1. Praise:

   Both the Tanach [Old Testament] and the New Testament state that in the mouth of two or three witnesses truth is established (Deut. 17:6; 19:15; Matt. 18:16; 2 Cor. 14:29; 1 Tim. 5:19; Heb. 10:28). So when a verse is repeated, especially in one chapter, we should pay attention to it. An example of this is Psalm 107 where this verse is repeated four times: Oh that men would praise [+ give thanks to] YHWH for His goodness [chesed], and for His wonderful [+ marvelous] works to the children of men! (Psa. 107:8, 15, 21, 31)

   • Lord, truly Your chesed – Your love based on Your covenant commitment and faithfulness to us and to Your nation – is so beyond our ability to grasp that we can only bless You for it (Psa. 118:1-4).

   • God, we now see why one of the most frequent commands in Your Word is this: Oh give thanks [+ confess] to YHWH for He is good, for His chesed endures forever (Psa. 118:29; 136:1-3, 26).

   • Abba, thinking of what You did to save us by sending Your Son to die in our place and knowing that we would never have considered a God who would do that, we worship and praise You (Rev. 4:11).

   • Lord Yeshua, Your willingness to become a man and die on the accursed tree is another example of Your marvelous works towards us who believe – and we stand in awe of You (Rev. 5:12).

   • Almighty God of love, it is in Your chesed that You are restoring Israel to Your land and restoring Your people to their King Messiah (Jer. 31:1). Hallelujah!

   • Thank You that Your chesed runs after us all the days of our life (Psa. 23:6a).

2. Government & society:

   Israel's God decrees who rules in the nations (Dan. 4:17) and uses them for His kingdom purposes. He does this whether we see perceive or not, so we often question some of His decisions. Since His kingdom coming to earth is God's ultimate goal – both individually and in the nations, He asks us to pray for governmental authorities (1 Tim. 2:1-3). Therefore, we pray persistently for Israel's leaders that He would turn them, and use them for His glory (Psa. 80:3, 7, 19).

   • King Yeshua, rebuke Satan's attempts to deceive Israel's leaders – and us (Zech. 3:2).

   • Lord God, pour out Your chesed on Israel's government and society at this time (Psa. 25:6; 40:11).

   • Almighty Son of David, open many more doors for Israel's sons and daughters of Zion to enter and be influential, both inside, as well as outside, of Your nation (Prov. 25:11; Eccl. 12:10; Isa. 22:22).

   • As You did with Gideon, Abba let Your Spirit clothe itself with PM Bibi Netanyahu (Judg. 6:34).

   • Lord God, give him godly counselors whose advice he seriously considers (Prov. 9:9; 11:14; 24:6).

   • King Yeshua, be Netanyahu's "iron dome" against every mental, emotional, physical and spiritual attack that comes at him from both people and demonic forces (Deut. 33:29; Psa. 3:3).

   • God of history, we bless You for using Bibi's understanding of history to make him into a son-of-Issachar type of leader (1 Chr. 12:32).

   • Lord, use Isaiah 1:24-27 in the prophetic portion to remind Israel's leaders that judicial reform is of You – and then give them Your wisdom to advance this very quickly (2 Chr. 29:36).

   • Lord God, remove Israel's "daughter of Greece," anti-Bibi, attorney general today (Psa. 75:6-7).

   • King Yeshua, shield Israel's current coalition against both inside and outside pressures that try to manipulate them into making decisions which are not in line with Your will (Psa. 103:19; Prov. 21:1).

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

   • Abba Father, totally heal all of the released hostages – 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).

3. Foreign relations:

   For disciples of King Yeshua, His Father's foreign policy goals must also be ours. He was very precise as to what they are: May Your kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as in heaven (Luke 11:2). This needs to trump any loyalty to our nations – or even to Israel.

   • Lord God, You are in the process of manifesting Your kingdom on earth (Psa. 33:10-12; Isa. 55:8-9), and we ask You to help us keep this in mind as we intercede for Israel and the nations.

   • Abba, remind Israel's leaders of what former PM Golda Meir had said: "If we have to have a choice between being dead and pitied, and being alive with a bad image, we'd rather be alive and have the bad image." Amen!

   • God, enable Israel's leaders to hear Your voice louder than the voices of the nations (Psa. 29:3-9).

   • King of Israel let Your threat in Numbers 24:9b come to pass for all to see at this time.

   • Lord of creation; use Israel's circumstances to bring Numbers 23:9b to fulfillment.

   • God, open Israelis' eyes to see that You forbad them from being like other nations (Ezek. 20:32-38).

   • Almighty Ruler, watch over Your decree in Psalm 33:10-11 today.

   • Lord, give Israel boldness to remind Trump that for Israel's leaders it is "Israel first!" (Zech. 2:8).

   • King Messiah, remind Trump – and all others in the US and Israeli delegations – that while he sits in the White House, You sit on the White Throne as the ultimate Ruler and Judge of all (Rev. 20:11).

   • Lord, as many Western nations threaten to recognize a Palestinian state on Your land, turn believers in those nations to intercede concerning this backstabbing of Your nation (Ezek. 22:30; Zech. 12:9).

   • God Almighty, we ask You to speak to these threats that which You spoke in Isaiah 7:7: It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass!

   • Abba Father, if this Palestinian State campaign is actually Your way to fulfill Zechariah 12:2-3, then please guide us as we pray (Amos 3:7).

4. Gaza:

   After two years of fighting and negotiating, most of the time with at least one hand tied behind its back, Israel seems stuck. Although 200 hostages, alive and dead, have been recovered, many families of the remaining hostages, along with the perpetual Bibi-haters, demand Israel ends the war to redeem the rest [20 alive; 30 dead] even if it means Hamas remains in power. Meanwhile, most nations blame Israel for starving the Gazans, for committing genocide, or for any other lies these Jew-haters hear despite the fact that Hamas and the terrorist-loving UN spread these lies. I am often irate and frustrated with my nation Israel, as it seems to be fighting Hamas, while also trying to gain the world's approval by submitting to their demands – including America's. Israel needs God's direct supernatural intervention to win this war against Hamas.

   • Lord God, everything we are praying for is so that You will ultimately be glorified (Psa. 115:1-3).

   • God, arise and let Your enemies who hate You and Your people be destroyed (Psa. 68:1; 83:1-4).

   • Abba Father, most of the world has forgotten what Hamas actually did on Oct. 7th, so we ask You to remember, to arise and remove Hamas' rule over Gaza once and for all (Psa. 34:6; Amos 1:6-7).

   • Lord God of Israel, remember how You threatened the spiritual ancestors of Islam [Edom; Mt. Seir] concerning their eternal hatred of Your people and fulfill it today (Ezek. 35:5-6).

   • God of gods, against Hamas and all of Israel's adversaries fulfill Deuteronomy 3:22 in Shabbat's Torah portion: Do not fear them, for YHWH your God – He shall fight for you.

   • Abba, we are very upset that IDF soldiers are dying just so that Hamas will negotiate the release of a few hostages and ask that You, our King and God, would command victories for Jacob (Psa. 44:4).

   • Lord of lords, show Trump that a ceasefire is not a victory and to Muslims a ceasefire – a hudna – is only a break from fighting until they are strong enough to kill their enemy (Psa. 55:21).

   • Lord God, with reports of the IDF considering changing tactics, be their guiding light (Luke 1:79), and let any changes hasten the day when You cause this war to cease (Psa. 46:9).

   • Abba Father, we ask for You to completely swallow up Hamas' underground tunnels (Num. 16:31).

   • Lord God, fulfill Your word in Zechariah 9:5 and remove the current "king" – Hamas – in Gaza.

   • At the same time, Lord Yeshua, build Your Body there and reign as Gaza's true King (Matt. 16:18).

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

   • God Almighty, if this war's conclusion depends on Israel's willingness to possess all of Gaza, we ask You to turn Israelis and their leaders to commit to do just that (Judg. 2:1-4; Prov. 16:9).

5. Internal security:

   In the Torah portion, Moses declares in Deuteronomy 1:8, Behold, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which YHWH swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them and their seed after them. By my count this is the first of 82 times that this one book mentions God giving, or swearing to give, the land of Israel to his people!

   • Lord God of Israel, we are amazed at how vital the land is to You (Jer. 32:41) and we stand in prayer asking You to do this today – as we sense that the fullness of time has come (1 John 5:14-15)!

   • We ask, based on Moses words of encouragement in the Torah reading, that You would remove all fear and discouragement from Israel's leaders and people to just step out and do this (Deut. 1:21).

   • Use the world's attention on Gaza to facilitate the extension of sovereignty suddenly (Isa. 48:3).

   • Lord God, use Israel's leaders who have the authority to move forward on last week's Knesset's declaration of sovereignty to just do it (Deut. 11:24; Isa. 54:2-3).

   • Messiah Yeshua, lead more believers to intercede for Israel to possess their inheritance (Obad. 1:17), showing them that is not political, but prophetic, and for Your name's sake (Ezek. 36:34-36; 37:14).

   • Let the rebuilding of Israel's northern communities and the building of 11 new communities in the Negev move ahead with all possible speed and be fully populated as soon as possible (Psa. 119:60).

   • King Yeshua, bring Psalm 37:9 to pass before our eyes today.

   • Lord God of hosts, use our prayers as silver trumpets in support of Israel's security forces as they war against the terrorist in their land (Num. 10:9).

   • God, expose and destroy every link between the Palestinian terrorists and Iran (Isa. 29:15).

   • God Almighty, orchestrate the IDF's timing, strategy and tactics, in order to destroy each terrorist group anywhere on Your land – especially in Judea and Samaria (Ezek. 37:10).

   • We thank You that while terror attacks have increased, most fail, and there has been no successful kidnappings of Israelis – either in or outside the land – since Oct. 7th (Psa. 50:15; 121:4; Jer. 31:10).

6. External security – Middle East [ME]:

   Several articles in both Israeli and foreign media have stated that Israel is now the ME "superpower." We have prayed for this, using biblical terms – that Israel would become the "head" of the nations at least in the ME at this time. Now comes the hard part of taking on this mantle yet staying humble and recognizing this as a work of God – and not of man.

   • Lord God of hosts, we again declare that You are the Superpower in the ME who is using Israel as Your weapon of war against Your – and their – enemies (Jer. 51:20-24; Ezek. 25:14).

   • Lord of the nations, continue to fulfill Deuteronomy 3:22 in Shabbat's Torah portion which lines up perfectly with what is written above in the introduction to this section.

   • Abba Father, fulfill Micah 4:11-13 in our days, and we give You the glory for beginning to do that.

   • Lord of hosts, reinforce Israel's new military doctrine of not allowing enemy forces to set up camps on its borders – whether in Gaza, Syria or Lebanon, or even Egypt and Jordan (Isa. 26:15; Mal. 1:5).

   • Magnify Yourself in Israel's relationship with the Druze in southern Syria (Psa. 115:1-3).

   • Abba Father, give Israel great wisdom in its attempts to develop some sort of official diplomatic ties with both Syria and Lebanon (Psa. 8:2; Lam. 1:2).

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

   • Abba, let Turkey's President Erdogan's continual curses against Israel and Netanyahu come back to haunt him (Num. 24:9b; Gal. 6:7).

   • Lord God, may Jeremiah 49:38 come to completion through the building Your throne – that is, Your Body – in Iran and by removing Iran's demonic regime as speedily as possible (Isa. 55:11).

   • King of kings, send forth a spirit of paranoia on all Iranian leaders and let them "see" Mossad agents everywhere and end up being totally unable to trust one another (Job 4:12-21; Jer. 17:18).

   • Arise, Lord, against the Houthis and release Your Angel to fight against them (Psa. 35:1-6; 68:1).

   • Abba, South Lebanon up to the Latani River is a part of Your inheritance to the tribes of Asher and Naftali, therefore guide Israel as to when and how to possess it (Deut. 11: 24; Josh. 13:2-7).

   • Merciful Savior, shame many Muslims as they perceive that Allah is not more powerful than You, Israel's God, and use that to cause them to seek You (Psa. 83:16-18).

7. Aliyah:

   We are blessed to be God's witnesses as He fulfills His word and returns the scattered Jews back to His Land (Jer. 31:10). Yet we also have a great responsibility as King Yeshua desires His Body to be deeply involved with this prophetic fulfillment (for example Isaiah 49:22).

   • Heavenly Father, hasten the fulfillment of Ezekiel 28:25-26 so that we see the aliyah linked with the removal of Israel's enemies, which will result in all Israel being saved.

   • Abba, draw home Your people in grace and mercy (Isa. 54:7; Jer. 31:3), yet if they refuse, use the growth of global anti-Semitism to wake them up and turn their hearts to Zion (Jer. 16:16; 51:9-10).

   • Lord God, clarify to Jews in captivity that a hatred of Israel is in reality a hatred of the Jews.

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

   • Almighty King, turn Jewish leaders away from struggling for the "right" to live in "peace and safety" among the gentiles to fighting instead for them and their communities to come home (Jer. 51:9-10).

   • Lord God, draw back whole families and communities together (Ex. 12:37-38; Jer. 31:3-5).

   • Abba Father, make Jewish parents decide whether they want their children intimidated by the anti-Semites or in the IDF instead, defending their biblical homeland (Isa. 41:10-16; Ezek. 37:10).

   • Lord of lords, set the Iranian Jewish community free to make aliyah (Isa. 43:5-7).

   • God of Israel, we ask that the modern nation of Israel will never forget how aliyah was the number one biblical and Zionistic reason for its re-creation (Isa. 43:5-7; Zech. 8:1-8).

   • Abba, let Israel quickly build and repair homes to house many new immigrants (Psa. 147:2).

   • God Almighty, marry Your people to the land, and show them that it is a marriage – for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health – and not just a love affair (Isa. 62:4-5).

   • Lord Yeshua, teach Your Body that aliyah is the central issue to Your will being done on the earth today in preparation for Your return in power and great glory (Isa. 43:5-7; Jer. 32:41; Matt. 6:10).

8. Salvation:

   Romans 11:26 says that all Israel will be saved! The context for all Israel speaks of 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.

   • Lord God of Israel, we thank You for the partial fulfillment of Joel 2:28 we see in Acts 2, and now we ask You for the completion of that prophecy today as You save all Israel (Rom. 11:26).

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

   • Loving Father, impart a "holy dissatisfaction" upon the minds and hearts of many Jews and turn their attention to all of the Tanach – and not just the Torah (Psa. 80:3, 7; Jer. 15:16; 2 Tim. 3:15).

   • Abba Father, burden Your people to seek You concerning being redeemed today – and then reveal to them their divine Kinsman-Redeemer, Messiah Yeshua (Job. 19:25; Isa. 44:6; 47:4).

   • Lord Yeshua, like Joseph did (Gen. 45:1-4), reveal Yourself to Your brothers, and have them share with their loved ones how You are alive and rule in many gentile hearts (Gen. 45:24-28).

   • Lord Yeshua burden more gentile believers to intercede for Jews to be saved (Rom. 10:1-2).

   • God, show Christian-Zionists how You would have them provoke Jews to jealousy (Rom. 11:11).

   • [Seek God if there is a specific group of Jews whom He wants you to intercede for this week.]

9. Body of Messiah:

   God's kingdom is not a democracy, nor is the Lord Yeshua a president or a prime minister. Therefore God's Word must not be taken lightly. When it says that those who curse Israel will be cursed, believers dare not reject or ignore this as valid today (Num. 24:9b; Isa. 40:8)!

   • Abba, rebuke all believers who see Romans 9-11 as being less "inspired" than the rest of the NT.

   • Messiah Yeshua, cast out replacement theory from Your Body (Eph. 5:27; 1 Tim. 4:1), and remove with it all attitudes of Jew-hatred and Israel-hatred (Gen. 18:18; 22:18; John 4:22; Rom. 9:1-5).

   • Lord, cleanse the Body of the curse of generational anti-Semitism (Num. 14:18b; Jer. 17:14).

   • King of Israel, remove from believers any shame or resistance to worship a Jewish Messiah today before they are faced with the reality of having to do this throughout eternity (Rev. 5:5, 8-13).

   • Lord, show gentile believers how their eternal destiny is tied up with Israel and not with their birth nations (Eph. 2:11-22), and lead them to be ambassadors for Your Kingdom (2 Cor. 5:20).

   • 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).

   • Messiah Lord, show the Body to pray this for Your holy name's sake (Psa. 115:1-3; Luke 11:2).

10. IFI:

    Please pray for our finances and our ability to hear His voice. Thank you.

Shabbat shalom, and blessings from Israel

Chuck Cohen, for the IFI team

Rev. 22:2