1. Praise:

   Shabbat's prophetic portion contains a promise of God to His nation Israel and it also applies to us who are grafted into Israel's olive tree in Messiah Yeshua: And I will be engaged [+ married] to you forever; yes, I will be engaged to you in righteousness, in justice, in covenant-love, in mercies, and…in faithfulness, and you shall know YHWH. (Hos. 2:19-20)

   • Lord God, we thank You that Your desire for people to know You in a deep, personal manner is the ultimately goal of the prophesied New Covenant (Jer. 31:31-34).

   • Abba, we rejoice that in and through Messiah Yeshua, we know You personally (Matt. 11:27).

   • Yeshua Lord, You are our righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30; Isa. 54:17b) and in Your righteousness we are able to come into God the Father's presence with great joy and boldness (Psa. 68:3; Heb. 4:15-16).

   • We bless You for Your eternal love to Israel, as well as to us (Jer. 31:3; 2 Tim. 1:9).

   • As Shavuot is celebrated this coming Sunday evening though Monday, we thank You, Lord Yeshua, for sending to us the promise of the Father – the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:32-33).

2. Government & society:

   Interceding for Israel's leaders, political and military, is having an impact as we see more making decisions like sons and daughters of Zion (Zech. 9:13a), despite the ire of the world. This is a great encouragement for us to continue to pray for them.

   • Lord God, arise and rebuke Satan's efforts to deceive both Israel's leaders and us (Zech. 3:2).

   • By Your grace, gift all of Israel's leaders with a love of the truth (2 Thess. 2:10-11).

   • God, use the intense pressure on these leaders to cause them to cry out to You (Psa. 50:15; 86:7).

   • Lord of lords, anoint Israel's current coalition to bring You glory (Psa. 115:1-3).

   • Lord God Almighty, raise up many more sons and daughters of Zion in Israel and let them replace the sons and daughters of Greece in all influential positions (Job 34:24; Psa. 109:8).

   • King Messiah, since Bibi Netanyahu is still Israel's prime minister, gift him divine wisdom to lead Your nation and clothe him with Your Spirit (Judg. 6:34; Psa. 23:3b;80:17; Prov. 21:1).

   • God, teach Netanyahu to look for encouragement in You and Your Word (1 Sam. 30:6; Psa. 61:2).

   • Lord of all, surround Bibi with godly advisors and let him listen to their advice (Prov. 11:14; 24:6), yet let Your voice have a greater impact on him than any others – including his own (Josh. 24:24).

   • Judge of all judges; use the coalition's desire to institute judicial reform to fulfill Isaiah 1:24-27.

   • Lord, shut the mouths in Israel's media who often distort what right-wing politicians or personalities say to make it sound full of hate and racist (Dan. 6:20; Eph. 2:2).

   • Lord God, if Maj.-Gen. David Zini is Your choice to be the new head of the Shin Bet Israel's internal security service, then remove all hindrances from his path and let it happen (Psa. 75:6-7).

   • Abba, we praise You for the excellent job Defense Minister Israel Katz is doing and ask for You to guard over his relationships with Bibi, Zini and IDF Chief of Staff Zamir (Prov. 8:7; Eccl. 4:12).

   • God of Israel, as those Haredi [ultra-Orthodox] who refuse military service read Shabbat's Torah portion – convict them that they are being disobedient to Your specific command (Num. 1:2-3a).

   • God Almighty, anoint more sons and daughters of Zion to be more influential on social media.

   • God of truth, erase the lies which have taken hold on some Israelis, including some hostage families, blinding them from seeing that their real enemy is Hamas – and not Bibi (Jer. 9:5; Eph. 5:6).

   • King Messiah, release Your truth and wisdom onto Israeli society to drown Hamas' lies (Isa. 59:19).

   • Messiah Yeshua, comfort Your nation (Isa. 61:1-3); heal all ex-hostages who are back home, as well as their families, of the intense mental and emotional trauma they still experience (Psa. 30:2-3; 147:3).

3. Operation "Gideon's Chariots,"

   the intensified military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, has begun. Yet US President Trump has asked Israel to hold back from fully unleashing "hell" on Hamas so that hostage negotiations can continue. Unfortunately, this man is already deceived! Hamas, like Iran, uses negotiations not to reach a "deal" but to stay in power. Yet God's "deal" is what needs to be signed, and that is for Israel to destroy modern Amalek, today's Hamas (1 Sam. 15:2-3).

   • God of Israel, as it appears that most of the world has forgotten what Hamas actually did on Oct. 7th, we ask for You to remember, for You to arise and remove its rule over Gaza (Psa. 34:6; Amos 1:6-7).

   • Lord God, expose the false pictures of starvation being produced by Hamas to blind the world to the real situation, which is their theft of food to refill their financial reserves (Isa. 59:14).

   • Harden Hamas' hearts to refuse the latest deal from Steve Witkoff, US President Trump's ME envoy, and use that to reveal to him what many in the Biden administration confessed once they were out of office, that Hamas is the main blockage to a ceasefire/hostage deal and not Bibi or Israel (Job 12:16).

   • Even as the IDF is being restrained, Lord of hosts we ask that You multiply what they are doing in a miraculous and powerful way (Psa. 44:4; Eph. 3:20).

   • Abba Father, as with Gideon, download Your wisdom to the IDF concerning new strategies and tactics that will surprise Hamas, divide it and defeat it (Judg. 7:16-18).

   • Lord of lords; renew the strength, courage and motivation of the IDF troops in Gaza (Isa. 40:28-31).

   • God of gods, if Israel allowing humanitarian aid to reenter into Gaza is not of You, then stop it; but if it is of You, then use it in line with Proverbs 25:21-22.

   • Lord God, thank You for the new Shin Bet chief Zini's stance against negotiating with Hamas over the hostages, and for his desire to see Hamas totally decimated (Ex. 17:13-16).

   • Lord, protect all living hostages during the fighting and set them free (Psa. 91:3-4; 124:7-8).

   • Abba Father, use this current phase of the war to make it necessary for Israel to fully possess all of Gaza once again (Obad. 1:17b; Zeph. 2:5-7).

4. Foreign relations:

   Ben-Gurion, Israel's first Prime Minister, is quoted as saying, "It doesn't matter what the Gentiles say; it matters what the Jews do!" This is as true today in Israel's foreign relations as it was in the 1950s. Israel must maintain the path God has ordained for it and must not be swayed by big, powerful nations and their leaders – whether they are enemies or allies.

   • In line with Psalm 82:8, we pray, Arise, God, judge the earth: for You shall inherit all nations.

   • Almighty, since You have placed today's world leaders to their posts (Prov. 8:15; Dan. 2:21a), we ask You to use them, like You did with Pharaoh, and Cyrus, for Your name's sake (Rom. 9:15-23).

   • Lord Almighty, arrange Israel's external circumstances so that Numbers 23:9b is ultimately fulfilled.

   • Also, God, show Israelis that You forbid them from being like any other nation (Ezek. 20:32-38).

   • Abba, use Trump's tendency to speak tough, but carry a soft stick, to show all Israelis, especially its leaders, that no matter how much of a friend he is supposed to be, no man can be trusted (Jer. 17:5-6).

   • Anoint Bibi when dealing with Trump to know when to bend, but not to break (Psa. 17:4-5; 141:3).

   • Creator God, You told Moses that You created man's mouth and You teach Your messengers what to say, so please do that as Israeli politicians and diplomats speak in the world today (Ex. 4:11-2).

   • King of Israel, stretch out Your scepter of authority over the UN and those of its outreaches who frequently curse Israel and silence them (Jer. 10:25; 30:20; Zech. 2:13; Matt. 28:18).

   • Messiah Yeshua, wake up believers, especially in the West, to warn their leaders not to curse Israel, but to be a true friend during its restoration (Num. 24:9b; Isa. 60:12; Zech. 12:9).

5. Internal security:

   Hosea 2:18 in the prophetic portion promises a wonderful future for Israel on its land. Yet how Israel will get there from today and how much mercy it will receive while that is in the process of being fulfilled, can be affected by our prayers (Ex. 32:11-13).

   • God, let Israel respond to the threats to recognize a Palestinian State from France, the UK, Canada, Malta, Saudi Arabia, and the UN, by extending its sovereignty over Your land (Lev. 25:23).

   • Abba, You are jealous over Your land (Ezek. 36:5), so we ask that You also will respond in such a way that these nations know that it is You dragging them into the Valley of Judgment (Joel 3:1-2).

   • Lord, lead believers in these nations to read Isaiah 60:12 and then to plead for mercy (Ezek. 22:30-31).

   • We praise You for the establishment, or reestablishment, of 22 communities in Judea and Samaria, approved by defense Minister Katz and Finance Minister Smotrich (Jer. 31:3-5; 32:41-44).

   • Since Smotrich said Israel's next step is to declare sovereignty, Lord hold him to it (Matt. 5:37).

   • Abba Father, use the arson-terror attacks that burn parts of Your land persuade Israel's leaders to extend sovereignty over all of Your land – for Your glory's sake (Ezek. 36:8-15; Rom. 8:28).

   • God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, restore to the Jews their biblical land deeds (Psa. 125:3): Hebron (Gen. 23:17-18), Shechem [Nabulus today] (Gen. 33:19) and the Temple Mount (2 Sam. 24:24).

   • Lord Yeshua, wake up Your Body to lift up a groundswell of intercession, asking You to fulfill Your promises to Israel – for Your name's sake – at this time (Psa. 87:2; 115:1-3; Prov. 3:12; 1 Thess. 1:3).

   • Commander of heaven's hosts, release Your angelic armies to battle against every spiritual power of Your/Israel's terrorist enemies in Your land (2 Kin. 6:16-17; 2 Chr. 32:7-8).

   • Abba Father, extend divine wings of protection over the IDF while it is fighting against these Arab terrorists throughout Judea and Samaria (Psa. 17:8; 91:4; 141:9-10).

   • Lord, provide all the intelligence Israel needs to stop all terrorist attempts (Job 12:22; Psa. 139:12).

   • Uncover and destroy all links between these terrorist groups and Iran (Prov. 15:3; Isa. 29:15).

   • Lord God, we bless You for always being awake to guard over Israel (Psa. 121:4), and ask You to also make that true for Israel's security guards at checkpoints and all other posts (Gen. 31:1-2).

6. External security – Middle East [ME]:

   US President Trump has plans for bringing "peace" to the ME through making "deals" – as if money will turn away fundamentalist Muslims from their god's command to conquer the world and slaughter the Jews. This simply will not work and it will impact Israel negatively. Yet as we have prayed for Israel to no longer trust in America, but in God, is this at least a partial answer to our prayers? Regardless, our God reigns and we are called to pray for His will to be done on earth.

   • Precious Lord, as Your thoughts and ways are higher than ours (Isa. 55:6, 8-9), please be very clear to guide us in intercession (Psa. 10:17).

   • Faithful God, bring Micah 4:11-13 to pass against all who hate You and Your nation (Psa. 83:1-4).

   • Lord God, provide Israel with precise actionable intelligence of its enemies schemes so that it can thwart them all, including Iran, Hizbullah, the Houthis, Turkey and Syria (Psa. 59:10; Prov. 15:3).

   • Commander of heaven's armies, we thank You that it has been reported that Israel's Iron Sling laser defense system has been in operation since late last year with excellent results (Psa. 18;14b).

   • We praise You that the Lebanese army, aided by Israeli intelligence through American mediation, is apparently destroying all remnants of Hizbullah in Southern Lebanon (Psa. 29:5; Isa. 2:12-13)!

   • Yet Abba Father, give Israel great discernment concerning the Lebanese government's mindset, in order to know what their real heart intent is towards Your nation (Job 28:11b; 34:21-22; 42:2).

   • Abba Father, the promised destruction of Iran's leaders (Jer. 49:38b) would be a huge mercy for the Iranian people, for Israel and for most other ME nations, so please bring it to pass quickly.

   • God, let the curses that Iran's leaders proclaim against Israel come back to haunt them (Gal. 6:7).

   • Lord of lords, may those in the US administration and in Congress who are strongly opposed to Iran maintaining any type of nuclear program be more influential with Trump than any others (Eccl. 8:11).

   • Lord, reveal the true heart intent of Syria's new president and his government (Jer. 17:10).

   • Expose Qatar's treachery to the Americans and let Israel see that nation as an enemy (Psa. 55:21).

   • Lord Yeshua, protect Your Body in the ME, and help them to grow numerically and spiritually, and use them greatly to impact their nations for Your glory (Jer. 49:38a; Matt. 5:13-16; 16:18b).

7. Aliyah:

   God's response to the Body of Messiah's intercession for all Israel to be saved (Jer. 31:7b) is to bring them home to their land (31:8-10)!

   • Lord God, we rejoice in being alive today to be Your witnesses as You gather Your people back home in fulfillment of Your prophetic promises (Jer. 30:8-10; Zech. 8:1-8).

   • We bless You for about 35,000 who have made aliyah since the Hamas massacre but there are still more Jews in the nations than in Israel, so we plead with You, to draw the rest home (Jer. 31:3)!

   • God of Abraham, speak to Your people still in "the captivity" that they are not in line with You and Your prophetic will for them at this stage in history (Deut. 30:3-5; Ezek. 39:28).

   • Lord God Almighty, let the eruption of anti-Israel/anti-Semitic acts, especially in the West, push Jews who never considered making aliyah to immigrate to Israel (Jer. 16:16).

   • Abba, chase home whole families and communities together (Ex. 12:37-38; Jer. 31:3-5).

   • Lord, bring home Jews with practical, as well as medical and scientific, skills (Neh. 4:16-18).

   • God, if Jews resist Your drawing – drag them out by Your angels (Gen. 19:15-16; Acts 12:7-11).

   • Lord, teach Your people the lesson of history that when Jews lived in gentile nations, a time would come when those nations could not, or would not, protect them (Deut. 28:37, 64-67; Psa. 137:3-4).

   • Show Jews that while Israel is not 100% safe, it is safer than staying in the nations (Psa. 121:3-4).

   • Almighty God, block the influence media has over Jews by how they report – and distort – the news from Israel, which too often causes Jews to fear making aliyah (Num. 14:9).

   • Show Jews who want to make aliyah where to obtain or find all the needed paperwork (Psa. 23:1-3).

   • Lord God, prepare Israel to receive with joy a massive influx of Jews coming home (Jer. 31:8-9).

   • God of Israel, replace any bureaucrat in Israel's Interior Ministry and the Jewish Agency who is lukewarm about aliyah, with those who, like You, are zealous for Zion (Zech. 8:1-8).

   • Lord, let believers see that Isaiah 43:5-6 calls them to co-labor with You to bring Jews back home.

   • Lord God, hasten the day when Ezekiel 28:25-26 comes to pass – and we see the aliyah combined with the destruction of Israel's enemies, leading to all Israel being saved.

8. Salvation:

   In Acts 2, on Shavuot, which begins this coming Sunday evening through Monday, 3,000 Jews were saved. According to Jewish teaching, Moses received the Ten Commandments on Shavuot, which is fairly accurate timewise in scripture, so it was also the day when 3,000 Jews were killed by the Levites for leading the rest of Israel to worship the golden calf (Ex. 32:26-28).

   • Lord, while we have a partial fulfillment of Joel 2:28 in Acts 2, we are asking for the completion today and for all Israel to be saved (Rom. 11:26).

   • Abba, impart dreams and visions of Messiah Yeshua as He is today to Your people (Rev. 1:9-18).

   • As Your people study the Ten Commandments, convict them of how impossible it is for any person to truly keep them, and then move them by Your Spirit to cry out to You for mercy (Eccl. 7:20)

   • God of Israel, remove the partial blindness that You put on most Jews from Messiah Yeshua's day until now, and reveal the true Messianic King to them (Isa. 45:15; Rom. 11:25-26).

   • Messiah Yeshua, show born-again gentiles that Romans 1:16 and 11:11 are still valid and true.

   • Abba Father, by Your Spirit and through Your grace, save Holocaust survivors and their families; survivors of terrorism; all living hostages and their loved ones; IDF soldiers and their families; loved ones of soldiers killed or wounded; widows, widowers, orphans; rabbis in Israel and exile; Israeli politicians, judges, lawyers, diplomats; Jewish university students in Israel and in exile; professors, teachers, medical personnel; Jews on their death beds; Israeli media personalities, tour guides and archeologists; Israelis living in exile; Jews who have recently made aliyah; Jewish hippies, LGBTQ+ and new agers; Jews in Iran, Turkey, Ethiopia, India, and China; Spanish and Portuguese speaking Jews; and unsaved loved ones of Messianic Jews.

9. Body of Messiah:

   To pray in agreement with the Father's will today, we need to see Him preparing the way for His Son's return. The focus of that is interceding for the good news of Messiah Yeshua to circle the globe, as well as for Israel's restoration to its land and to its Messiah (Zech. 12:1-10, 14:1-4; Matt. 23:39).

   • King Messiah, for the above to occur in Your Body, please burden our brothers and sisters to read and study all of Your Word – including Leviticus (Psa. 119:105; Eph. 5:26)!

   • Lord God, gift Your Body with elders who teach and preach from all of the Word, (Acts 20:27), and who openly declare Your eternal love for, and covenant with, Israel (Deut. 7:6-8; Jer. 31:35-37).

   • Good Shepherd, remove all elders who refuse to do the above (Ezek. 34:10; John 10:10-12).

   • Lord God, by Your Spirit teach believers the biblical connections between aliyah, Israel's salvation and Your Son's return in glory (Psa. 53:6; 147:2; Jer. 31:1-10; Zech. 14:1-4; Matt. 23:39).

   • Lord Yeshua, burden the Body to intercede for Israel to possess its possessions (Obad. 1:17); for all the Jews in the nations to come home (Isa. 43:5-7) and for all Israel to be saved (Rom. 10:1).

   • Lord, let the Body ask all of this for Your holy name's sake (Psa. 115:1-3; Luke 11:2).

10. IFI:

    It is exhausting to obey Yeshua's directive on prayer as found in Luke 18:1. Yet we try to do that and trust in His grace – and your prayer support – to see us through. Thank you once again.

Shabbat shalom, and blessings from Zion

Chuck Cohen, for the IFI team

Psa. 121:5-8