1. Praise:

   Shabbat's Torah portion begins the book of Exodus. Is a misunderstanding of God's name by which He is known in the rest of Scripture based on the anti-Semitic spirit of replacement theology which has infected the Body for almost 2000 years? Contrary to popular belief, His name is not I am that I am – or any translation of that. That actually refers to His nature. Instead He says to Moses that His eternal name throughout all generations is, YHWH, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob (Ex. 3:14-16).

   • King Yeshua, thank You for saving us, Jew and gentile, and grafting us together into Israel's olive tree so that the God of Israel's forefathers is now also our God (Rom. 11:17-26; cp. Zech. 2:10-11).

   • Abba Father, we bless You for revealing to us that our Messiah, born as a Jew, will forever be a Jew, the King of Israel, the Lion of Judah and the Root and Offspring of David (Rev. 5:5-6; 22:16).

   • We praise You Lord God that Jews who are saved remain Jewish and gentiles who are saved remain gentile – yet also that they are joined together now as one new man in Messiah Yeshua (Eph. 2:15).

   • Thank You Lord for using God's name to prove the truth of the resurrection (Mark 12:26-27).

2. Government & society:

   Our God ordains who rules over the nations (Dan. 4:17). He also uses them for His goals, irrespective of whether we discern this or not. So while we often question His choices, His word tells us to intercede for these authorities (1 Tim. 2:1-3). Thus we pray for Israel's leaders that through them and their decisions our God will be glorified (Psa. 115:1-3).

   • Abba, as Israeli elections will be held this year [October at the latest], begin influencing Your people (Psa. 36:9) so that the new coalition is composed of mostly sons and daughters of Zion (Dan. 2:21).

   • Also God, shield Israel from all outside forces that would try to influence the election (Deut. 33:29).

   • King of kings, during the election campaign, let there be serious discussions on significant issues facing Israel and not just the "anyone but-Bibi [Netanyahu]" rhetoric from the opposition (Prov. 9:12).

   • God of Israel, we thank You for answering our prayers and helping Bibi to delegate much more effectively today than he used to in the past (Ex. 18:21-22; Neh. 7:2).

   • God of Jacob, bring to Netanyahu a Joseph-type advisor – one who has Your Spirit (Gen. 41:38).

   • Abba Father, protect Netanyahu and the rest of the coalition from being distracted or diverted from doing what is in line with Your will for Your nation at this point in history (Deut. 6:4-5; 10:12).

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

   • Righteous Judge, hear our prayers and fulfill Your promise in Isaiah 1:24-26 by cleansing Israel's judiciary of its unrighteousness – and replacing it with Your righteousness (Isa. 32:1).

   • God of Israel, silence the political "Absaloms" who constantly try to incite rebellion (Psa. 119:158).

   • Also Lord, confound their counselors like You did with Ahithophel (2 Sam. 15:31; 17:14).

   • We bless You for the rabbis who support their followers joining the IDF and ask You to use them as leaven to impact the rest of the ultra-Orthodox/Haredi community (Luke 13:20-21; Gal. 5:9).

   • God, as in the Torah portion, so today hear the groaning of Israelis who lost loved ones since Oct. 7th and remembering Your covenant with Israel's forefathers, comfort them (Ex. 2:2-25; Psa. 23:4).

3. Foreign relations:

   Reports on Bibi's meetings in the US with President Trump, government officials and evangelical leaders, were for the most part, very positive. Yet this only makes our praying for Israel and its leaders that much more imperative as these good meetings could further tempt Israelis to take their eyes off the Lord and look instead to man (Psa.118:8-9).

   • Lord God, continually remind us that as we intercede for Israel and other nations, that our goal is for Your kingdom and Your glory to be revealed on earth (Psa. 57:5, 11; 108:5; Isa. 55:8-9).

   • Abba, like in the Torah portion, give Israel's diplomats a midwife-type of courage to fear You more than any "Pharaoh" and to disregard all unrighteous demands (Ex. 1:17; Num. 23:23; Psa. 146:3-5).

   • God, as You said to Moses in that portion, teach Israel's representatives what to say (Ex. 4:11-12).

   • King Messiah, thank You for being with Netanyahu in his meetings with Trump and we ask You to show Bibi when to compromise, and when to stand firm (Psa. 9:19-20; 17:4-5; 141:3).

   • God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, shield Israel from Jewish communities in the nations who often desire for Israel to do things that are not in line with Your will (Neh. 4:1-14).

   • Lord God, let the global pressure on Israel push it to be that prophesied nation dwelling alone (Num. 23:9b), and show Israelis how You forbid them from being like any other nation (Ezek. 20:32-38).

   • God of Jacob, as with Balaam, turn all curses against Your people from nations, global NGOs, the media, or whoever, into blessings – based on Your love for them (Deut. 23:5; 33:3).

   • Lord God Almighty, if this is the time for Israel to quit the openly anti-Christ UN, then remove all fear from it of going outside the camp of this world (Matt. 7:6; 10:14; John 14:27).

   • Abba, we again thank You for overseeing the closer unity between Israel, Cyprus and Greece in security, economic and many other issues (Num. 24:9b).

   • Abba Father, anoint with wisdom and great success their obvious goal of standing together against Turkey's aggression in the eastern Mediterranean Sea arena (Psa. 36:11; 92:11).

   • King Messiah, use the relationship between Israel and Somaliland for Your glory (Eph. 3:21).

4. Gaza:

   God is "interfering" with Trump's unrealistic "ceasefire" plan (Prov. 16:1, 9). Yet the US president is determined to press on. Phase one is not completed but phase two is being pushed. Also, other than Turkey, no Arab or Muslim nation wants to send "peacekeepers" to disarm Hamas, and to keep them disarmed. Recently, Hamas leader Khaled Mashal, who resides in Turkey, said that Hamas will not lay down its weapons, or forsake its rule over Gaza.

   • Almighty King, may Your will concerning Gaza prevail and not what any nations, a UN Security Council resolution, or anyone else decrees (Psa. 33:10-11; Prov. 21:30).

   • Lord, when Trump announces his "Board of Peace" to oversee Gaza's future, arise and scatter all heads of nations who will be on it that are Your enemies and anti-Zionists (Psa. 68:1; 83:1-4).

   • God of Moses, as You did to Pharaoh in the Torah portion, continue to harden Hamas' leaders hearts and let the IDF be released to totally destroy them (Ex. 4:21).

   • Abba Father, use the upcoming elections for the next Hamas political head between two terrorists – Mashal and al-Hayya – to separate Hamas in Gaza from Hamas in Qatar and Turkey (Psa. 129:5).

   • Sovereign One, use Mashal's words to turn Trump against Qatar and Turkey who both promised him that they would make Hamas agree with his plan (Prov. 20:2; Dan. 2:12).

   • We thank You Lord God that Israel's Defense Minister Katz knows that Hamas will not disarm and has commanded the IDF to be prepared to restart the war against them (Psa. 44:4-6).

   • Captain of heaven's hosts, now guide all aspects of the IDF's war against Hamas (Josh. 5:13-6:5).

   • We praise You Abba for the success of the IDF in destroying the tunnels under the area in Gaza that they control, and for finding weapons caches and killing terrorists (Job 12:22; Psa. 95:4; 139:12).

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

   • Lord God, thank You for the tens of thousands of Palestinians who have left Gaza, and ask for its gates to stay wide open for most of those who remain to go as well (Isa. 60:12; Jer. 12:17).

   • King Yeshua, build and protect Your Body in Gaza (Matt. 16:18).

5. Internal security:

   We continue to pray for Israel to extend its sovereignty over all of the land west of the Jordan River and to have great success as it attacks Palestinian terrorists in God's land. We do see answers to both, yet the world's opposition to Israel's extension of sovereignty has increased, including from its Western "allies"!

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

   • God of Abraham, we read of how important Your covenant with the land is to You (Psa. 105:1-11; Jer. 32:41) and we ask You to make it just as important to Your people (Psa. 115:1-3).

   • Abba Father, please make Israel's extension of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria an important and much discussed issue in the next elections (Neh. 2:20).

   • Abba, thank You for Israel legalizing many new and previously questionable settlements, and we ask for them to expand in size and population and prosper abundantly (Jer. 32:42-44).

   • Lord God, pour out great blessings on Your nation as it makes a major push to not only reclaim the Negev from criminal gangs, but to build many new communities there as well (Isa. 54:2-3).

   • We bless You Lord for seeing Isaiah 27:6 from Shabbat's prophetic reading coming to pass today.

   • We praise You God that while the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993 as most of the world and most Israelis wanting to see a Palestinian State on Your land, You heard our prayers and until this day no "Palestine" has been created (Psa. 145:18; Jam. 5:16b). Hallelujah!

   • Lord God, protect Israel from any copy-cat attacks based on the Hamas Oct. 7th style, but this time originating from Judea, Samaria or even from Israeli-Arab terrorist groups (Psa. 44:4; 121:4).

   • King of hosts, as per Your promise, release a demoralizing fear and dread of the IDF upon Israel's foes inside Your land (Ex. 23:27; Deut. 11:24-25; Josh. 2:9-11; 2 Chr. 20:29).

   • Lord, place armed civilians in the right place at the right time to stop terrorist attacks (Josh. 4:12).

   • God of gods, use the extension of Israeli sovereignty to shame Muslims who see Your land as "wakf territory" – Allah's land forever – and use that shame to cause many to seek You (Psa. 83:16).

6. External security – Middle East [ME] plus:

   We are praying for the Iranian people as they rise up against their wicked leaders, asking God that He would use them to destroy the king and the princes of Iran (Jer. 49:38b). Yet there are other issues on our heart as well, as you will see below.

   • Lord of the nations, let the uprising against Iran's leaders and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp, the guardians of that regime and Iran's economy, to be super successful (Psa. 36:12; Jer. 46:12).

   • King Yeshua, guide the Iranian Body as they pray for their nation at this time (1 Tim. 2:1-4).

   • Lord God, show Israel what to do – and not to do – to stand with Iran's people (Eccl. 3:7-8).

   • Abba Father, when Iran does have a new leadership, anoint them to work together in unity and to become any ally, even a true friend, of Israel (Num. 24:9b).

   • King of kings, use America's capture of Venezuela's dictator Maduro to drain all the vast amount of finances from his drug trafficking allies – especially Iran and Hizbullah (Rev. 18:2-3, 8-9).

   • Lord Yeshua, guard over Israel's diplomatic meetings with Syria's government (Psa. 5:8; 31:3).

   • God Almighty, use Turkey's evil President Erdogan for Your glory just like You did with Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar and many other wicked leaders in history (Ex. 9:16; Eccl. 8:8b; Rom. 9:17).

   • Lord God, fulfill Ezekiel 28:24-26 in relation to both Qatar and Turkey.

   • Abba, help Israel expose that Lebanon has lied when they say that they have cleared all of South Lebanon from Hizbullah weapons, and maintain the IDF's aggressive actions against Hizbullah throughout Lebanon, especially in the south (Psa. 29:5; Isa. 2:12-13)

   • Lord God, if today's global uprising against Israel is the fulfillment of Zechariah 12:2-3 and 14:1-2, then guide us to know how to pray (Jer. 1:12; John 10:27).

   • Abba Father, as You make covenants – and not deals – fulfill Your covenants with Israel, including Your unconditional covenant concerning Your land (Gen. 15:17-18; Psa. 105:5-11).

7. Aliyah:

   In Isaiah 54:7-8, God views the 2,000 year old captivity of the Jews in the nations as only a small moment and just a little wrath! He goes on to state that with great mercies He will gather His people back home – and this is what we are witnessing today.

   • Lord God Almighty, please hasten the fulfillment of Isaiah 27:12-13 in Shabbat's prophetic reading and regather Your people out of the nations, including throughout the ME.

   • God of Jacob, in line with Jeremiah 23:3-4, we thank You for seeing the regathering the remnant of Israel, and we ask You to use the elections to set over them many more righteous shepherds.

   • Almighty God, use the explosion of anti-Israel/anti-Semitic acts in the West to wake up Jews who never thought about making aliyah to decide to move to Israel now (Jer. 50:4-8).

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

   • Lord, use an increased interest in aliyah to result in an actual increase of aliyah (Matt. 5:37).

   • Abba Father, release all Venezuelan Jews to freely return home to Israel (Zech. 8:7-8), and use them to open wide the gates for every Jew in Central and South America to also make aliyah (Isa. 43:5).

   • King Messiah, bring Jews home today while they can still bring their wealth (Isa. 60:9).

   • God of Israel, use Israeli Minister of Aliyah Ofir Sofer to eliminate many of the bureaucratic stones of stumbling in Israel which too often hinder Your people who desire to return (Isa. 62:10).

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

   • Messiah, show Israel where to build new communities for new immigrants, especially outside of its main cities, and tear down all hindrances from Israel's construction industry (Obad. 1:17-20).

   • Lord Yeshua, let believers see that Isaiah 43:5-6 tells them to co-labor with You to bring Jews home.

   • Also Lord Messiah, let believers see how aliyah is a literal answer to the 2,000 year old prayer for God the Father's name be sanctified by His will being done on earth (Ezek. 28:25-26; Luke 11:2).

8. Salvation:

   Romans 11:26 says that all Israel will be saved! "All Israel" in context means a remnant of His people (Rom. 9:27; 11:5; cp. Jer. 31:7). We believe our prayers aid to increase that remnant as God does not want any to perish (1 Tim. 2:1-4), and the Lord Yeshua tells us to pray for Him to send forth laborers into the harvest (Luke 10:2).

   • Abba Father, in 2026, please save Your people – the remnant of Israel (Jer. 31:7).

   • We specifically ask for the salvation of 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, Venezuela; Jews married to gentile believers; unsaved loved ones of Messianic Jews (Psa. 28:9).

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

   • God, teach Christian-Zionists how they can provoke more Jews to jealousy (Rom. 11:11).

9. Body of Messiah:

   To be in one accord with God's goals today, we must be familiar with all of His Word. Most end-time prophecies predict Israel's restoration and salvation, so knowing His Word aids us to pray in line with His will for His nation despite the overt and distorted lies in much of the Church, the nations and the global media about the Jews.

   • Lord God, reveal to Your Body that how Satan caused humanity to sin in Eden is being repeated today as he constantly asks both believer and non-believer, Has God really said? (Gen. 3:1a)!

   • God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, let Your Body see and be warned about the reality that Your eternal name, as noted in the praise section above, shows that replacement theology is a demonic teaching which leads people to worship another Jesus and thus receive another spirit (2 Cor. 11:4).

   • Messiah Yeshua, gift Your Body with more sons and daughters of Zion who will teach believers the whole counsel of God – from Genesis to Revelation (Zech. 9:13; Acts 20:27; Eph. 4:8, 11-15).

   • King of kings, cleanse Your Body from any patriotism to our nations, including Israel, that becomes an idol which hinders us from being Kingdom of God First (Isa. 40:17; Matt. 6:33; Acts 5:29)!

   • Lord Yeshua, may Your Body never be ashamed to proclaim that the God of Israel, and You, His Son and Israel's king, is the one and only God they worship and serve (Psa. 31:1; Rom. 1:16-17)

10. Water:

    Rain has been falling in Israel. Let's thank God for that and ask for more to fill up a very low the Sea of Galilee, as well as in preparation for that flood of immigrants (Matt. 5:45b).

11. IFI:

    Another exciting week here in Israel and the surrounding neighborhood. And President Trump seems to be determined to add to the world's excitement with his every move! We appreciate and need your prayer support so that the "noise" from the excitement does not drown out the voice of our God because without His guidance it is difficult to know how to pray. Thank you for your prayers and support and words of encouragement.

Blessings and Shabbat shalom from Israel

Chuck Cohen, for the IFI team

Isa. 28:5-6 [from Shabbat's prophetic reading]