1. Praise:

   In Shabbat's Torah portion God commands Balaam to bless Israel despite the King of Moab having hired him to curse His people. Many of Balaam's sayings that God put in his mouth, have been used by the Jewish people in various different settings. Also, as intercessors, we often use what Balaam proclaimed in praying for Israel. They are also an encouragement to us personally. One example of a blessing for both Israel and us is Numbers 23:19: God is not a man that He should speak lies, nor the son of man that He should repent [i.e., change His mind]! Has He said it, and shall He not do it? Has He spoken, and shall He not make it good? (cp. Mal. 3:6)

   • Lord, Your faithfulness to fulfill Your Word over Israel and over us is a huge encouragement for us (Jer. 1:12), especially when we are confused and not sure what it is that You are doing (Isa. 50:10).

   • We praise You for making even a donkey talk when it comes to making sure Your people are not cursed, but blessed (Num. 22:28-30, 39).

   • Thank You God of Israel, for making man in Your image and not like the false gods of every other religion who are made in man's image (Gen. 5:1-2).

   • We bless You, God the Son, for humbling Yourself for our sake and becoming a man (Phil. 2:5-8) so that by removing our sins You cause us become sons and daughters of God (Rom. 8:14; 2 Cor. 6:18; Gal. 3:26; Eph. 1:5; 1 John 3:1).

2. Government & society:

   The God of Israel ordains who rules in the affairs of men (Dan. 4:17), and He tells us to intercede for them (1 Tim. 2:1-3). Therefore one of our major burdens is to pray for Israel's leaders, asking the Lord to turn them to both do, and declare, His will (Psa. 80:3, 7, 19).

   • Lord of lords, enable Israel's current coalition to bring You glory and show each one their great need to humble themselves and seek You in prayer (Psa. 50:15; 115:1-3; Prov. 29:23).

   • God, thank You that in the Torah portion, You cautioned Balaam about Israel, saying, You shall not…curse the people: for they are blessed. (Num. 22:12) Continue to bless them today, Lord.

   • God Almighty, promote many more sons and daughters of Zion in Israel and use them to replace the sons and daughters of Greece in many influential positions (Job 34:24; Psa. 109:8).

   • God of creation, we praise You for how You use Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu's study of history to turn him into a son-of-Issachar type of leader (1 Chr. 12:32).

   • Teach him Lord, to look for his encouragement in You and Your Word (1 Sam. 30:6; Psa. 61:2).

   • We thank You God for hearing our prayers and giving great boldness and confidence to Bibi during this past week's meeting between him and US President Trump in Washington DC (Prov. 28:1b).

   • Yet Lord, protect Netanyahu from a spirit of pride based on that, but let him recognize Your hand and give You the glory for being there with him (Psa. 31:20; Prov. 29:23).

   • Lord of all, give the coalition wisdom on how to recruit the ultra-orthodox into the IDF (Job 12:12).

   • God Almighty, reveal to all ultra-Orthodox/Haredi rabbis that You have ordained national military service for all of Israel's young men in the Torah itself (Num. 1:2-3; 26:2).

   • Lord of hosts, use whatever differences there are between Israel's political and military leaders to produce creative answers to problems and not further divisions (Phil. 2:2-3).

   • Remove the judicial handcuffs that hinder the IDF from fighting in a more biblical manner.

   • Abba Father, heal the released hostages completely – and save them (Psa. 103:2-6; Jer. 17:14).

   • Messiah Yeshua, bring comfort and closure to every family who has received back, or will receive back, the dead bodies of their loved ones (Psa. 23:4).

   • We praise You for IDF Chief of Staff Zamir's push for Israel to produce all of its own armaments so that it will not be at the mercy of any boycotts in a time of war (2 Chr. 12:24; 17:18).

   • Lord God, use Israel's construction industry as a tool for Your purposes (Psa. 51:18; 69:35; 147:2).

3. Foreign relations:

   God's foreign policy goals should also be ours. Yeshua was very clear as to what they are: May Your kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as in heaven (Luke 11:2).

   • Lord God, fulfill Psalm 82:8 quickly and be glorified throughout Your created world (Isa. 6:3).

   • Lord, if this is the time that the Torah portion's prophecy of Israel being a nation set apart is being accomplished (Num. 23:8-9), please aid us to not pray against that regardless of what it might entail.

   • As You declared through Balaam, Lord God protect Israel from all sorts of manipulation – demonic or man-inspired – that seeks to turn Your nation away from You (Num. 23:23).

   • Thank You for the support that Trump gives to Israel, yet do not let this huge change from the last US administration cause Israelis to trust in America rather than in You (Psa. 118:8-9).

   • Lord God, we bless You for raising up more sons and daughters of Zion and of Issachar in Israel's diplomatic corps today and ask for even more (1 Chr. 12:32; Job 22:21-22; Isa. 48:17).

   • Abba, give Israel's leaders and its representatives wisdom when dealing with the "sons of Greece" who lead most Western nations and their foreign offices today (Ezra 7:25a; Job 12:13; Dan. 1:17).

   • Teach Israel's representatives to speak Your Word when rebuking ungodly pressure (Jer. 23:29).

   • Lord, continue using Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and Minster of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli to speak boldly and truthfully about the controversial global issues which Israel faces (Isa. 2:3b).

   • Intensify Your protection and anointing on Israel's UN Ambassador Danon (Psa. 81:10; 119:13).

   • King Yeshua, fulfill Numbers 24:9b found in the Torah portion over the UN and of its anti-Semitic and anti-Christ branches (Isa. 8:9-10; 54:17).

   • Lord, show Western believers how to intercede for their nations' ties with Israel today (Ezek. 22:30).

4. The IDF's "Operation Gideon's Chariots" in Gaza is progressing. Right now, the IDF controls almost 75% of Gaza's territory. Yet IDF soldiers are still being killed, partly because of the care that the IDF takes to avoid doing anything that might harm the remaining 20 or so living hostages.

   • King Messiah, help us to intercede for this war to end in a way which glorifies You (Psa. 115:1-3).

   • Lord Yeshua, set Gaza free from demonic spirits and cleanse Your land (Num. 35:33; Psa. 10:16).

   • Abba, remove the influence of Qatar and its use of finances from influencing the response of Trump and his ME envoy Witkoff concerning their policies relating to Gaza (Ex. 23:8; 1 Tim. 6:10).

   • Lord God of hosts, forbid this war from ending with a ceasefire, but direct Israel so that it only ends with a complete victory over the Jew-hating murderers of Hamas (Psa. 44:4-8).

   • Thank You God that Netanyahu is holding his ground that there will be "no-Hamas-in-Gaza" on the day after – whenever, and to whomever – he speaks (Psa. 15:4b; Jam. 1:6).

   • God of Israel, increase Your angelic protection over IDF soldiers against explosive devices that have robbed the lives of many recently, and against kidnapping attempts (Psa. 32:7; 121:4).

   • Abba, impart Your plan to totally eliminate Hamas' underground tunnels to the IDF (Num. 16:31).

   • Almighty King, like in biblical days, rescue all the hostages, and remove them from being used by Hamas as human shields and as another weight on Israelis' hearts (1 Sam. 30:18-19; Isa. 49:24-26).

   • Lord Almighty, increase the division between Hamas and the various clans in Gaza (Psa. 129:5).

   • God of Jacob, do not let Israel allow any other nation or entity to rule over Gaza after the war, as You gave it to the tribe of Judah as a part of its inheritance (Josh. 15:1, 47; Judg. 1:18; Zeph. 2:5-7).

5. Internal security:

   We are praying for Israel to extend its sovereignty over more of its land this year (Isa. 54:2-3; Jer. 32:41-44). This will increase the security of Israelis and bring Israel in alignment with what God is doing with all of His heart and soul today (Jer. 32:41). And that in turn will release more of His blessings over His nation.

   • Messiah Yeshua, burden believers to pray for Israel to possess its possessions (Obad. 1:17), showing them that this is not political, but prophetic, and it is for Your glory (Ezek. 36:34-36; 37:14).

   • Thank You God, that last week in Washington neither Netanyahu nor Trump affirmed the "two-state solution" as the goal to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict (Lev. 25:23).

   • Abba God, show more Israelis that possessing the land is a biblical command which does not depend on what any other nation, NGO or world leader says (Deut. 7:1-5; Judg. 2:1-4; Psa. 105:5-11).

   • Lord God, thank You for the increase of the Jewish population throughout Judea and Samaria, and we ask for the same to occur in the Negev, in the Galilee and on the Golan (Isa. 49:19-20; 51:3).

   • 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 God, empower Israel's "Operation Iron Wall" against terrorist enclaves, especially in refugee camps under the Palestinian Authority [PA], to continue having great success in eliminating terrorist cells, exposing and destroying their weapons caches and manufacturing sites (Psa. 44:4-8).

   • God Almighty, aid Israel's efforts to block the PA from creating false historical facts on Your land, including by tearing down some of what the PA has already built (Num. 21:3).

   • Yet, God of Israel, preserve some illegal buildings that the EU had built for the Palestinians in Area C to be used as homes for Jews as they return and resettle Your land (Deut. 6:10-11; Josh. 24:13).

   • Almighty God, expose and thwart any Israeli-Arab terrorist plans against Israel (Psa. 34:16).

   • Almighty Savior, reveal the true heart intent of the Arab Sheikhs in the Hebron area who want to form an emirate under Israeli security control and reject any PA involvement whatsoever (Mark 4:22).

6. External security – Middle East [ME]:

   Iran's "ring of fire," which for decades they exerted massive efforts and wasted billions of dollars to build around Israel is gone. Hizbullah and Hamas are no longer serious threats and the evil Iranian regime is barely hanging on. While Israel still needs to be aware of what all of them are doing, it seems that the biggest threat today is Turkey under their egotistically Islamic leader Erdogan, and Qatar, the silent foe whom most of the West has not figured out yet. This is especially worrying as Trump views both Qatar and Turkey as vital US allies.

   • Lord God, fulfill Numbers 24:8-9 which is a word You also put in Balaam's mouth, and which ends with this warning: Blessed is he that blesses you, and cursed is he that curses you.

   • Almighty, thank You for seeing Micah 5:9 from the prophetic portion coming to pass at this time.

   • Lord God, anoint Israel's ability to gather accurate intelligence and to interpret the collected data correctly, and then to know how to respond (2 Kin. 6:12; Isa. 29:15).

   • Abba Father, we bless You that all Israeli jets have returned safely from their assignments ever since Oct. 7th, and ask for this genuinely miraculous protection to continue (Psa. 121:4; Isa. 31:5).

   • Lord of hosts, as Israel targets the Houthis, use it to strike a death blow to this last-remaining Iranian proxy who has not been greatly diminished in their ability to attack Your nation (Psa. 60:12; 68:35).

   • Lord God, Your 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 fulfill it quickly.

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

   • Raise up someone to warn Trump that any "deal" with Iran's leaders is useless as the Islamic tactic of taqiyya, lying to help Allah gain a victory, makes their promises, at best, unreliable (Prov. 26:24-26).

   • Lord God, reveal the true heart intent of Syria's new president and his desire to have at least a "cold peace" with Israel (Jer. 17:10)

   • God of the nations, forbid that Israel enters into an agreement with either Syria or Lebanon based on what the Trump administration wants and not on what is in line with Your will (Psa. 29:11).

   • Lord God, use these talks of de-escalation between Israel and Syria to weaken Turkey's influence in Syria and in the rest of the ME (Ezek. 29:15).

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

   • God, help both Israel and the US to also perceive Turkey under its evil leader Erdogan, as an enemy.

   • God, do not let the expansion of the Abraham Accords between Israel and other ME nations become bait in the enemy's trap for Your nation – but overrule the future of these accords (Psa. 124:1-8).

   • Sovereign Lord, reveal to multitudes of Muslims how helpless Allah is in protecting them from You and from Israel, and let their shame cause them to seek You (Est. 8:17; Psa. 83:16-18).

7. Aliyah:

   It is God's will for Jews to come home to His/their land as Israel's salvation is tied in to this (Ezek. 39:28-29). Yet today, faced with an explosion of anti-Semitism since Oct. 7th, still a majority of His people remains in "the captivity." Only God knows what will thrust them out of their deceptive "comfort zones," and we ask Him to do that, yet with as much mercy as possible (Isa. 54:7).

   • God of Israel, be glorified through the ingathering of Your people to Your land and then by their salvation in Messiah Yeshua (Zech. 8:4-8; 12:10).

   • Lord God, hasten the fulfillment of Ezekiel 28:25-26 and let us see the aliyah combined with the destruction of Israel's enemies, which then result in all Israel being saved.

   • God Almighty, turn Jewish leaders from fighting for a "right" to live in "peace and safety" in gentile nations to instead fighting for them and their communities to make aliyah (Jer. 51:9-10).

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

   • God of Jacob, for Jews scared of living in Israel in the midst of a war, show them that life outside of Israel today is also a war and the chances of gentile security forces laying their lives down to protect them is a lot less than Israel's security forces who already do that daily (Psa. 38:12).

   • Lord, set the Jews in Turkey, Iran and other anti-Israel nations free to return home (Jer. 16:14-15).

   • Abba, thank You for Israeli Minister of Aliyah, Ofir Sofer, who is clearing out some bureaucratic stones of stumbling from the path of Your people coming home (Isa. 62:10). More, Lord!

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

   • Lord Yeshua, show believers that Isaiah 43:5-6 tells them to co-labor with You to bring Jews home.

   • King Messiah, encourage believers to share with to their Jewish acquaintances of their need to return to Israel as soon as possible (Prov. 12:17; Zech. 8:16; Eph. 4:15a).

8. Salvation:

   Romans 11:26 states that all Israel will be saved! The context of "all Israel" is a remnant of His people (Rom. 9:27; 11:5; cp. Jer. 31:7). Prayer can increase that remnant as God does not want any to perish (1 Tim. 2:1-4). And so we pray for "all Israel" to be saved.

   • King Messiah, we ask that what Balaam said to Balak would be true today: [God] has not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither has He seen perverseness in Israel; YHWH his God is with him and the shout of a King is among them. (Num. 23:21) Let Your shout be heard among Your people.

   • Abba Father, cause many Jews to seek for that Star out of Jacob who is declared in the Torah portion, and lead them to Your Son, Messiah Yeshua (Num. 24:17; 2 Pet. 1:19; Rev. 22:16).

   • Since Your Word is alive, let it bring life to many ultra-Orthodox Jews as they study it (Heb. 4:12).

   • God, teach Christian "lovers of Israel" how to biblically provoke Jews to jealousy (Rom. 11:11).

   • Lord Yeshua, burden more gentile believers to cry out to You for Jewish salvations (Rom. 10:1-2).

   • Abba Father, by Your Spirit and Your grace (Zech. 4:6-7) save all living 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 severely wounded; widows, widowers, orphans; rabbis in Israel and in the captivity; Israeli politicians, judges, lawyers, diplomats; Jewish university students wherever they reside; professors, teachers, medical personnel; Jews on their death beds; Israeli media professionals, tour guides, archeologists; Israelis living in the captivity; 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. Thank You Lord.

9. Body of Messiah:

   It is imperative for believers to be familiar with all of God's Word in order to see and agree with what God is doing today. And as most end-time prophecy focuses on Israel – its restoration and salvation – as well as its enemies, knowing His Word guides us in praying in one accord with His will for His nation, despite the chaos in our world today.

   • Lord Messiah, restore the authority of all of Your Word to Your Body (John 17:17; 2 Tim. 3:15-17).

   • Lord, raise up mighty sons and daughters of Zion as elders in Your Body (Zech. 9:13; Acts 20:27).

   • May more of Your Body confess, whether in prayer or anywhere else, that which Balaam confessed to Balak: The word that God puts in my mouth, that shall I speak. (Num. 22:38) Amen!

   • Lord Yeshua, move on Your Body to pray for Israel to possess all of its land (Obad. 1:17); for all the Jews in the captivity to return (Isa. 43:5-7); and for all Israel to be saved (Rom. 10:1).

   • Please Messiah, do not let this very clear directive from Micah in the prophetic portion be lost to the Body today: He has shown you, O man, what is good, and what YHWH requires of you, but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. (Mic. 6:8)

10. IFI:

    Wars and rumors of war; earthquakes; famines and floods! All these are events that Yeshua said would occur before His return, and we see these in greater number and intensity today. In the midst of the chaos of today's headlines, we so appreciate your prayers for us to know how to intercede for Israel at this season. Thank you for that, your encouraging words and your financial support.

Shabbat shalom, and blessings from Israel

Chuck Cohen, for the IFI team

2 Thess. 2:16-17