1. Praise:

   Israel's Declaration of Independence refers to God as the Rock of Israel. That is also a title for God in Shabbat's Torah and prophetic portions. I will proclaim name of YHWH: ascribe greatness unto our God. He is the Rock, His work is complete: for all His ways are just: a God of truth without iniquity, righteous and upright is He. (Deut. 32:3-4); YHWH lives; blessed be my Rock, and exalted be the God of the Rock of my salvation. (2 Sam. 22:47)

   • Lord God, we praise You for being our Rock – which in biblical times indicated a very safe place where we could hide high above our enemies (Psa. 18:2; 27:5; 31:2; 71:3).

   • We praise You Lord Yeshua and are full of gratitude at how New Testament [NT] reveals You as our Rock (Rom. 9:33; 1 Cor. 10:4; 1 Pet. 2:8).

   • With this NT revelation we are blessed to be able to see how You, Messiah Yeshua, are also Israel's Rock in the Tanach [Old Testament] (Psa. 18:31, 46; 62:6-7; 78:35; 95:1).

   • We rejoice Lord that You tell us in the prophetic portion how You saved us because You delight – that is, take pleasure – in us (2 Sam. 22:20)!

   • Thank You for Your Word – a shield to all who trust, that is take refuge – in You (2 Sam. 22:31).

2. Government & society:

   Israel's political leaders constantly face very challenging decisions – especially PM Bibi Netanyahu. Yet as we pray for them (1 Tim. 2:1-4), we often see God guiding, or overriding, their decision making (Prov. 19:21; 21:1).

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

   • Almighty God, create a godly unity in Israel's current coalition, especially concerning all issues that are absolutely essential for Your nation at this stage in history (Gen. 1:1-2; Psa. 133:1; Isa. 48:17).

   • Lord Yeshua, continue promoting sons and daughters of Zion throughout Israeli society, and let their wisdom and insight make them to be very influential (1 Chr. 11:10; Obad. 1:21; Zech. 9:13; 12:8).

   • Lord Yeshua, allow Proverbs 19:21 and 21:1 become evident in all areas of Netanyahu's life.

   • God, refresh Netanyahu and his whole entourage from their tense time in America (2 Sam. 16:14).

   • King of history, we ask You to use Bibi's understanding of history to make him even more of a "son-of-Issachar" type of leader (1 Chr. 12:32).

   • Lord God, protect the good relations between Bibi and Defense Minister Israel Katz (Psa. 133:1).

   • Abba, fill Defense Minister Katz with godly boldness and clarity (Prov. 28:1b; Eccl. 8:1).

   • Lord of hosts, allow the divergent points of view between Israel's political and military leaders to lead to divinely-inspired answers as opposed to any further divisions (Phil. 2:2-3).

   • Abba, may Israel's next elections take place in Your perfect timing and not man's (Eccl. 3:1)

   • 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]).

   • Lord, rebuke, or silence, Israel's media who often distort what right-wing politicians or personalities say to make it sound hateful and racist (Dan. 6:20; Eph. 2:2).

   • God of Jerusalem, halt Satan from using the hostage situation to deceive those Israelis who hold Bibi responsible for the hostages not being rescued as opposed to Hamas who seized them in the first place and is keeping them in cages even unto today (Zech. 3:2).

   • Prince of peace, reveal Yourself as the only source of peace to Your nation as Oct. 7th is observed this coming week – and since it is the first day of Sukkot – bring healing (Isa. 9:6-7; Col. 1:20).

3. Foreign relations:

   We are very grateful that God answered our prayers for Netanyahu's UN speech. Last Monday, his meeting with US President Trump and his agreeing to Trump's peace plan for in the Middle East is still being weighed as to whether it is a good plan, a bad plan, or as is more than likely, somewhere in between. It reminds us of what IFI's previous leader, Eliyahu Ben-Haim, used to say, that politics is the art of the possible.

   • Lord God, we thank You for answering our prayers for Netanyahu's time at the UN as it was a word of warning coming forth from Zion that was also full of encouragement and truth (Joel 3:16) [Bibi's UN speech]

   • Lord Yeshua, command Your Body in those nations who "recognized" a "Palestine" to ask You for mercy as judgment is being poured out on their nations now (Gen. 6:5-8; Isa. 60:12; Ezek. 22:30-31).

   • Sovereign King of Israel, we lift up to You Trump's plan and proclaim Psalm 9:19-20; 33:10-11 and Lamentations 3:37 over it!

   • Show Israel which of Trump's points are in You will and which are not (Isa. 8:9-10).

   • God Almighty, as this plan forces Qatar to "put-up-or-shut-up," as they have said they would be able to force Hamas to agree to it, let Hamas' likely negative response open the eyes of Trump to see that Qatar is a hostile nation and not in any way an ally of America or the West (Job 12:22).

   • God of Israel, we praise You for how Bibi repeated during his trip to the US that a Palestinian State on Your land would not be created, and how Foreign Minster Gideon Sa'ar and most others in Israel's government are in complete and public agreement with this (Lev. 25:23; Ezek. 36:5).

   • Continue to put Your Word in the mouth of all Israeli international representatives (Jer. 1:9; 5:14).

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

4. IDF's war in Gaza against Hamas, "Operation Gideon's Chariots II", is still being waged. The IDF has surrounded Gaza City and more than 75% of its civilians have fled to "safe zones." As of this time we are not sure what effect Trump's plan will have as Hamas has not yet said "yes" or "no." Our educated guess is they will say "yes" but will want to negotiate many of its points which, if Trump or Bibi agrees to, will make Trump's plan no different than any of the previous unsuccessful plans. Israel needs a decisive military victory over Hamas to end this war and that is how we are praying!

   • Lord Yeshua, Israel's righteous war often produces confusing and contradictory media reports, so we ask You to clearly guide us to pray in line with Your will today (John 10:27).

   • Abba Father, last week we asked You to bring this war to a swift and victorious conclusion and, if possible, we pray You use Trump's far-from-perfect plan to do just that (Psa. 46:9; 64:7; 68:1).

   • Lord God of justice, remember Deuteronomy 32:41 in the Torah reading and "render vengeance" unto Your enemies who hate You (Psa. 83:1-4) – like Hamas and Qatar.

   • God of hosts, in line with the Torah portion, deliver Hamas into the hands of the IDF, who is Your weapon of war today (Deut. 32:39; Ezek. 37:10; Jer. 51:20).

   • Lion of Judah, as in the prophetic reading, be the IDF's ultimate martial arts Teacher (2 Sam. 22:35).

   • If Hamas does not surrender, then let 2 Samuel 22:38-41 in the prophetic reading encourage each Israeli warrior as to what their ancestors accomplished, and thus what they can accomplish, by trusting in You.

   • Abba Father, continue hardening Hamas' leaders against agreeing to any deal unless it ultimately results in a total Israeli victory in line with Israel's current demands (Psa. 44:5).

   • Merciful God, You are aware of the dreadful conditions of the still-living hostages, so arise in Your anger against their demon-driven captors and set them free (Psa. 7:6; 21:9; 57:3-4).

   • King Messiah, arrange divine encounters between IDF soldiers and genuine believers in Gaza, and use them to awaken faith and encouragement in Israel's weary warriors (Prov. 15:23b; Isa. 50:4a).

5. Internal security:

   The only time God says He will do something with all of His heart and soul is in Jeremiah 32:41. We see this being fulfilled today as He plants Israel back in its land. This is also tied in with Israel's salvation (32:37-40)! Israel possessing its God-gifted land (Obad. 1:17-20) is central to His end-time plans and should be a major prayer burden for Messiah's Body.

   • Lord Yeshua, lead Your Body to intercede about this issue (Ezek. 36:37; John 15:16; Rom. 10:1).

   • Thank You that Shabbat's Torah portion has Your promise to Israel of the land (Deut. 32:49, 52).

   • King of Israel, let many more Israelis, including politicians, continue to build facts on the ground in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley, and to do it away from the headlines (Psa. 31:20).

   • Abba, may part of what we asked for in the above prayer be the extension of Israel's civilian law to many Jewish communities – both big and small – in all of Israel's disputed territories (Isa. 44:26b).

   • King Messiah, use America's Israeli Ambassador Mike Huckabee, a Christian-Zionist, to provoke Israel's leaders with his biblical zeal for Israel to possess all of its land (Judg. 2:1-5; Psa. 126:1-3).

   • Also Lord God, give Huckabee godly boldness and wisdom if he needs to warn Trump about telling Israel to not extend its sovereignty over Your land (Joel 3:1-2).

   • We praise You that Finance Minister Smotrich and the Civil Administration approved building of 3,400 homes in the E1 corridor between Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim (Neh. 2:20; Jer. 33:12-14).

   • Lord, use the angst and anger over this approval from the EU, the UN, and others, to press Israel to bring this too-long delayed project to a swift completion (2 Chr. 29:36; Psa. 147:2, 15).

   • Lord God, continue to give great success to Israel's "Operation Iron Wall" against terrorist enclaves, especially in refugee camps under the Palestinian Authority, in order to destroy all terrorist cells, to find and eliminating their weapons caches as well as their manufacturing sites (Psa. 44:4-8).

   • As David confessed in Shabbat's prophetic reading, so be the same awesome God over all of Israel and in particular be their Savior who saves [them] from violence (2 Sam. 22:2-3).

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

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

   • King Messiah, guard over Your people as they celebrate Your fall feasts (Ex. 34:23-24; Psa. 121:4).

6. External security – Middle East [ME] and beyond:

   The UN General Assembly exposed that besides Israel's ME enemies, many other nations, including Western ones, have major issues with the Jewish State. This very well might be God hastening the fulfillment of Zechariah 12:2-3. If you live in one of these nations with an anti-Zionist government, pray for Israel in line with His word and seek the Lord as to how He wants you to intercede for your birth nation as well.

   • God, protect Israel in line with Your Word and for Your glory (Psa. 115:1-3; 121:4; Isa. 31:5)!

   • King of kings, You are the same God of whom Moses and Israel said: YHWH is a man of war; so arise and defend Israel against all of its modern-day adversaries (Ex. 15:3a; Psa. 68:1, 30).

   • Once again Lord, be a pillar of light to Israel and a cloud of darkness to its foes (Ex. 14:19-20).

   • God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, allow the Islamic principality's eternal hatred against Your nation and people to draw it into destruction (Prov. 16:18; Ezek. 35:5-6).

   • Lord Yeshua, caution Your Body throughout the ME, and elsewhere if need be, that if they dare to curse Israel, they will be cursed in return (Num. 24:9b; Psa. 6:1; Mark 3:5a; Rev. 2:14a).

   • Lion of Judah, fulfill Jeremiah 49:38 by building Your throne – Your Body – in Iran and also by removing suddenly and soon Iran's satanically-driven regime (Isa. 55:11).

   • Lord of hosts, download to Israel divine strategy and tactics to eradicate the threat of both Iran's remaining ballistic missiles, and its "secret" nuclear program (Psa. 144:1; Prov. 21:30-31).

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

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

   • Abba Father, stop Trump from selling F-35s to Turkey – a nasty enemy of Israel (Prov. 16:1, 9).

   • Almighty One, as priests (1 Pet. 2:9) we ask You to fulfill Joel 2:17-21 and drive Hizbullah far off from Israel's northern border (Mal. 1:5), and to strip it from any remaining demonic protection.

   • Lord, be magnified by Israel's ties with the Druze and the Kurds in the ME (Prov. 17:17; Mal. 1:5).

7. Aliyah:

   We are God's witnesses as He fulfills His Word and bring the scattered Jews back to His Land (Jer. 31:10). Yet we have a great responsibility as our Lord wants His Body to be deeply involved with this prophetic fulfillment (for example Isaiah 49:22 and 60:10-11).

   • God of Israel, as per Jeremiah 23:3-4, thank You for regathering the remnant of the house of Israel, for making them increase and be fruitful and now please set over them righteous shepherds.

   • Lord God, at this feast season reveal to the Jews in the nations that they are themselves "hostages" to the captivity – and that they can walk to freedom simply by making aliyah (Jer. 31:17; 46:27).

   • Abba Father, let the reality that most Jews in the nations will be very cautious, even afraid, to build a sukkah where neighbors will see it to further convince Jews it is time to come home (Jer. 51:5-6).

   • Shield of Abraham, use what we mentioned above to show Jews that while Israel may not be 100% safe, it is much safer than living in the gentiles nations today (Psa. 121:3-4).

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

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

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

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

   • Lord, thank You for telling Israel You will gather them back with great mercies (Isa. 54:7-8).

   • Abba, use Your hunters (Jer. 16:16) to increase the effectiveness of those mercies (Jer. 31:3).

   • God of Israel, remove any bureaucrats in Israel's Interior Ministry and the Jewish Agency who are lukewarm about aliyah, and replace them with those who 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.

8. Salvation:

   We prayed for many Jews to be saved over Yom Kippur this past week. 1 John 5:14-15 says we can have confidence that whatever we pray in His will – He will hear and do, and as all Israel being saved is definitely His will, we want to thank Messiah Yeshua in faith for the many Jews who did get saved and ask Him to guide them to their ordained place in His Body.

   • Lord Yeshua, we praise You for each Jewish person who was transported from the kingdom of darkness into Your kingdom this past week (Col.1:13-14).

   • Lead each by Your Spirit to the place in the Body which You have ordained for them (1 Cor. 12:18).

   • Abba Father, lead them to be baptized in water and in Your Spirit as soon as possible (Acts 1:5).

   • King Messiah, protect them from well-meaning believers who will try to convince them that now they are no longer Jewish (Rom. 9:1-3; 11:1; Rev. 5:5; 22:16)!

   • Abba Father, by Your grace and in Your mercy please save all living Holocaust survivors and their families; survivors of terrorism; living hostages and loved ones; IDF soldiers and families; loved ones of soldiers killed or severely injured; soldiers struggling with PTSD; anti-Bibi demonstrators; Jewish widows, widowers, orphans, rabbis, politicians, judges, lawyers, diplomats, university students, teachers, professors, scientists, astronomers and medical personnel; Jewish anti-missionaries; Jews living in Judea and Samaria; Jews on their death beds; Jews living with guilt over past abortions; Israeli archeologists and tour guides; Israelis in the nations; Jews who recently made aliyah; Jewish hippies, LGBTQ+ and new agers; Jews in Iran, Ethiopia, Turkey, India, China; unsaved loved ones of Messianic Jews.

9. Body of Messiah:

   The real reason why many believers stand against Israel's restoration is their disparaging of the Tanach as part of God's Word today. Yet for Messiah Yeshua and the early believers that was the only Word of God they had and in which they trusted (2 Tim. 3:15-17)!

   • Messiah Yeshua, show Your Body that the Word of God You had, read and trusted in during Your time on earth was the Old Testament – the Tanach (Luke 24:44; John 5:46; 2 Tim. 3:15-17).

   • God Almighty, as You do not change (Mal. 3:6) let the Body perceive that what You said to Pharaoh about Israel being Your son, Your firstborn, is still true (Ex. 4:22-23; John 17:17).

   • 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).

   • King Messiah, thank You for the remnant of the Body that does stands with and pray for Israel, and who see Israel's role in Your plans and desire for You to be glorified in Your people (Psa. 115:1-3).

   • Lord, let those in the Body who do see this be like spiritual leaven and influence many others in their fellowships and in their wider believing communities (Luke 13:20-21).

   • Messiah Yeshua, for any believers who still think that Israel is not central to Your plans, turn them to read Deuteronomy 32:8-9 in Shabbat's Torah portion.

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

   • King Messiah; encourage, increase and use the Israeli Body for Your name's sake (John 15:16).

10. IFI:

    Thank you for praying for us to have wisdom in prayer and for all the other ways in which you support and encourage us.

Shabbat shalom, and blessings from Israel,
Chuck Cohen, for the IFI team

2 Sam. 22:4 [from Shabbat's prophetic reading]