews home from Ethiopia.
Let the government and the nation open its doors wide for Aliyah.
Convict Your people by the power of Your word.
Shepherds in the land – we prayed for the leadership of the Body of Messiah in Israel and the raising up of new leaders.
Give unity among the leaders of the Body that they may be of one heart and mind and have discernment to protect their flock from all deception.
Give them grace to raise up and mentor a new generation of leaders.
Where any are jaded or tired restore them to their first love. (Revelation 2:3-5)
And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh.
Joel 2:28, Acts 2:17Pour out Your Spirit on those You have called to leadership in Your Body in Israel.
IFI leadership – Eliyahu and Chuck are still overseas. Please pray for them both to be refreshed and for Chuck as he has another week of ministry in England before he is due home.
Thank You, Abba Father that even as You give Your children rest, You, the watcher over Israel do not slumber nor sleep. (Psalm 121:4)
Shabbat Shalom from the whole IFI team!