1. Praise:

   Shabbat's Torah portion includes Jacob's dream of a ladder connecting heaven and earth with angels/messengers of God ascending and descending on it (Gen. 28:12). This is a type of Messiah Yeshua as He indicated to Nathanael in John 1:51 that He is that connection between His Father and mankind, bringing God's words to us and presenting our prayers back to Him.

   • Lord Yeshua, we thank You for being our Mediator, linking us with Your Father (1 Tim. 2:5).

   • King Messiah, while Job did not know You as the One who could stand between him and God (Job 9:32-33), we do and are so blessed that You have chosen to reveal this to us (1 John 2:1-2).

   • Lord God, we are encouraged as we read in Your Word of how You are so near to Your people yet they often are totally unaware of Your presence (Gen. 28:16), and we confess that this happens to us during our struggles with the issues of life (Job 9:11; Psa. 77:19; Luke 24:15-16; John 20:14).

   • Thank You, Lord Yeshua, for telling us, just like You told Israel, that regardless of what trials we go through, You will never leave us nor forsake us (Isa. 43:1-2; Matt. 28:20b).

2. Government & society:

   As we continue to pray for Israel's political and military leaders, we see God turning some of them to become like His prophesied children of Zion (Zech. 9:13a). The humanistic children of Greece who rule the West today grieve over this, yet it definitely emboldens us to continue to intercede for them – for the sake of God's glory (Psa. 115:1-3).

   • King Messiah, guide us as we pray for Israel's government (Psa. 32:8) as what is reported in Israel's media is often distortions of truth, or out-and-out lies against its current leaders (Isa. 59:4, 14).

   • Lord God, as You say in the prophetic portion, let Israel's leaders "tremble" before You (Hos. 13:1).

   • Also, as in that portion, turn them to perceive You as their King and their help (Hos. 13:9-10a).

   • God of Israel, unite Israel's coalition; guard them against being deceived (Job 12:16-17); and make more of them like biblical sons and daughters of Zion (Isa. 37:22; Mic. 4:13; Zech. 9:13).

   • Lord God, as we consider the vast majority of the political leaders in the West, we thank You for giving Israel a leader like PM Bibi Netanyahu at this time (Jer. 27:5; Dan. 2:21).

   • God of Gideon, as You did with Gideon, so clothe Netanyahu with Your Spirit (Judg. 6:34).

   • King Yeshua, fulfill Proverbs 9:10, 19:21 and 21:1 in all areas of Netanyahu's life.

   • We praise You that Bibi recently said that with Israel becoming more diplomatically isolated in the world it needs to become more self-sufficient as both aspects are answers to prayer (Num. 23:9b).

   • Lord God, with the above being a reality, show Your nation how this isolation is Your divine nudge to turn them to look to You alone (Deut. 8:3; Isa. 30:1-3; 41:10-16).

   • Abba, we ask You to fulfill Isaiah 1:25-27 and guide those in Israel pushing for judicial reform.

   • Lord, use Moses' rebuke of the two and a half-tribes who wanted to stay east of the Jordan River to convict Haredi rabbis of their sin against You when they refuse to release their young men to fight for Your nation today (Num. 32:6-7, 20-22).

   • Lord, as terrorists murderers were again traded for hostages, stir up more Israelis to demand the use of the death penalty to prevent this unrighteous act in the future (Num. 35:16-18, 21, 30-31).

3. Foreign relations:

   The cursing and betrayal of Israel is a sign of the world's hatred of Israel's God (Psa. 83:1-4). It has resulted in that prophesied gross darkness over most nations – particularly in the West (Isa. 60:2). We are praying for Israel to respond biblically, which could release God's glory to be manifested openly before a rebellious world (Isa. 60:1).

   • King Yeshua, as You are never confused about the events and attitudes impacting the nations today, please direct us as we pray for Your will to be done on earth (Psa. 71:1; 1 Cor. 14:33).

   • Lord God, let Israel's situation of being condemned by most nations fulfill Numbers 23:9b and help us to not pray against it as if it would be against Your will (1 John 5:14-15).

   • King of kings, You have ordained today's world leaders (Prov. 8:15; Dan. 2:21a), so use them like You did Pharaoh, Cyrus and others – to further Your kingdom's goals (Rom. 9:15-23).

   • Sovereign Lord, anoint Bibi and other Israeli leaders with wisdom and courage as they deal with US President Trump and his administration, including using Bible verses (Psa. 23:1; Isa, 30:21; 55:11).

   • Also anoint Israel's UN ambassador Danny Danon to proclaim Your truth (Isa. 2:3; Acts 1:8).

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

   • God of Israel, as You did with Balaam, turn the curses against Your people from nations, global NGOs, and the mainstream media, into blessings, simply because You love them (Deut. 23:5; 33:3).

   • Lord Yeshua, turn believers to Ezekiel 29:6-9 and let them see how irate You are with Israel's allies who prove to be unreliable, and then have them intercede for their nations (Ezek. 22:30-31).

4. Gaza:

   The IDF's war against Hamas is now in a holding-pattern while Israel waits to see if Trump's naïve and dangerous ceasefire plan actually results in a disarmed and expelled Hamas. Hamas agreed to Trump's plan, but it has broken it repeated as two hostages bodies remain in Gaza, it attacks IDF soldiers daily, and it absolutely refuses to disarm. The UN Security Council has adopted Trumps' plan and even approved an International Stabilization Force [ISF] to disarm Hamas and demilitarize Gaza. Yet so far, not one nation has agreed to send in troops to confront Hamas. Only the IDF has the will and courage to do it.

   • Lord Yeshua, just like You rebuked the storm, and the wind and waves stopped, please rebuke phase two of Trump's plan today and say, Be silent! Be still! (Mark 4:39-41)

   • Abba, prevent any foreign troops, like the ISF, from entering Your land (Lev. 25:23; Psa. 10:16).

   • God of justice, based on Deuteronomy 32:41 and Isaiah 34:5, we pray for You to arise and render vengeance unto Your enemies in Gaza who hate You – Hamas and Islamic Jihad (Psa. 83:1-4).

   • God of hosts, strengthen the angelic protection over the IDF soldiers still in Gaza against explosive devices, attacks, kidnapping attempts, accidents or friendly fire incidents (Psa. 32:7; 121:4).

   • May the IDF be released to deal with Hamas quickly as every day it waits, Hamas rebuilds its forces and becomes that much more dangerous (Josh. 10:9; 11:7; Psa. 6:10) .

   • God, You do not change (Mal. 3:6), therefore as You did for Gideon, download wisdom to the IDF concerning Your divine strategies and tactics that surprise, divide and defeat Hamas (Judg. 7:16-18).

   • Great God, just like that great trembling which the Philistines experienced (1 Sam. 14:15), may there be another great trembling that shakes and destroys all of the tunnels throughout Gaza (Job 9:6).

   • We praise You Lord that despite external and internal pressure, Bibi is holding his ground that there must be no Hamas or Palestinian Authority [PA] in Gaza in the day after plans (Psa. 15:4b; Jam. 1:6).

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

5. Internal security:

   While our intercession for Israel to extend its sovereignty focuses on Judea Samaria, and the Jordan Valley, the issue of internal security covers all of its land. Security is vital as all Israel is saved on God's land and for Jews to be saved – they must be alive!

   • We bless You Lord God for revealing in Isaiah 60:21 that Your reason for giving Your land to Your people is so that You will be glorified; therefore quicken its fulfillment (Isa. 55:11; 60:22).

   • King Yeshua, lead Your Body to intercede for Your will about Your land to be done as You have linked its destiny with the sanctification of Your name (Psa. 87:2; 115:1-3; Prov. 3:12; 1 Thess. 1:3).

   • We are very grateful Lord that in Jeremiah 32:44 You describe the land You are planting Israel back in (32:41), and it covers all of the territory from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea!

   • Thank You Abba that Bibi and other top government officials have all recently stated that there will be no Palestinian State established on Your land; now hold them to it (Lev. 25:23; Matt. 5:37).

   • God of the nations, cast out all fear of man from Israel's leaders which is holding them back from extending Israel's sovereignty over all of Your land (Psa. 118:6; Prov. 29:25).

   • Abba Father, increase the number of Israeli citizens who live in Judea and Samaria (Psa. 105:24).

   • Lord, hedge in the small number of extremists among them and prevent their unlawful deeds from causing the whole settler movement to be seen as anything other than courageous pioneers (Gal. 5:9).

   • Decrease the extremists' acts and increase Israel's security forces responses to terrorists (Eccl. 8:11).

   • We thank You Lord for discrediting the PA both among the Palestinians and many in the West, and ask for You to do the same with Hamas – whose popularity has grown since Oct. 7th.

   • God Almighty, guide Israel's efforts to halt the PA from creating facts on Your land (Num. 21:3).

   • Thank You Lord of hosts for the massive counterterrorism operation that various Israelis security service combined to do this past week in Samaria, and its apparent overwhelming success (Psa. 44:4).

   • Almighty Lord, unshackle the IDF from any humanistic chains, and let it fight the terrorists in all of Your land in a biblical fashion, including by asking You to lead them into battle (Psa. 18:36-40).

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

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

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

   Qatar and Turkey working closely with the US to oversee Gaza's future is very dangerous. Both are committed to the tenets of the Muslim Brotherhood [MB] and are thus enemies of Israel and the West. While it has just been announced that Trump will designate the MB as a terrorist organization, whether this will apply to these two nations is questionable. Meanwhile, Iran and Hizbullah are rearming and threatening Israel once again.

   • King of Jacob, You are the 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).

   • Abba Father, strengthen Your angelic armies guarding over Israel today (Psa. 35:4-6; 78:49).

   • Lord God of hosts, prepare Israel to restart its multi-front war and this time to not stop until You give them complete victories over all of their ME enemies (Psa.44:4; 60:11-12).

   • King Messiah, increase the paranoia among Israel's ME foes so that they do not trust each other and it causes them to be totally confounded and to make huge geo-political mistakes (Psa. 129:5).

   • King Messiah, Isaiah 41:11-12 describes the mindset of Israel's ME enemies very clearly, including Iran, so shame and confound them and make them like the dust before the IDF (Psa. 83:16).

   • Lord God, You created the destroyer to protect Your people from its enemies; send it out over Iran's evil plans and its false god (Ex. 12:13, 23; Isa. 54:15-17; Hag. 2:22).

   • Abba Father, use Iran's extreme water crisis, its economic crisis and the increase of ordinary Iranian citizens being persecuted to hasten the day when Iran's wicked regime is destroyed (Jer. 49:38b).

   • King Messiah, protect Israel in its diplomatic meetings with Syria's government (Psa. 5:8; 31:3).

   • Abba, we thank You that it appears that Israel is not being deceived by Syria today (Jer. 13:23).

   • All-wise God, thank You for anointing Israel's intelligence gathering service as we saw the results this week when Israel eliminated Hizbullah's #2 commander in the midst of Beirut (Job 12:22).

   • God, sustain the IDF's attacks on Hizbullah's attempts to rebuild anywhere in Lebanon (Ex. 23:27).

   • Lord, draw Israel and the Kurdish groups throughout the ME into a closer relationship in all areas, and use this standing together of Jew and Kurd for Your glory's sake (Ezek. 43:2; Mal. 1:5).

   • Lord Yeshua, caution Your Body throughout the ME that if they curse Israel, they will reap what they sow and be cursed in return (Num. 24:9b; Psa. 6:1; Gal. 6:7; Rev. 2:14a).

7. Aliyah:

   The resistance of many Jews in "the captivity" to come home to Israel has resulted in God sending His hunters to chase them back (Jer. 16:16). This is most obvious in the West today. Ezekiel 39:28 seems to indicate that Jews will either live in Israel, or not live at all, so praying for the aliyah – the return of the Jews to their God-given homeland – is extremely important today.

   • Lord God of Israel, as per Jeremiah 23:3-4, thank You for regathering the remnant of the house of Israel, and for increasing them, and now please set over them many more righteous shepherds.

   • God of Abraham, open up Jewish eyes to see that while Israel is not 100% safe, it is safer than living in "the captivity" today – including in the West (Psa. 121:3-4).

   • God of Jacob, help the Jews in exile understand that most gentiles tend to link them to Israel whether they agree with Israel's policies or not (Matt. 26:71-73).

   • Lord God, confront Jewish pride which says, "They will not chase us out!" and show them that You are doing the chasing to draw them back home now (Prov. 16:18; Isa. 43:5-7; Jer. 31:3-5).

   • Abba, remove all stones of stumbling hindering Jews who want to return but are prevented by either circumstances, finances, or their current-nations refusing to let them leave (Ex. 8:1; Psa. 68:6a).

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

   • Lord God, bring home Jews 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 of Jacob, focus Israel's diplomatic outreach to the Jews in the nations towards aliyah and away from helping them to remain "safe and secure" in "the captivity" (Deut. 28:65-67; Psa. 107:1-9).

   • Lord God, replace the rabbinical definition of "who is a Jew?" with Your definition (Psa. 119:116).

   • Abba Father, declare to Israel's rabbis "Let My people come!" (Isa. 62:10)

   • King Messiah, push Israel to speed up the processing of new immigrants into society (Psa. 119:60).

   • God of Israel, shut the gates to all other nations against Jewish immigration, and keep them wide open in Israel to graciously and respectfully receive each one (Isa. 43:5-7).

   • Lord Yeshua, teach gentile believers that Isaiah 60:3-11 and 16 speak prophetically to them about being an integral part of the restoration of Israel in these last days (Isa. 49:22).

8. Salvation:

   Romans 11:26 says that all Israel will be saved! The context of all Israel speaks of a remnant of His people (Rom. 9:27; 11:5; cp. Jer. 31:7). We trust that our prayers can increase that remnant as God does not desire any to perish (1 Tim. 2:1-4), and He tells us to pray to Him to send forth laborers to the harvest (Luke 10:2).

   • Lord Yeshua, please send forth many more laborers into the Jewish harvest fields (Matt. 9:37-38)

   • Abba, as You prophesied in the prophetic portion, heal Israel's backsliding and as You did with us through Your Son, love them freely (Hos. 14:4).

   • Lord God of Israel, reveal to Your people that through His resurrection, Yeshua has already fulfilled Hosea 13:14 which is in Shabbat's prophetic reading (Isa. 25:8; 1 Cor. 15:54).

   • Messiah Yeshua, show born-again gentiles that Romans 1:16 and 11:11 are still valid and true.

   • Abba Father, by Your grace and in Your mercy please save all living Holocaust survivors and their families; survivors of terrorism; returned hostages and their loved ones; IDF soldiers and families; loved ones of soldiers killed or severely injured; soldiers with PTSD and medical personnel; Jewish widows, widowers, orphans; politicians, judges, lawyers, diplomats; university students, teachers, professors; scientists, astronomers; rabbis and Jewish anti-missionaries; Jews 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 alcoholics, hippies, LGBTQ+, new agers; Jews in Iran, Ethiopia, Turkey, India, China; Jews married to gentile believers; unsaved loved ones of Messianic Jews.

9. Body of Messiah:

   It is imperative for believers see the connection between God's promises to Abraham and his seed and the gospel to the gentiles (Gen. 12:3b). Like last week, this is revealed once again to Jacob in Shabbat's Torah portion: Your seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west, and the east, to the north, and the south, and in you and in your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. (Gen. 28:14; cp. Gal. 3:8)

   • Lord, if even Laban perceived that You blessed him for Jacob's sake (Gen. 30:27), please show Your Body that those who bless Israel are blessed and woe to those who curse Israel (Num. 24:9b).

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

   • Messiah Yeshua, also cast out replacement theory from the Body (Eph. 5:27; 1 Tim. 4:1).

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

   • King Messiah, restore the authority of all of Your Word to Your Body (John 17:17; Eph. 5:25-27).

   • Along with that, restore boldness in Your Body to stand for You and Your truth (Acts 4:31; 20:27).

   • Abba Father, promote more sons and daughters of Issachar throughout the Body who see the signs of the times and know Israel's place in Your end-time plans (1 Chr. 12:32).

   • Lord, help gentile believers perceive that their eternal destiny is tied in with Israel and not with their birth-nations (Eph. 2:11-22), and then to be zealous ambassadors for Your Kingdom (2 Cor. 5:20).

10. Water:

    We are praying for God to send all of the water that Israel needs – especially as there is expectation of a large aliyah in the near future (Isa. 41:17-20; Matt. 5:45b).

11. IFI:

    Thank you for your prayers, encouragement and financial support.

Shabbat shalom from Israel

Chuck Cohen, for the IFI team

Rev. 22:21