1. Praise:

   Shabbat's prophetic reading has some awesome truths of our God that birth much praise. One verse, Isaiah's vision of Messiah Yeshua in His glory (John 12:37-41), recites what the heavenly beings around His throne are still declaring: Holy, holy, holy, YHWH of hosts; all the earth is full of His glory (Isa. 6:3b).

   • Lord Yeshua, we are once again humbled by the fact that what we think we know about who You are today is in reality like looking through an obscure mirror (1 Cor. 13:12).

   • We confess with all of heaven that You, precious Lamb of God, Lion of Judah, are worthy of all the same accolades as God the Father (Rev. 4:10-11; 5:8-14).

   • Regardless of what happens on the earth, we rest in, and trust in, You Lord Yeshua, to whom all authority both in heaven and on the earth has already been given (Matt. 28:18; cp. Dan. 7:13-14).

   • Thank You Messiah Lord, that You are the "child" (the Son of Man) who was born and the "Son" (God the Son) who was given to us that we read of in the prophetic portion (Isa. 9:6a; cp. John 3:16).

   • King Yeshua, we are so encouraged to know that part of Your true nature as shown in Your name is: Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6b).

2. Government & society:

   The next Israeli government will be dealing with very serious, even existential, issues. Who will be the next US president? What will be the situation in Gaza? Will Iran still be an enemy? Will the government have enough courage and backing to enforce much needed judicial reform or bow to the left-wing, humanistic sons of Greece? These issues and more are why we sense the need to persistently pray into the next Israeli elections.

   • King Messiah, while Isaiah 9:7 in the prophetic portion ultimately describes Your rule after You return to Jerusalem – yet please at least start to manifest that in Israel at this time (Psa. 5:2).

   • Lord God, whoever becomes the new prime minister, may he receive the kind of advice that Moses received from Jethro in Shabbat's Torah portion – and do it (Ex. 18:21).

   • Abba Father, continue to move upon Your people (Psa. 36:9) so that the next governing coalition is filled up with more children of Issachar and of Zion (1 Chr. 12:32a; Zech. 9:13).

   • Lord God, silence the voices of the anti-Zionist Israeli media (Prov. 12:13; Isa. 52:15; Dan. 6:22), and allow Your people to hear the truth about the choices they will be making (Psa. 25:5a; 43:3).

   • Righteous Judge, arise and fulfill Your promise in Isaiah 1:24-26 to cleanse Israel's judiciary of its unrighteousness – and as You do, replace it with Your righteousness (Isa. 32:1).

   • Abba, as PM Bibi Netanyahu is handling many issues at once, protect him from being distracted or diverted from those things which are Your priorities for Israel today (Isa. 50:7; 1 Cor. 7:35).

   • Lord God, bring to Bibi a Daniel-like counselor in whom he sees Your Spirit (Dan. 4:9; 5:11-14).

   • We bless You for every ultra-Orthodox/Haredi rabbi who encourages his followers to join the IDF and ask You to use them as leaven to influence the rest of that community (Luke 13:20-21; Gal. 5:9).

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

   • We praise You for the multi-billion dollar sale of military equipment that was just approved by the US for Israel, yet please help Israel to swiftly be totally independent for things like this (Isa. 31:1).

3. Foreign relations:

   Are we seeing Psalm 2 being fulfilled today? Most nations, even "friends" of Israel, rage against God and His anointed people. [While Psalm 2 points to Messiah Yeshua as God's Anointed, in Psalm 105:15, He also calls Israel His anointed (See the context – Psalm 105:11-15)]. Psalm 2:4-5 says that God mocks and derides those who rage against Him and then He pours out His wrath and fury upon them. We have entered into very dangerous times for Israel's enemies.

   • King of kings, may Your foreign policy be furthered on earth in 2026, and continue using Israel to bring it to completion (Deut. 28:9-10; Psa. 9:19-20; 33:10-11; Luke 11:2).

   • Lord God, reveal Yourself to many world's leaders like You did to Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4:34-35).

   • God of Jacob, use Israel's situation of being criticized and condemned by the nations today to fulfill Numbers 23:9b and forbid us from praying against this which is Your will (1 John 5:14-15).

   • God Almighty, as more nations "recognize" an imaginary Palestinian State, place Your words in the mouths of Israel's representatives to rebuke them by using Your truth (Psa. 29:3-11; 81:10; Jer.1:9).

   • Yet Abba Father, if this recognition of a "Palestine" is the start of the fulfillment of Zechariah 12:2-3, then show us and lead us as to know how we should pray (Amos 3:7).

   • Almighty King, anoint Bibi and other Israeli leaders with wisdom and boldness to deal with Trump and his administration, and also put biblical verses on their tongues (Ex. 4:11-12).

   • Lord Yeshua, write on the UN's walls what You wrote to Belshazzar (Dan. 5:25-28) and remove this anti-God/anti-Christ organization from off Your world (Psa. 73:18-19).

   • Sovereign Lord, may Israel's outreach to 3rd world nations continue to be very fruitful (Isa. 2:3).

   • Lord Yeshua, draw Christian Zionists into Israeli representatives' lives, and let them encourage these Israelis by sharing of what Your Word says about Israel today (Psa. 40:10; 43:3a; 86:1; 98:3).

4. Gaza:

   US President Trump's convoluted 20-point plan for Gaza, including his unworkable "Board of Peace" to guide Gaza into the future is very worrying for both Israel and America. By placing Israel's enemies – and Hamas' allies Qatar and Turkey – on that board, nothing good for God's nation should be expected. We are praying for Israel to have wisdom from on high to navigate these dangerous waters and gain the victory over Hamas – today's Amalek.

   • Almighty God, may Your will for Gaza prevail and not anyone else's (Psa. 33:10-11; Prov. 21:30).

   • Messiah of Israel, Obadiah 1:11-14 basically describes the Oct. 7th massacre, so we ask You to arise and war against Hamas until it is destroyed (Ex. 17:14-16; Psa. 68:30b).

   • King of the world's kings, we lift up to You Trump's "Board of Peace" to oversee Gaza's future, and pray for You to absolutely confound those on it who hate Zion (Psa. 129:5).

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

   • Abba, with the Rafah Border crossing between Gaza and Egypt now opened, support Israel's leaders as they insist that they alone have the final say of who enters Gaza (Psa. 18:32-34; Isa. 28:6).

   • Lord God, when the war restarts, "accomplish a great victory" through the IDF (2 Sam. 23:10, 12).

   • Almighty God, as You did for Joshua, Gideon, David, and others, download divine strategies and tactics to the IDF to surprise, divide and defeat Hamas (Josh. 6:2-5; Judg. 7:16-18; 2 Sam. 5:23-24).

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

   • Lord God, when the war restarts, let Hamas fall into the pits they have dug for Israel (Psa. 7:15-16).

   • Abba Father, we thank You that the Oct. 7th massacre awoke a demand by a growing remnant in Israel to repossess Gaza and reestablish its settlements (Obad. 1:17b; Zeph. 2:5-7).

   • We praise You Lord that for the first time in over a decade there are no Israeli hostages in Gaza!

   • King Yeshua, build, protect, and give boldness to all the Arab believers in Gaza (Matt. 16:18).

5. Internal security:

   Israel's current government has made major strides in planting facts in the ground throughout Judea and Samaria. This answer to prayer encourages us to pray that the next government will take the baton and race to the finish line – a complete extension of sovereignty over all of the land west of the Jordan River at this time.

   • Lord, show believers that the promise Paul mentions in the New Testament connected with honoring fathers and mothers (Eph. 6:2), is the promise of the land (Ex. 20:12).

   • We thank You Almighty God for revealing in Isaiah 60:21 that You gave Your land to Your people for Your glory; therefore bring it swiftly to completion (Psa. 115:1-3; Isa. 55:11; 60:22).

   • God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, restore to the Jews their biblical land deeds (Psa. 125:3): Hebron (Gen. 23:17-18); Shechem [Nabulus today] (Gen. 33:19); and the Temple Mount (2 Sam. 24:24).

   • Abba Father, ensure that Israel's extension of sovereignty over Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley is a much talked about topic in the upcoming election campaign (Neh. 2:20).

   • Lord God, if Israel needs to choose between expanding the Abraham Accords or honoring Your covenant with Father Abraham, let it to choose Your covenant (Gen. 12:1-22:18; Neh. 2:20).

   • God, abundantly bless Israel's new plans to develop the Galilee and the Negev (Jer. 24:6; 32:44),

   • We praise You Lord God that although the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993 and most of the world and a majority of Israelis wanted to see a Palestinian State created on Your land, You heard our cries and still today there is no "Palestine" (Psa. 50:15; 145:18; Jam. 5:16b)!

   • Shepherd of Israel, guard over the scattered Jews whom You are regathering (Isa. 33:2; Jer. 31:10).

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

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

   • We bless You that while terror attacks have increased, most fail, and no successful kidnappings of Jews, in or outside of Your land, have occurred since Oct. 7th 2023 (Psa. 50:15; 121:4; Jer. 31:10).

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

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

   Israel is on high alert as Iran has threatened to attack it, including using its still breathing proxies, if America attacks Iran. Yet the Iranian regime must be destroyed for Jeremiah 49:38b to be fulfilled. Whether God uses the US, or Israel, or more Iranian demonstrations – or all three combined – only He knows. But we pray for it to happen soon and for God to hide Israel under His wings from all enemy missiles.

   • Lord Yeshua, continue to be Israel's Rock of defense (Psa. 18:2) as it has basically been on high alert since 1948 (Psa. 18:2; Prov. 18:10).

   • Also, Great God, increase the efforts of Your angelic hosts working behind the scenes (Psa. 35:5-6).

   • King of Jacob, You are the God of whom Moses and Israel confessed, 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; 115:1-3).

   • Lord, Trump's heart is in Your hands, so we ask for You to direct it in relation to Iran (Prov. 21:1).

   • God of Israel, guide Your nation to know what it should do against Iran and its threats, despite what America does or does not do (Psa. 31:2-3; Jer. 3:4).

   • Lord God, reveal to Israel how much Iran's ballistic missile program has grown and whether they are trying to manufacture chemical and biological warheads for those missiles (Isa. 54:17).

   • Abba, may the curses from Iran's leaders against Israel fall back upon them (Gal. 6:7).

   • King of kings, increase the internal division in Iran's government and let it collapse (Luke 11:18).

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

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

   • Abba Father, be glorified through Israel's relations with the Druze and Kurds in Syria (Psa. 115:1-3).

   • Lord God, help Israel to expose how Lebanon is lying when they say they have cleared all of South Lebanon from Hizbullah weapons, and continue to maintain the IDF's aggressive actions, throughout Lebanon, against Hizbullah's attempts to rearm (Psa. 29:5; Isa. 2:12-13)

   • Merciful Savior, bring shame upon many Muslims as they see how Allah is defenseless against You, Israel's God, and use that to turn them to seek You (Psa. 83:16-18).

7. Aliyah:

   The resistance of most Jews still in the "captivity" against making aliyah and settling in Israel has resulted in God sending His hunters to chase them home (Jer. 16:16). We see this in every Western nation today. Meanwhile, Jews in the West are still free to immigrate. Yet Ezekiel 39:28 seems to say that Jews will either live in Israel, or will not live at all! So praying for the aliyah is of utmost importance today, especially as we add that the aliyah brings God glory (Isa. 43:5-7, 21).

   • Faithful Lord, hasten the completion of Ezekiel 28:25-26 so that with an increase in aliyah we also see the removal of Israel's enemies, and ultimately many Israelis coming to know Messiah Yeshua.

   • God of Jacob, we praise You for regathering a remnant of Israel, and ask You to use the upcoming Israeli elections to set over them many more righteous shepherds (Jer. 3:15; 23:3-4).

   • Lord, thank You for gathering Your people back home with "great mercies" (Isa. 54:7-8).

   • Also, Abba, use Your hunters (Jer. 16:16) to increase the effectiveness of Your mercy.

   • Almighty God, let the expansion of anti-Israel/anti-Semitic acts in the West wake up those Jews who never considered making aliyah to decide to move to Israel as soon as possible (Jer. 50:4-8).

   • King Messiah, draw Jews back home with their silver and gold, stocks and bitcoins (Isa. 60:9).

   • Lord Yeshua, bring back whole families and communities together (Ex. 12:37-38; Jer. 31:3-5).

   • God, let Israeli President Herzog be very politically incorrect while he visits Australia next week and open his mouth to encourage Australian Jews to make aliyah (Psa. 81:10; Gal. 4:16).

   • Abba Father, replace the rabbis' definition of "who is a Jew?" with Your definition (Psa. 119:116).

   • God, open the gates for a huge remnant of Jews in "third-world" countries to return (Isa. 43:5-7).

   • Thank You Lord for Israel's new program to facilitate the reunion of B'nei Menashe [Indian Jews], families by opening wide the doors for their loved ones still in India to make aliyah (Zech. 8:7).

   • Lord God, please lead Israel to do the same with the Ethiopian Jews, and in fact all Jews who have made aliyah and still have families in the captivity – like so many from the West (Jer. 31:8-9).

   • God of Abraham, may these types of pro-aliyah programs be continued and even expanded by the next Israeli government (Phil. 1:6).

   • Lord, marry Your people to the land, and show them that it is a marriage: for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health – and not just a love affair (Isa. 62:4-5).

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

8. Salvation:

   Psalm 106:47 connects Israel's salvation with aliyah, which results in God being praised. Save us, YHWH our God, and gather us from the nations to give thanks to Your holy name, and to triumph in Your praise.

   • God, as Jews read the Torah portion, let them again see that there are gentiles who become believers in the God of Israel and let them connect that to most of the Body of Messiah today (Ex. 18:10-12).

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

   • Abba Father, as You say in the Torah reading, encourage Jews to believe in Moses' words more than the interpretations of Moses that their rabbis give them (Ex. 19:9).

   • Lord God, may Jews who made aliyah with help of gentile believers be provoked to jealousy by the love and concern of these Christians, and use that to draw them to Your Son (Rom. 11:11).

   • Almighty God of grace, hear our prayers and this year fulfill Your promise to save Your people, the remnant of Israel (Jer. 31:7; cp. Psa. 14:7; Rom. 11:26).

   • [Ask the Lord about specific groups of Jews He would want you to pray for this week.]

9. Body of Messiah:

   Yeshua challenged the Jewish rulers concerning their failure to discern the signs of the times (Matt. 16:2-3). Is He also challenging His Body today with their ignorance, or worse, lukewarmness, about the prophecies He is literally fulfilling in and around Israel?

   • Lord Yeshua, create more believers with a spirit of Jethro who, in Shabbat's Torah portion, rejoiced when he heard how good You were to Israel in delivering them from their enemies (Ex. 18:8-9).

   • King of Israel, as Moses says in the Torah reading, restore a biblical fear of You in the Body so that believers are better able to resist sinning against You (Ex. 20:20; cp. Psa. 86:11).

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

   • Divine Physician, heal Your Body of its biblical anorexia and prophetic illiteracy by giving it a real hunger to "eat" all of Your Word (Jer. 15:16; Amos 8:11; Acts 20:32; 2 Tim. 2:15; Heb. 5:13-14).

   • Abba Father, raise up more voices in Your Body to unashamedly condemn the rising anti-Semitism and spread of falsehoods about Your nation in their nations (Rom. 11:16-24; 15:27; Eph. 2:11-13).

   • King of kings, show Your Body that any nation which recognizes a "Palestine" is blaspheming You by boasting against Your mountains (Ezek. 35:10-13), and then burden believers in those nations to ask for mercy (Ezek. 22:30-31), and to proclaim blessings on Your nation, Israel (Num. 24:9b).

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

10. Water:

    Israel's Water Authority needs to find a way to keep the Sea of Galilee full while at the same time not ruining the ecological balance which too much desalinated water apparently can cause. The answer is for God to open His heavens and pour out all of His natural water on the sea and in the rest of the land. Please pray with us for both these issues.

11. IFI:

    We sense that Daniel 7:21 is the reality that we at IFI, and all true believers, face today. So we treasure your prayers and encouragement in order for us all to stand until 7:22 becomes fully manifest. Thank you once again for your support for us in so many ways.

Blessings and Shabbat shalom from Zion
Chuck Cohen, for the IFI team
1 Cor. 1:9