1. Praise:

    "YHWH" – written as "LORD" in many translations – is God's personal name as opposed to the names of many false gods – such as Ashtoreth or Ba'al. In Deuteronomy, Moses when speaking to Israel, uses the phrase YHWH your God over 300 times. YHWH is also our God as well – as both Father and Son bear that name in the Tanach (for example Zech. 2:11).

    • Lord God, we thank You for the power and awe of Your name (Deut. 28:58b).

    • We are blessed that You YHWH are our Judge, our Lawgiver, our King and Savior (Isa. 33:22).

    • We also praise You for being our Creator and Shepherd (Psa. 100:3; John 10:11, 14; Heb. 13:20).

    • We praise You Father for delivering us from under the authority of Satan and transferring us into the kingdom of Your beloved Son, Messiah Yeshua our Lord (Isa. 49:24-25; Col. 1:13).

    • God of Israel, thank You for revealing to us that despite the many "gods" in this world – You alone are the One True God (Psa. 86:8; 95:3; 96:4-5; 135:5; 136:2; Jer. 10:10a).

    • …for YHWH your God, He is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.Josh. 2:11

  2. Government & society:

    PM Bibi Netanyahu is not perfect, but until Yeshua sits as King there never has been in all of history a perfect leader. To even consider that you are able to lead others, especially a whole nation, requires some pride and ego. Yet we have seen good rulers despite their human failings, and this is how we see Bibi. While many may disagree, the bottom line for us is that God ordains who rules (Dan. 4:17), and uses them for His purposes (Rom. 9:15-17).

    • Creator God, since nothing takes You by surprise, guide us by Your Spirit as we pray (Isa. 42:9).

    • Lord God Almighty, release Your wisdom upon Israel's coalition by covering them with a mantle of Your holy fear (Psa. 111:10; Prov. 1:7; 9:10; 15:33).

    • Lion of Judah, increase the influence of Israel's sons of Zion – politically, diplomatically militarily, commercially, educationally, and in the rest of society (Prov. 25:11; Eccl. 12:10; Isa. 22:22).

    • Lord Yeshua, concerning Bibi Netanyahu, watch over Proverbs 19:21 in all aspects of his life, and in particular in places where he may be tempted to compromise or is making wrong decisions.

    • Abba Father, guard over Bibi against any assassination attempts (Psa. 3:3; 18:2).

    • Lord, remove every distraction that would divert him from Your chosen path (Psa. 23:3a; 32:8).

    • God, give him the physical health he needs to finish the race You have set out for him (Jer. 33:6).

    • Make Bibi, Defense Minister Katz and Foreign Minister Sa'ar a strong three-fold cord (Eccl. 4:12).

    • Righteous Judge, remove from Israel's coalition every non-biblical, humanistic, and legal barricade that Israel's current attorney general and its Supreme Court place in its way (Isa. 1:25-27).

    • Lord God, heal all divisions that exist between IDF and government leaders (Rom. 16:17).

    • King Messiah, expel the spirit of lawlessness from off of Israel's society, especially from all of the anti-government, anti-Bibi demonstrations (Matt. 24:12 [Gk; iniquity = lawlessness]).

    • Abba, block Israel's media from its way too often distortions and lies about Israel's more biblically- oriented civilians, its prime minister and the coalition today (Dan. 6:20; Eph. 2:2).

    • Lord God, we thank You that ever since You started regathering Your scattered people, the blessings found in Deuteronomy 28 are being manifested, while the curses are fading away (Deut. 28:1-13).

  3. "Operation Gideon's Chariots II,"

    the IDF's plan to defeat Hamas and rescue the hostages, has begun. Whether it succeeds depends on the determination of both Israel's political and military leaders and the intensity of the opposition to this plan from most of the planet! Also, Israel's bombing of a Hamas HQ in Doha, Qatar, is exactly what is needed, and should have been done years ago.

    • Sovereign Lord, based on Psalm 33:10-11, we ask for Your plans over Gaza to prevail regardless of what any other nations, NGO's, or even Your nation Israel, decide (Psa. 103:19).

    • Abba Father, most of the world has purposely forgotten, or ignored, what Hamas did on Oct. 7th, yet You remember, so arise and permanently remove Hamas' rule over Gaza (Isa. 13:3-4; Amos 1:6-7).

    • Thank You that Israel finally attacked the leaders of Hamas living safely in Qatar (1 Thess. 5:3).

    • Abba, Israel now understands that Qatar is an enemy-state, yet US President Trump does not which is very dangerous for both Israel and America, therefore turn his heart to perceive Qatar's nefarious schemes (Est. 8:3; Prov. 21:1).

    • Lord, let this attack by Israel totally disrupt all communications between Gaza and Qatar (Psa. 55:9).

    • Regardless of how "successful" this operation was in killing its leaders, Lord we thank You that Israel's action is a victory as it makes Hamas' leaders more paranoid and causes them to hesitate to use even their smartphones or any other devices that can be tracked (Psa. 35:4, 26).

    • God, fulfill Isaiah 60:18 in the prophetic reading [The Hebrew word for "violence" in that verse is "hamas", although Hamas, the terrorist group's name is an acronym for some pompous declaration in Arabic and does not mean "violence" – although violence definitely defines this wicked group.]

    • Divine Sustainer, remove the fatigue of this extended war from off of the IDF and Israeli society and encourage Israel with what a total victory over Hamas would mean (Psa. 44:5-8; 60:11-12; 68:35).

    • Divine Captain, direct every aspect of the IDF's war against Hamas (Josh. 5:13-6:5).

    • Almighty God, release Your fear before the IDF (Ex. 23:27; Deut. 28:7; 2 Chr. 20:29; Isa. 13:6).

    • Lord God, send out the "lepers" to rout Hamas terrorists out of their hiding places (2 Kin. 7:3-9).

    • Protector of Israel; prevent any more deadly friendly fire or other accidents (Psa. 32:7; 121:4).

    • God of Israel, supernaturally destroy Hamas' underground tunnel network (Num. 16:31; Isa. 13:9).

    • Abba Father, aid the IDF to miraculously rescue all of the remaining hostages before the fall feasts, and do it in such a way that all Israel sees Your hand and gives You the glory (Psa. 57:3-4; 115:1-3).

    • Man of War, let this war end only when You have completed all of Your will (Ex. 15:3; Psa. 46:9).

    • God of Moses, show Israelis that since You gave Gaza as a part of its inheritance to the tribe of Judah, that this must be Israel's ultimate "day-after" plan (Josh. 15:1, 47; Judg. 1:18; Prov. 16:9).

  4. Foreign relations:

    Our prayers are focused on the annual UN General Assembly [GA] session [Sept. 9th – 23rd this year], and its special "High Level Debate" session, whatever that is [Sept. 23rd – 30th]. Without a doubt, Israel will be harshly censured at these meetings. Also, many nations are set to "recognize" a Palestinian State at this session. We are praying for God to respond to this attempt to divide His land (Psa. 9:19-20), and for His guiding hand upon Israel's response as well.

    • Lord God, as we pray for Israel and the nations, help us to remember that Your ultimate goal is the manifestation of Your kingdom here on earth (Psa. 33:10-12; Isa. 55:8-9).

    • King Yeshua, fulfill Deuteronomy 28:10 from the Torah portion at this UNGA meeting.

    • Lord of lords, use the probable onslaught to show Israel if it is time to pull out of the UN and to be that nation that dwells alone (Num. 23:9b).

    • Lord God of Israel, fulfill Obadiah 1:15 against the UN and all of its outreaches (Hag. 2:22).

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

    • God of Israel, like You did at the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:7), so do again and disable the UN's translation system so that they will not be able to understand each other (Psa. 55:9).

    • King Yeshua, if nations follow through and attempt to divide Your land, which would drag them more quickly into judgment (Joel 3:1-2), awake Your Body to cry out for mercy (Ezek. 22:30).

    • Lord we proclaim Isaiah 7:7 and 8:9-10 over all attempts to "recognize" a "Palestine" on Your land!

    • Lord God Almighty, guard over and anoint Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon and everyone else that is a member of Israel's UN delegation (Psa. 81:10; 119:13).

    • God, if You want Bibi to speak at the UN, use him as Your voice roaring from Zion (Joel 3:16).

    • Abba, as You did with Moses and Jeremiah, so do with all of Israel's representatives, including Bibi, and put Your Words in their mouths (Ex. 4:11-12; Jer. 1:9).

    • God, let Israel see that some Western leaders today, who are "friends," are more dangerous than its sworn enemies and impart discernment to know how to relate to them (Psa. 12:1-2; Prov. 27:12).

    • Messiah, let Your Body take Isaiah 60:12 in the prophetic portion very seriously.

  5. Internal security:

    We are praying for Israel to extend its sovereignty over all of its land west of the Jordan River and to not let up its attacks against terrorist groups inside God's land. In both areas, we see answers, although the resistance to Israel's extension of sovereignty has recently intensified – especially from Arab nations! Also, this past week there was a horrific terrorist attack in northern Jerusalem that killed seven and injured about two dozen more.

    • Lord God, we ask You to bring good out of that horrible terrorist attack (Rom. 8:28)!

    • King Messiah, use the fact that two ultra-Orthodox men – a soldier and an armed civilian – killed the terrorists to cause many more Orthodox to be proud and be willing to join the IDF (Judg. 1:3).

    • King Yeshua, comfort those who lost loved ones and heal the injured completely (Isa. 60:2-3).

    • Anoint Israel's attempts to guard its roads, checkpoints and public transportation better (Psa. 121:8).

    • Lord God, aid Israel's "Operation Iron Wall" against terrorist enclaves, especially in refugee camps under the Palestinian Authority, to successfully destroy all terrorist cells, exposing and destroying their weapons caches and manufacturing sites as well (Psa. 44:4-8).

    • God, arise and confound Your enemies by setting terrorists groups against each other (Zech. 14:13).

    • Thank You Lord that again in the Torah portion You repeatedly say that You have given the land of Israel to Your people (Deut. 26:1; 26:2, 9-10; 27:2-3; 28:8), and even proclaim several times that You have sworn to give them Your land (Deut. 26:3; cp. 26:25; 28:12).

    • We praise You that in the prophetic portion You reveal the ultimate goal of giving the land to Your people is for Your glory, therefore please let Israel extend its sovereignty over all of the land that is now available to them (Isa. 60:21).

    • If Israel's choice is between keeping the Abraham Accords or Your Covenants to Father Abraham, may all Israel decide for Your Abrahamic Covenants (Gen. 12:1-22:18; Neh. 2:20).

    • We praise You Lord God that Jeremiah 32:44 describes the land You are planting Israel in (32:41), and it actually is from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea! Hallelujah!

    • Messiah Yeshua, burden more believers to pray 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).

    • Lord, save many Palestinians and lead them to provoke Jews to jealousy (Matt. 5:44; Rom. 11:11).

  6. External security – Middle East [ME]:

    Israel has dealt major defeats to Iran, Hizbullah and Hamas, yet it has not gained total victory over any of them. US President Trump, a strong ally of Israel, seems confused as to what a "ceasefire" (hudna in Arabic) actually means to Muslims. A hudna is only a break in active warfare to enable them to regain strength in order to once again attack and destroy their enemies – which they see as Israel and the West today.

    • Abba, Your promises and reputation are at stake if Israel were to be destroyed (Ex. 32:11-13), so arise and scatter Your enemies who hate you and Your people (Psa. 68:1; 83:1-18).

    • Use Islam's eternal hatred against Israel to bring this principality down to destruction (Ezek. 35:5-6).

    • God, once the Egyptians saw You fighting against them to defend Israel, they fled – and we ask You to do the same to Israel's modern day enemies – both near and far (Ex. 14:25).

    • Lord of hosts, improve Israel's ability to gather accurate intelligence, to interpret that data correctly, and to know whether or not to respond (2 Kin. 6:12; Isa. 29:15).

    • We thank You Lord God, for Israel's aggressive actions against Hizbullah, the Houthis and Turkey, and ask You, by Your power, to magnify these actions to be of even greater impact (Eph. 3:20).

    • Merciful Savior, cause shame to clothe many Muslims as they see how Allah is less "great" than You, Israel's God, and let that turn them to seek You (Psa. 83:16-18).

  7. Aliyah:

    In the Torah portion, we read that the ultimate curse God threatened Israel with is to be cast out of their land and scattered among the gentiles (Deut. 28:64). A careful reading of this chapter shows that God's curse on His people basically ended in 1948 when it was His time to favor Zion (Psa. 102:13). These blessings include the return to Zion for His people (Deut. 30:1-7).

    • Abba, we praise You for aliyah, a sign of Your faithfulness and power to fulfill Your promises, even though most nations are against Jews returning and possessing Your land (Isa. 43:12; Heb. 10:23b).

    • Lord, for gentile believers who see Isaiah 60, the prophetic portion, as only applying to the Church, open their eyes and show them all of the verses which speak about gentile believers as being a part of the restoration of Israel in these last days (Isa. 60:3-11, 16).

    • God of Israel, raise up many more sons and daughters of Zion in the captivity who will speak to their Jewish communities to make aliyah and will then lead them home (Jer. 51:6-10).

    • Show Jews that while Israel is not 100% safe, it is safer than living outside today (Psa. 121:3-4).

    • God of Jacob, may Your people in exile perceive that most gentiles connect them to Israel, whether they agree with Israel's actions or not (Matt. 26:71-73).

    • God of Abraham, draw Jews home today while they can still bring their silver and gold (Isa. 60:9).

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

    • Also destroy all lies or distortions in the media that cause Jews to hesitate to return (Dan. 6:22).

    • Lord God, deal with Jewish preconceived notions of what life in Israel is like so that they can be as flexible as needed when they do make aliyah (Psa. 4:6-8).

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

    • Messiah Yeshua, burden wealthy Christians and Jews to give generously to help finance both the aliyah and the integration of new immigrants into Israeli society (Ezra 1:4; Isa. 60:9).

  8. Salvation:

    We are in Ellul, the Jewish month known as the month of repentance. In Israel and in the captivity, many Jews attend synagogue in the mornings, hear the shofar blown and pray prayers of repentance, trying to get right with God as they approach His fall feasts. Ellul is such a wonderful time to pray for all Israel to be saved (Psa. 28:9)!

    • Abba, in the Torah portion Moses says that You prevented the heart of Your people from being able to see Your works (Deut. 29:2-4), so today You are doing the same with Yeshua, and we ask You to stop hiding and let them see their King Messiah at this very season (Isa. 45:15; Rom. 11:25-27).

    • Lord of the harvest, during Ellul, reap a mighty harvest from all the seeds that believers have planted and watered in Jewish lives (1 Cor. 3:6-7).

    • For Jews who are spending Ellul for the first time as new Israeli citizens, reveal Messiah Yeshua to them and pour out a deep spirit of repentance upon them (Ezek. 36:24-32; Zech. 12:10).

    • Yeshua Lord, as per the prophetic portion, use the love and generosity of gentile believers to show Your people that You are their Savior and Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob (Isa. 60:16).

    • Abba Father, teach believers how to share the good news of Messiah Yeshua by using verses from the Tanach (Psa. 2:12; Prov. 30:4; Isa. 7:14; 9:6-7; Jer. 31:31-34; Mic. 5:2; Zech. 12:10; etc.)

    • [Ask God about a specific group of Jews whom He wants you to stand in the gap for this week.]

  9. Body of Messiah:

    I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse [i.e. make little of; denigrate; despise; treat with contempt] you (Gen. 12:3a). Believers must know that God's promise to curse those who curse Abraham and his seed applies to them as well. Yeshua set us free from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13), but not from the curse of this promise. "Cursing" Israel (Num. 24:9b), or the Jews, brings God's curse upon the Body which opens the way for massive deception to boldly walk in and be embraced as if it were of God – like replacement theology!

    • Lord Yeshua, show Your Body that if they reject Genesis 12:3a as still applicable today, then they must also reject 12:3b for today, which happens to be the gospel to the gentiles (Gal. 3:8)!

    • God Almighty, help Your Body to see that since You do not change (Mal. 3:6), what You said to Pharaoh about Israel being Your son, Your firstborn, is still a reality (Ex. 4:22-23).

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

    • King of Israel, confront all believers who would be ashamed or would resist worshipping a Jewish Messiah today before they are face to face with You in eternity (Rev. 5:5, 8-13).

    • Lord Messiah, raise up more voices in the Body who openly condemn the rising anti-Semitism and the spreading of lies about Your nation in their societies today (Rom. 11:16-24; 15:27; Eph. 2:11-13).

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

    • Lord Yeshua, burden Your Body to intercede 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).

  10. IFI:

    It has been an "exciting" week, and we know that as we get closer to His return, things will get even more "exciting"! Therefore, we stand in great need of your prayers for our physical, mental and emotional strength and for a huge dose of His amazing grace. Thank you in advance.

Shabbat shalom, and blessings from Israel

Chuck Cohen, for the IFI team

Num. 6:24-26