1. Praise:

   Shabbat's prophetic portion declares the goal of God's kingdom on earth: From the rising of the sun unto its going down My name shall be great among the gentiles; and in every place incense [+ prayers (Psa. 141:2; Rev. 5:8; 8:4)] shall be offered to My name, and a pure offering: for My name shall be great among the gentiles, says YHWH of hosts. (Mal. 1:11)

   • Lord, we rejoice that this was one of the goals You had when You called Abram out from his family and brought him into Your land, that the good news of salvation would go forth to the gentiles – from the first Messianic Jews in Jerusalem (Gen. 12:3b; cp. Gal. 3:8; Acts 1:8).

   • We bless You that by Your grace an d mercy, this has, and is continuing, to happen (Psa. 85:7; 98:3).

   • Lord Yeshua, we proclaim that You are the One described in the prophetic portion: …I am a great King, says YHWH of hosts, and My name is feared among the gentiles. (Mal. 1:14; cp. Isa. 33:22)

   • King of Israel, we praise You and look forward to Your return as King of kings (Rev. 19:11-16).

2. Government & society:

   Israel seems to be snared by the US administration that directs it as to what it can or cannot do – including concerning its security. So we pray for PM Bibi Netanyahu and his coalition to know how to lead God's nation today, and when to just say "No" to US President Trump and his administration, and praise God that we do see this beginning to happen.

   • Lord Yeshua, in Your God-given authority, rule over Israel as it King (Isa. 33:22; Matt. 28:18).

   • King Messiah, equip Bibi to be Your anointed vessel in his ordained position today (Job 32:8).

   • Lord God, remove from Netanyahu all distractions and traps that could turn him away from the path upon which You are leading him (Psa. 23:3a; 32:8).

   • Abba Father, gift him with wise and godly advisors and some true friends (Prov. 17:17; 18:24; 27:6).

   • Almighty God, impart to Bibi and Israel's other leaders' strength and courage to resist the often well-meaning but ungodly advice from its allies (Num. 23:23; Psa. 33:10-11; Ezek. 37:4-10).

   • King Solomon said there is a time for all things under heaven, so we ask You, Lord God, to be the One who decides when Israel's next elections should take place (Eccl. 3:1, 17b; Isa. 46:10).

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

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

   • Lord Yeshua, promote more sons and daughters of Zion in Israel, and let their wisdom and insight make them very influential in all areas of Israeli society (1 Chr. 11:10; Obad. 1:21; Zech. 9:13; 12:8).

   • Especially, Lord, raise up influential children of Zion in Israel's social media (Psa. 60:4).

   • God, comfort, heal and save all ex-hostages and their families of the emotional and mental trauma they struggle with today and likely for the rest of their lives (Psa. 30:2-3; 147:3; Isa. 61:1-3).

   • Shield of Abraham (Gen. 15:1), shield the ex-hostages from being used by the Israeli media and left-wing groups against Israel's current leadership (Psa. 47:9; 59:11; 91:4).

   • Lord of hosts, use Israel's military industries to stabilize and grow Israel's economy (Jer. 23:3).

   • God of heaven's armies, in the area of all things military – make Israel the head of the nations and make it much more self-sufficient as well (Deut. 28:10-13).

3. Foreign relations:

   As disciples of Messiah Yeshua, His Father's foreign policy goal must also be ours. He was very precise as to what that is: May Your kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as in heaven (Luke 11:2). This has to trump any loyalty to our nations – including to Israel.

   • Lord God, as we pray for Israel and the nations, please keep reminding us that Your goal is for Your kingdom and Your glory to be manifested here on earth (Psa. 57:5, 11; 108:5; Isa. 55:8-9).

   • God of Jacob, let all Israeli politicians and civilians who reject submitting to the nations and have encouraged the rest of Israel to trust in You, become even more effective (Prov. 3:5; Isa. 50:10).

   • Abba, may Israel's leaders hear Your voice louder than the world's noise (Job 33:14-18; Psa. 29:3-9).

   • King Yeshua, we declare Psalm 9:19-20, Psalm 33:10-11, Isaiah 8:9-10 and Lamentations 3:37 in the face of the world's plans concerning Your land and Your people (Num. 23:19).

   • Lord God, anoint Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon, Minster of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli and other Israeli diplomats to speak Your truth, using Your Word, against the threats and lies that are being spread against Your nation (Prov. 2:11-12; Isa. 55:11).

   • Holy King, hasten Israel's exit from the UN and impart grace to it to be that nation which dwells alone, not being reckoned among the world's nations (Num. 23:9b).

   • Righteous Judge, protect Israel against the humanistic lawfare being used against it (Psa. 5:6, 10).

   • Yeshua Messiah, let Your Body take Isaiah 60:12 very seriously.

4. Gaza:

   It seems that God is swiftly bringing Trump's naïve and dangerous "ceasefire" plan to ruin. Phase one has not been completed, although it was supposed to be done within days after Hamas "agreed" to it, and yet phase two is now being pushed, but there is no Arab or Muslim nation that is willing to send "peacekeepers" into Gaza and make sure Hamas is, and remains disarmed.

   • Almighty God, we ask for Your plans concerning Gaza to prevail despite what any nations, or the recently passed UN Security Council resolution [UNSCR], decrees (Psa. 33:10-11; Prov. 21:30).

   • Lord God, this UNSCR paves a path to a Palestinian State, so judge it (Lev. 25:23; Joel 3:1-2).

   • Thank You Lord, that Hamas has already rejected, thus other than the IDF, no other armed forces will be found who are willing to battle against Hamas (Job 5:12; 12:17-21).

   • Use Hamas' intransigence to make Trump furious with Qatar and Turkey who told him that they could get Hamas to agree with his plan (Prov. 20:2; Dan. 2:12).

   • Abba, as all living hostages are now home, quickly derail the rest of Trump's plan and answer our prayers to give Israel a very clear military victory over Hamas (Psa. 44:4).

   • Lord God, prepare the IDF to be totally victorious over Hamas and to do it quickly (Psa. 44:5-7).

   • God of prophecy, complete what You threatened to do to Gaza in Amos 1:6-7 (Psa. 125:3-5).

   • Lord God, fulfill Malachi 1:4 from the prophetic portion where You declare that what Esau/Edom [Islam's spiritual roots] tries to build, You will, in furious anger, destroy (Isa. 34:5; 63:1-6).

   • Thank You God for Defense Minister Katz pushing the IDF to totally destroy all of Hamas' tunnels, and we ask for Israel's political and military leaders to support him (Psa. 18:40; 28:5; 63:9).

   • King of Israel, intensify Your protection over all IDF soldiers still in Gaza, against attacks, traps, kidnapping attempts, and friendly fire or other dangerous accidents (Psa. 4:8; Zech. 9:16; 10:5-8).

   • Abba Father, thank You for allowing this war to revive a demand by a growing remnant of Israelis for their nation to repossess Gaza and reestablish its settlements there (Obad. 1:17b; Zeph. 2:5-7).

   • Messiah, let Your light shine brightly through all genuine Arab believers in Gaza (Matt. 5:16).

5. Internal security:

   We praise God that more Israeli leaders and citizens support the extension of sovereignty over all of its land. Part of this is a response to the Oct. 7th Hamas pogrom, and part is a result of the world pushing Israel to allow for the creation of a "Palestinian State" on God's land. We do sense God, behind the scenes, directing this that is 100% His will (Psa. 77:19; Jer. 32:41).

   • Lord God of Israel, persuade even more Jewish Israelis of Your covenant-commitment to give them the land through what You say to Isaac in Shabbat's Torah portion in Genesis 28:3-4.

   • King Messiah, as this "sovereignty chariot" gathers speed and intensity, take control of the reins and lead it to a swift and sudden victory (Psa. 68:17).

   • God, expel from Israel's leaders all fear of man that is preventing it from extending its sovereignty (Psa. 118:6; Prov. 29:25).

   • Abba Father, if Israel must choose between expanding the Abraham Accords or keeping Your covenant with Father Abraham, convince it to choose Your covenant (Gen. 12:1-22:18; Neh. 2:20).

   • Messiah Yeshua, burden believers to pray for Israel to possess its inheritance (Obad. 1:17), showing them this is not political, but prophetic, and for Your holy name's sake (Ezek. 36:34-36; 37:14).

   • God of Israel, encourage more Israelis, including politicians, to continue to build facts on the ground in Judea, Samaria and in the Jordan Valley, and to do this quietly (Psa. 31:20).

   • Abba, apply Malachi 1:2-3 in the prophetic portion to all attempts to create a "Palestine" on the land You promised to Jacob, so that You will be magnified from [+ on] the border of Israel'. (Mal. 1:5)

   • Lord God, anoint America's Israeli Ambassador Mike Huckabee, with boldness and wisdom and use him to warn Trump against blocking Israel from extending sovereignty (Joel 3:1-2).

   • We bless You for the many strangers who are building up Israel's walls and feeding its flocks, such as Filipinos, Chinese, Indians, Vietnamese, others, and many gentile believers (Isa. 60:10; 61:5)

   • King Messiah, continue to give great success to Israel's "Operation Iron Wall" against terrorists and their weapons caches in refugee camps under the Palestinian Authority (Psa. 44:4-8).

   • Abba, reveal to Israel's security forces all arms smuggling attempts into Israel (Job 28:11b; 42:2).

   • God, expose and destroy all links between Palestinian terrorists and Iran (Psa. 129:5; Isa. 29:15).

   • Father God, we trust You are always awake to watch over Israel (Psa. 121:4), and we ask You to keep Israel's security guards at checkpoints and other posts alert and awake as well (Gen. 31:1-2).

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

   Trump's main Arab "allies" are enemies of Israel. Turkey and Qatar's political and religious leaders are devotees of the Muslim Brotherhood, and often speak openly of their desire to see the Jewish State destroyed. Why is Trump blind to this, or does he purposely ignore this? We trust in God to guide and protect Israel for His name's sake (Psa. 115:1-3), and for the Jewish State to not submit to anything that America, or the rest of the nations, wants it to do that is against the God of Israel's will.

   • Almighty Lord God, Your thoughts and ways are higher than ours (Isa. 55:6, 8-9), so please be very clear and precise as You guide us in prayer (Psa. 10:17).

   • Abba Father, You have not regathered Israel to be scattered again (Amos 9:14-15), therefore arise and scatter Your enemies – those who hate You and Your people (Psa. 68:1, 15; 83:1-4).

   • Lord God, it seems to us that the nations are dragging Israel into a trap, so we pray back to You that which David prayed in Psalm 124:7-8 and ask You to break this snare.

   • Abba, we also realize that You may be allowing, or even orchestrating this (Zech. 12:2-3), in order to trap the nations in their Jew-hatred and if so, please bring Micah 4:11-13 to pass quickly.

   • God, prepare Your nation to deal militarily with Iran's attempts to further its nuclear weapons or ballistic missile programs – with or without US support or even approval (Isa. 31:1; Jer. 51:20-23).

   • Abba, let the curses Iran's Shi'ite leaders proclaim against Israel come back upon them (Gal. 6:7).

   • Lord God, fulfill Jeremiah 49:38b and destroy Iran's political, military and religious leadership.

   • Messiah Yeshua, as You have answered our prayers and devastated Iran's economy, now do the same with Qatar's excessive riches and humble its leaders greatly (Hag. 1:6; Jam. 5:1-3).

   • God of Isaac, stop Your nation from agreeing to a treaty with either Syria, Lebanon or Saudi Arabia based on that which the US administration wants if it is not 100% in line with Your will (Psa. 29:11).

   • King Yeshua, as the US has committed to providing Saudi Arabia with F-35 fighter jets, we declare that You are the One Who maintains Israel's "quantitative military edge" (Psa. 121:4).

   • Lord Yeshua, give Israel divine insight into all of Turkey's plans in Syria and in Gaza (Job 12:22).

   • Abba, we thank You for the openly aggressive action that Israel is taking against Hizbullah in south Lebanon and ask that You would make every attack supernaturally effective (Isa. 23:9; Eph. 3:20-21).

   • Lord, let Islam's extreme pride drag radical Muslim Jihadists into destruction (Prov. 11:2a; 17:19).

   • Lord Yeshua, protect Your Body in the ME, especially in Iran today (Jer. 49:38a; John 16:33).

7. Aliyah:

   God is allowing the increase of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism in nations where Jews thought it was safe for them to live to show them that their time in "the captivity" is over. This is a history lesson which Jews must learn, that in whatever nation they reside, at some point, they are no longer welcomed or protected. And we are seeing this especially in the West today.

   • Lord God Almighty, we thank You for being alive today to witness You regather Your people back to Your land in fulfillment of Your many prophetic promises (Jer. 30:8-10; 32:41-44; Ezek. 36:24).

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

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

   • Lord God, as Israel has now received back almost all of its hostages, show Jews in the nations that they are "hostages" in "the captivity" – and turn their hearts homeward (Psa. 137:4-6).

   • Abba Father, remove from those Jews the lukewarm name of where they live: "the diaspora" [Gk. "scattering"], replacing it with the biblical name: "the captivity" (Deut. 30:3; Ezra 2:1; Psa. 126:1-4).

   • Lord, help the Jews in the West discern the signs of the times accurately as a British Jew said right after that deadly attack in Manchester, that they were shocked but not surprised (Matt. 16:2-3).

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

   • God, You promised to marry Your people to Your land (Isa. 62:4-5), so do that today with every Jewish person who, as part of Your chosen remnant, returns and settles there (Isa. 10:20-22; 11:11).

   • Abba Father, use Israeli Minister of Aliyah Ofir Sofer to clear out all of the bureaucratic stones of stumbling from the path of Your people (Isa. 62:10).

   • God of Jacob, remove all bureaucrats in Israel's Interior Ministry and the Jewish Agency who are lukewarm about aliyah, replacing them with zealous sons and daughters of Zion (Zech. 8:1-8).

   • Messiah Yeshua, show Your Body their biblical responsibility to help Jews to make aliyah through prayer, finances, good works and encouraging words (Isa. 49:22; 60:1-12; 61:5; Rom. 15:26-27).

8. Salvation:

   God tells the "watchmen" (Jer. 31:6) to pray (31:7a), YHWH, save Your people, the remnant of Israel (Jer. 31:7b). "Watchmen" is the translation of notzrim which is in today's Hebrew the word for "Christians." Therefore, Romans 10:1 needs to be a prayer burden for the Body.

   • King Messiah, as Your people read in the prophetic portion that Your name will be great and feared among the gentiles, let them make the link between this and gentile believers today (Mal. 1:11, 14b).

   • Lord Yeshua, like Joseph (Gen. 45:1-4), reveal Yourself to Your brothers, and send them to share with their loved ones that You are alive today and rule over many gentiles (Gen. 45:24-28).

   • Loving Father, release a "holy dissatisfaction" on the minds and hearts of Jews and turn their focus back to all of the Tanach – and not only to the Torah (Psa. 80:3, 7; Jer. 15:16; Luke 24:27, 44-47).

   • Lord of the harvest, please send out laborers into the Jewish harvest fields – especially the various Haredi [ultra-Orthodox] sects residing in Israel (Matt. 9:37-38).

   • Abba Father, show 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 any particular groups of Jews He wants you to pray for this week.]

9. Body of Messiah:

   It is very distressing that so many born-again believers fail to see the link between God's promises to Abraham and his seed and the gospel to the gentiles (Gen. 12:3b). It is repeated in Shabbat's Torah portion: Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you [Isaac], and bless you; for to you, and your seed, I will give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham…and in your seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed (Gen. 26:3-4, cp. Gal. 3:8).

   • Lord, correct the translation of Genesis 25:27 which gives Your Body the wrong idea of Jacob with how the Hebrew actually describes him: …Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain [Heb. tam = complete; pious; gentle] man, dwelling in tents. (Gen. 25:27b)

   • Abba Father, send Your fear on our family in Messiah who curse Israel and the Jews in their hearts and also break the snare of generational anti-Semitism that many have inherited (Psa. 124:7-8).

   • King Yeshua, as You did when You walked in Israel, so today rebuke believers who do not accept that the Tanach is still Your Word (Jer. 23:29; John 5:46-47; Luke 24:25-27).

   • Lord, raise up those in the Body who will know how to contend for the faith (Jude 1:3).

   • God, strip the Body of replacement and fulfillment theories, and all other teachings that are not in synch with Your Word (Isa. 29:24; Matt. 15:9; Rom. 16:17).

   • Lord Yeshua, show Your Body that Israel being back in its land is of central importance to You (Jer. 32:41); and then have them to intercede for this, which is Your will, to be done on earth (Luke 11:2).

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

10. Water:

    Our prayers for a wet weekend last week were realized. We are very grateful for that, yet we continue to ask Him for much more – including the filling of the Sea of Galilee, the Kinneret, by the time that the rainy season ends (Psa. 65:9-10; 68:9; Isa. 41:17-20; Matt. 5:45b).

11. IFI:

    Thank you for lifting up our arms in pray. It makes the burden that the Lord has laid on us that much easier to carry.

Shabbat shalom from Israel

Chuck Cohen, for the IFI team

Num. 6:24-26