1. Praise :

   God exists outside of time and therefore knows everything that will happen in time because all of time is before Him – at the same time! Considering this and then reading that He has chosen us even before we were created is beyond amazing. Yet He did choose us despite knowing all of our struggles with sin and the flesh that we would have even after salvation. This is a Father's love and answers to what we read in the prophetic portion: Will you not from this time cry unto Me, 'My father, You are the guide of my youth'! (Jer. 3:4)

   • Abba Father, we praise You for choosing us, and for choosing Israel, so that Your faithfulness unto Your promises would be seen by all (Deut. 7:8-9; 1 Thess. 5:23-24; Heb. 10:23).

   • God, we confess that we love You because You loved us before we even knew You (1 John 4:19).

   • Thank You Lord Yeshua that through the New Covenant You removed the one obstacle separating us from You: our inherited sin nature (Gen. 5:3; Isa. 59:1-2; Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 8:8-12).

   • We bless You that not only does Your grace save us – but it keeps us on our journey (1 Cor. 10:13).

   • Lord Yeshua, we rejoice with creation, waiting for Your return as the righteous Judge (Psa. 98:7-9).

2. Government & society :

   Israel is in election mode and the anti-PM Bibi Netanyahu parties are blaming him for every bad thing that Israel faces. Much of this is done by a distortion of facts so we are praying for protection over Israel's electorate against manipulation by lies, innuendoes, half-truths, etc., from both man, media, and increasingly from AI [Artificial Intelligence] (Num. 23:23).

   • King Yeshua, burden Your Body to intercede for Your will to be done in Israel's elections, and reveal to them the link between Israel's restoration and Your return (Isa. 46:13; Zech. 12:10; 14:3-4).

   • Abba Father, unless You build the house man's labors are in vain (Psa. 127:1), so please "build" the next Israeli governing coalition in a way that it brings You great glory (Psa. 115:1-3).

   • Abba, release Your Spirit to hover over the chaotic Israeli election scene as new parties are created and everyone states what they think people want to hear, and create order and clarity and discernment among the voters to know who is lying and who is speaking truth (Gen. 1:2; Prov. 6:16, 19; 12:17).

   • Lord, use the chaos to stir the pot and let the dross come to the surface to be taken away (Isa. 1:25).

   • Sovereign Lord, listening to the West's political leaders today, we have to thank You for raising up Netanyahu, who is far from perfect, as Israel's prime minister today (Psa. 75:6-7; Jer. 27:5).

   • God, bring godly counselors to Netanyahu and every other current government ministers, and open their hearts to truly hear them (Prov. 9:9; 11:14; 24:6).

   • If there is a son of Jesse hidden somewhere whom You want to be Israel's leader at some time in the near future, Lord Yeshua reveal him to us so that we can start interceding for him (Amos 3:7).

   • Lord God, strengthen Israel's current coalition to move forward with all that You have ordained for them to accomplish during the short time they have left to serve Your nation (Prov. 16:1, 9).

   • Again we ask You God to fulfill Isa. 1:25-27 and deal in righteousness with the arrogant Supreme Court judges in Israel today who act as if they – and not the elected officials – run the nation.

   • Abba, as Haredi [ultra-Orthodox] rabbis read Numbers 31:3-4, 27 and 32:6-7, 20-22 in Shabbat's Torah portion, change their thinking about keeping their young men out of the Israeli army.

   • Lord, we agree with the Haredi that Torah study is an essential part of Your nation, and ask You to turn them back to the Torah and away from their, for the most part, humanistic Talmud (Ex. 19:7-8).

   • Lord God, with Israel about to put the Oct. 7th murderers on trial and have passed a death penalty law that can be enacted on all proven guilty, use Your repeated decrees that the murderer shall be put to death in Shabbat's Torah reading to be much more influential than the inevitable world's false cries of mercy against Israel doing this (Num. 35:16; cp. vv. 17, 18, 21, 30, 31; 35:31-34).

3. Foreign relations :

   As disciples of Messiah Yeshua, His Father's foreign policy must be ours: May Your kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:9-10). This goal has to be exalted over our loyalty to any nation, including Israel. Yet we also need to see that this goal will only be fulfilled if Israel becomes all that our God has promised that it will be.

   • Abba Father, as You are never confused about the plans of the nations, continue to guide us as we ask for Your will to be done on earth (Psa. 71:1; 1 Cor. 14:33).

   • King Messiah, do not let American believers ignore the almost weekly curses that President Trump speaks against Israel or Bibi, without crying out to You to have mercy on their nation (Ezek. 22:30).

   • God, release Netanyahu to meet Trump next week – only if it is absolutely Your will (Acts 16:6-7).

   • Lord, if he goes, impart to him courage, boldness and place Your words in his mouth (Jer. 1:8-9).

   • God of all, set the same spirit David had when he dealt with King Saul in Netanyahu as he deals with Trump and his administration (1 Sam. 18:14-15; Matt. 10:16b).

   • Righteous Judge, shield Israel against all unrighteous lawfare which comes against it (Psa. 35:1).

   • Lord, we declare Isaiah 7:7 and 8:9-10 against all plans to "recognize" a "Palestine" on Your land!

   • King Yeshua, extend Your scepter of authority (Matt. 28:18) over the UN and its outreaches which curse Israel almost daily, and silence them (Jer. 10:25; 30:20; Zech. 2:13; Luke 1:20).

   • Lord God, use the relationship between Israel and Somaliland for Your glory (Psa. 115:1-3).

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

4. Gaza :

   Hamas refuses to disarm despite having agreed to it, and despite Trump's "Board of Peace" [BOP] begging them to do it. Also, the billions of dollars which nations promised to help Gaza are nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile, the IDF is killing Hamas terrorists and is preparing to go all-out to destroy Israel's modern day Amalek-like enemy (Ex. 17:16; Deut. 25:17-19).

   • God Almighty, we ask for Your divine will concerning Gaza to prevail (Psa. 33:10-11; Prov. 21:30).

   • Lord God, thank You for Israel recognizing the deceitful game Hamas is playing by "dissolving" their government, yet still maintaining their weapons to rule Gaza – Mafia-style (Psa. 5:6).

   • God, as You cause wars to cease and disarm the enemy, forbid this war from ceasing until Hamas, and all other terrorist groups in Gaza are totally disarmed (Psa. 46:9; Ezek. 39:3; Mic. 4:3; 5:10).

   • Thank You Lord that the IDF has destroyed terror tunnels in the Gaza area they now control (more than 70%), found weapons caches and is eliminating Hamas terrorists (Job 12:22; Psa. 95:4; 139:12).

   • Commander of heaven's hosts, strengthen Your shield over IDF soldiers in Gaza – against attacks, explosive devices, kidnapping attempts, accidents and friendly fire incidents (Psa. 32:7; 121:4).

   • Lord, prevent Israel from retreating from Gaza areas under its control as that would be dangerous, and, more importantly, that area is part of the tribe of Judah's inheritance (Josh. 15:1, 47; Judg. 1:18).

   • King Yeshua, may Your light shining in believers in Gaza draw many Muslims to You (Matt. 5:16).

5. Internal security :

   God has not fully answered our prayers for Israel to extend its sovereignty over all of the land west of the Jordan River, yet the steps Israelis and the current coalition have taken are very encouraging. The timing to fulfill this is His, but He calls us to persistent in prayer for this, which is clearly His declared will, to be done (Jer. 32:41-44; Ezek. 36:37; Luke 18:1).

   • Lord Messiah, burden more believers to pray for Israel to possess its land (Judg. 2:1-4), showing them that this is not political, but prophetic, and is for Your holy name's sake (Ezek. 36:34-36; 37:14).

   • King Yeshua, by Your Spirit, create in both Your Body and in Your nation a jealousy for Your land that matches, at least to some degree, how You feel (Ezek. 36:5-15; Zech. 8:1-2).

   • Abba Father, use Jeremiah 2:7 in the prophetic portion to bring home to all Jews that the land which You promised to them is ultimately Your land (Lev. 25:23; Joel. 3:2).

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

   • Abba Father, impart divine strategy to Israel concerning the next steps which are needed in order to expand its sovereignty over all of their land at this time (Psa. 32:8; Isa. 30:21; Luke 9:62).

   • God of Jacob, enable the next government to expose how the Palestinian Authority has rejected their commitments to the Oslo Accords, and by this free Israel from this anti-biblical trap (Psa. 124:1-8).

   • Lord God, enable more Israelis to see that settlements contribute to overall security as they see how the uprooting of the settlements in Gaza led to the Oct. 7th Hamas massacre (Ezek. 36:8-12).

   • Abba Father, hasten the fulfillment of Israel's plans to build more settlements and IDF bases all along the Jordan Valley (Psa. 69:35; Isa. 65:21-22).

   • Merciful God, concerning Moslems inside of Israel, deal with them as per Jeremiah 12:14-17 and save as many as possible, and then remove all those who worship false gods like Allah (Psa. 10:16).

   • Lion of Judah, turn the Palestinian Authority and Hamas to fight against each other (Zech. 14:13).

   • God of Moses, do what You said in Exodus and go out with the IDF against its enemies in the land and send Your fear to go before them (23:27); drive out Israel's enemies (23:30); and expand its land to encompass all that the Promised Land entails (23:31-33).

   • Abba Father, we bless You for always watching over Israel (Psa. 121:4), and ask for You to help Israel's security guards at checkpoints and other positions to also be alert and watchful (Gen. 31:1-2).

   • Lord God, thank You for Israel creating buffer zones on its borders and for Bibi telling Trump this past week that they are necessary and will be maintained at least for now (Zech. 9:8).

   • God, please arrange circumstances so that they become permanently a part of Israel (Lev. 26:6).

6. External security :

   It is inconceivable to us that while Turkey openly calls for the destruction of Israel, it is still a member of NATO! Turkey, and its close ties with Qatar and Pakistan, is the next biggest threat against God's nation, and since Pakistan already has nuclear weapons, this is even more dangerous than Iran and its proxies.

   • Sovereign Lord, Your thoughts and Your ways are higher than ours (Isa. 55:6, 8-9), so please be very clear and precise as You guide us in intercession (Psa. 10:17; Amos 3:7).

   • Lord Yeshua, whatever was agreed on during this past week's NATO meeting in Ankara, Turkey, we remind You of what Psalm 33:10-11 states, and ask You to implement that at this time (Psa. 103:19).

   • King Messiah, wake up the American, Turkish, Lebanese and Iranian believers to intercede for You to protect Your nation against the demonic plans of their birth-nations (Deut. 33:29; Psa. 83:1-4).

   • Turkey: Lord God, enhance Israel's intelligence gathering that is focused on Turkey, Qatar, Pakistan and also Syria, who has become for all intents and purposes a proxy nation of Turkey (Job 12:12-16).

   • Thank You Messiah for Netanyahu's strong public warning against Trump wanting to aid Turkey to be more powerful militarily and thus to be an even greater threat to Israel (Job 13:17; Tit. 2:8).

   • God, draw Israel and India closer together as Pakistan is an enemy of both (Prov. 18:24).

   • Abba Father, do the same with Cypress, Greece and Israel in relation to Turkey (Prov. 27:9).

   • Lord of lords, legally no member nation can be expelled from NATO, so use Turkey's anti-Semitic and anti-Western leanings to cause a fragmentation of that toothless NGO (Psa. 129:5).

   • Messiah Yeshua, direct American believers to pray that Trump's "love-affair" with Erdogan would be broken before their leader dangerously helps to upgrade Turkey's army (Prov. 16:5).

   • Hizbullah in Lebanon: Israel, Lebanon and the US have signed an agreement to restore Lebanon's sovereignty by first disarming Hizbullah and only then will the IDF turn over most of the land it has taken to the Lebanese Army. Yet Lebanon is pressing for Israel to leave before Hizbullah is disarmed.

   • Abba Father, fulfill Isaiah 2:12-13 against Hizbullah – today's arrogant cedars of Lebanon.

   • Lord God, use Israel as Your weapon of war (Jer. 51:20-23) to destroy Hizbullah and set northern Israel and all of Lebanon free from its reign of terror (Prov. 28:15; Psa. 9:5-6; Isa. 14:5).

   • Almighty God, anoint Israel to be the worldwide leader in the use of drones – both offensively and defensively – and use what You show them to let Hizbullah reap what they sow (Deut. 28:7, 13).

   • Lord of hosts, continue to drain all of Hizbullah's finances as their patron Iran moves into a deeper economic abyss internally (Job 21:13; Luke 6:25).

   • God, rebuke the Lebanese government for trying to turn this agreement upside-down (Matt. 5:37).

   • Iran: Lord God, we thank You that as of this writing, Trump has rejected the MOU [Memorandum of Understanding] between Iran and America and ask that this would lead the US to "finish the job" by aiming for a real regime change in Tehran (Jer. 49:38b).

   • We thank You for answering our prayers for You to fulfill Psalm 33:10-11 in the face of the pride and the deals of the American President and some of his advisors (Prov. 19:21).

   • King of kings, let Iran's deadly missile attacks against its neighboring Arab nations divide the house of Islam, and use that to bring down this demonic principality over the Middle East (Mark 3:24-26).

   • Abba, open the earth beneath all of Iran's nuclear facilities and swallow them up as their goal to destroy Israel is a clear provocation against You (Num. 16:30).

   • Lord Yeshua, protect and use all believing Iranians for Your name's sake (Psa. 5:11; Jer. 49:38a).

7. Aliyah :

   Prayer moves the hand of God and God moves His people to make aliyah. Thus praying for aliyah contributes significantly to hasten God's kingdom coming to earth (Luke 11:2).

   • God of Isaac, in mercy drag and draw Your people home at this time (Gen. 19:16; Jer. 31:3).

   • King Yeshua, arise as that prophesied "Breaker" (Mic. 2:12-13) and create for Jews who are stuck in the captivity but who want to return, huge and sudden breakthroughs (Isa. 42:13-16).

   • God of Jacob, enable Jews to understand that although Israel is not 100% safe, it is safer today than remaining in "the captivity" – including in the West (Psa. 121:3-4).

   • God, erase the media's lies and distortions which cause many Jews to hesitate to return (Dan. 6:22).

   • Abba Father, please marry to Your land every Jew who has already returned (Isa. 62:4-5).

   • Lord God, bring home Your chosen remnant of Jews whom You have ordained to settle Your land – for Your great name's sake (Isa. 10:20-22; 11:11; Ezek. 36:22-24).

   • King Messiah, turn Israel's diplomatic outreach to Jews in the nations towards emphasizing aliyah and away from helping them remain "safe and secure" in "captivity" (Deut. 28:65-67; Psa. 107:1-9).

   • Lord God of Jacob, open wide the gates to Your nation to all whom You see as Jews, regardless of what modern Rabbinic Judaism teaches (Isa. 62:10; Mark 7:9).

   • Messiah Yeshua, remove aliyah from being a foreign concept in the Body (Mark 7:9; 2 Tim. 3:16).

   • Good Shepherd, speak to wealthy Christians to give abundantly to help finance the aliyah as well as the klitah – the absorption of new immigrants into Israeli society (Ezra 1:4; Isa. 60:9).

8. Salvation :

   Yeshua said on the last day of Sukkot [Tabernacles] that whoever believes in Him, out of his innermost being will flow rivers of living waters. As Jews read in the prophetic portion Jeremiah 2:13, may what their Messiah said somehow resonate in their hearts: For My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters, and hewed out for themselves broken cisterns that can hold no water. (Jer. 2:12-13)

   • Lord, we grieve over the humanistic approach that so much of modern Rabbinic Judaism takes to both You and Your Word and ask that by Your amazing grace, You would save and then convict multitudes as they read this verse in Jeremiah (Ezek. 36:25-32; Heb. 4:12-13).

   • Lord God, as You have done so often in the Scriptures, like with Paul, redeem many of Your people very suddenly and very dramatically (Acts 2:37; 9:3-6).

   • Lord Yeshua, open modern Jacob's eyes to see Your glory among gentile believers, and use that to provoke many Jews to jealousy (Gen. 45:13; Rom. 11:11).

   • God of Jacob, fulfill Zechariah 12:10 and pour out that Spirit of grace upon Your people living in the land, as You turn many to look unto, that is to trust in, Your Son (Psa. 2:11-12; Acts 19:20).

   • [Seek the Lord about specific groups of Jews whom He would have you pray for this week.]

9. Body of Messiah :

   The theological foundation of the New Testament [NT] is God's revelation of Himself in the Tanach, and His promises to His chosen nation, including how He describes Israel's Messiah. So if believers see the Tanach as no longer valid or even as secondary to the NT, then their foundation is unbiblical and built on sand.

   • God, let the truth that the Tanach is foundational for all NT teachings (2 Tim. 3:15-17) be believed by Your Body as it appears that 2 Corinthians 3:15 also applies to many believers today.

   • Lord, rebuke believers who refuse to believe all that Moses and the prophets have said (Luke 24:25).

   • Master Teacher, teach believers that in context the word "scripture" in the NT can only refer to the Tanach (Matt. 22:29; Luke 4:21; 1 Cor. 15:3-4; Gal. 3:8).

   • Messiah Lord, gift Your Body with more elders who teach and preach all of the Word (Acts 20:27), and who also declare Your eternal love for, and covenant with, Israel (Deut. 7:6-8; Jer. 31:35-37).

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

IFI: After the events of this past week, all I can say is "Come quickly Lord Yeshua!" Yet until He does appear, we need His grace to finish the race He has placed us in. Thank you for praying for us, for encouraging us and for supporting us during these days.

Blessings and Shabbat shalom
Chuck Cohen, for the IFI team
Psa. 99:1-3