1. Praise:

   Believers will often say that we have had wars and rumors of wars, famines, floods, earthquakes, and all the rest throughout the centuries, so why should we think that we are about to see the Lord Yeshua's return in glory? Simple: the fig tree is back; Israel is restored to its God-given land, the desert is literally blooming, Hebrew is heard once again in its streets and Satan, who knows God's Word quite well and sees that his rule over unsaved humanity is about to end, has stirred up intense global hatred against both God's nation and the Body of Messiah.

   • Messiah Yeshua, thank You for bringing us into Your kingdom for just a time like this (Est. 4:14b).

   • Lord we praise You for enabling us to be Your witnesses in this dark world (Acts 1:8; 5:30-32).

   • Abba Father, we bless You for Your covenant-faithfulness and love (Psa. 118:1-4) which sustains us during all of our trails and temptations (1 Cor. 10:13).

   • God, what a privilege to be called as watchmen on Jerusalem's walls – praying and not giving You any rest until You make Your city a praise unto Your holy name in all of the earth (Isa. 62:6-7).

   • We rejoice that You are teaching us to trust You even when we cannot understand all that You are doing to fulfill Your Word in the world today (Prov. 3:5; Isa. 50:10).

2. Government & society:

   Israeli elections will be held on Oct. 27th. Israel's new government will need to deal with some very serious issues. Will the next US president in 2028 be as pro-Israel as Trump? Will Hamas still rule in parts of Gaza? Will Iran's regime survive and morph into a more dangerous enemy? How should Israel deal with Turkey's increasingly aggressive, anti-Israel, rhetoric? Will the new coalition have the fortitude to pass the much needed judicial reform? Can it resist the world and obey God to extend Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria? For all of these issues and more, praying for the upcoming Israeli elections to produce a biblically Zionistic coalition is crucial.

   • Sovereign Lord, You ordain who rules over the nations (Job 34:24), yet You tell us to pray for the authorities (1 Tim. 2:-3), so please lead us as we pray for Israel's upcoming elections (Psa. 119:169).

   • King Yeshua, stir up Your Body internationally to intercede for Israelis to elect a government full of the sons and daughters of Zion (Zech. 9:13) and thus one which will bring You glory (Isa. 48:10-11).

   • Almighty King, fulfill Numbers 23:23 and protect Israelis against manipulation and witchcraft from Israel's mostly left-leaning media during the election campaign (Psa. 63:11; Zech. 2:5).

   • Abba, overrule the selection of where politicians are placed on their parties' lists (Prov. 19:21).

   • Creator God, send out Your light and truth and direct Israelis as they go to vote (Psa. 43:3a).

   • God of Israel, strengthen, encourage, protect and anoint PM Bibi Netanyahu with Your wisdom for as long as it is Your will for him to be Israel's leader (Job 12:13; Prov. 2:6; Dan. 2:21).

   • Lord God, if Bibi's desire to reserve four spots in Likud for Finance Minister Smotrich and three other Religious Zionist party members is of You – then intervene and let it happen (Prov. 21:1).

   • Lord, in addition to the many sons and daughters of Zion whom You have raised up, set many "sons of Issachar" throughout Israel's political and military leadership today (1 Chr. 12:32).

   • King Messiah, shield Bibi and the coalition from distractions or diversions of the election campaign that would stop them from leading Israel in line with Your will today (Deut. 6:4-5; 10:12).

   • Lord God, use Deuteronomy 1:16-17 and Isaiah 1:25-27 in Shabbat's Torah and prophetic portions respectively to open the eyes of many more Israelis to the desperate need of judicial reform.

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

3. Foreign relations:

   With all of the negativity towards Israel that is erupting from most nations and global NGOs, we believe that God is in the process of fulfilling His prophetic word and is making Israel into that nation which is set apart from the rest of the nations.

   • God, let the increase of anti-Zionism turn Israel into Your prophesied set-apart nation (Num. 23:9b), and forbid the next government from resisting this which You are doing (Ezek. 20:32).

   • God of Jacob, magnify the influence of Your opinion in the hearts and minds of Israel's leaders and people, and decrease the influence of the world's opinion (Deut. 30:19-20; Isa. 30:30).

   • King Messiah, prepare Israelis to be sanctioned by more nations and global entities as Your return draws nearer, and turn their hearts to look to You to supply their needs (Deut. 8:1-8; Psa. 80:3, 7, 19).

   • We bless You for Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar's wisdom and courage to protect his nation on the world's stage and ask for You to protect him and save him (1 Sam. 2:30b; Jer. 31:7b).

   • King Messiah, reveal to Your Body how angry You are with Israel's unreliable "allies" (Ezek. 29:6-9), and move upon them to cry out to You for mercy for their nations (Isa. 60:12; Ezek. 22:30-31).

   • Lord, You confronted Balaam, commanding him to bless and not curse Israel, so today confront many world leaders, turning them to bless Israel and to fear You (Psa. 9:19-20).

   • Abba, we thank You for raising up Your son, Senator Lindsey Graham, a Southern Baptist and one of Israel's strongest advocates in the US government, and while we see the death of believers as their graduation to glory, yet we ask You to comfort his family and friends (Isa. 57:1-2).

   • God of Israel, when Netanyahu goes to Graham's funeral, let what is said there provoke him and his entourage with jealousy to have a relationship with You like Graham did (Rom. 11:11).

4. Gaza:

   The IDF continues to fight against Hamas but is restrained by Trump's "ceasefire" plan for Gaza. Yet we read that Trump and his "Board of Peace" are getting quite frustrated with Hamas who agreed last year to disarm but are refusing to do it today. The IDF is the only force with the skill, courage, and motivation to deal with this demonic terrorist organization.

   • God of Judah, override man's plans and only allow Your plans for Gaza to prevail (Psa. 33:10-11).

   • We praise You Abba for Israeli Defense Minister Katz and IDF Chief of Staff Zamir who knew that Hamas would not disarm and have been preparing the IDF to deal with them (Psa. 18:34; 144:1).

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

   • Abba Father, remove all rules of engagement from off the IDF that hinders them from gaining a total victory against Hamas – or any other of Israel's many foes (Psa. 60:12; 68:35).

   • King Yeshua, bring forward the next steps in Gaza in such a way that You receive the glory as it is seen in Israel and among believers how You commanded deliverances for Jacob (Psa. 44:4-5).

   • Abba Father, fulfill Isaiah 44:26 and let the world see Israeli communities once again thriving in Gaza, which is part of the land promised to the tribe of Judah.

5. Internal security:

   In Deuteronomy, Moses says over 80 times that Israel should possess all of the land God promised to them west of the Jordan River. This Shabbat Jews start to read that book for their Torah portions. We continue to pray for God to plant the biblical truth of His gift of His land to His nation firmly in the minds and hearts of Jews – both in Israel and in the captivity.

   • Lord, we are amazed at how committed You are about giving the land to Israel as not only do You say this more than 80 times in Deuteronomy, but 19 of those times You swear to do it (Deut. 1 :8).

   • Lord Yeshua, burden Your Body to pray in line with Your will about Your land as not only is this tied in with Israel's salvation (Ezek. 36:24-32; Zech. 12:3-10), but also to the sanctification of Your holy name (Psa. 87:2; 115:1-3; Prov. 3:12; 1 Thess. 1:3).

   • God, thank You for telling Israel to not fear or be discouraged as they conquer the land for this is Your command and You will also fight for them against their enemies (Deut. 1:21, 30; 3:22; 20:4).

   • Lord God of Israel, since You are jealous over Your land (Ezek. 36:5-7), destroy all plans to create a "Palestine" on it – especially from Israel's so-called "friends" (Psa. 125:3; Zech. 14:1-3).

   • Almighty God, do not allow the next Israeli government to remove one tent peg which the current coalition drove into the ground in order to expand Israeli sovereignty over their land (Isa. 54:2-3).

   • Lord God, let Your Word hammer those tent pegs even firmer into the ground (Jer. 23:29).

   • King Messiah, spread Your people throughout Your land, especially in Judea and Samaria, the Negev, the Galilee, and the Golan Heights (Isa. 54:2-3; Jer. 32:41-44; Obad. 1:19-20).

   • King Messiah, as the Palestinian Authority [PA] is an enemy of Israel, divide them internally and set them and Hamas against each other in Judea, Samaria and in Gaza (Job 38:13; Psa. 35:4, 26).

   • Lord God, equip the IDF to fight and defeat the PA security forces when needed (Psa. 18:32-42).

   • Abba Father, fulfill Micah 5:9 and cut off the spirit of Islam from Your land (Job 8:22; Psa. 10:16).

   • Guardian of Israel, anoint Israeli security forces to guard its Egyptian, Jordanian and Syrian borders from weapon-smuggling by murderous terrorists (Job 28:11b; 42:2; Obad. 1:6).

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

   • God of wisdom, anoint Israeli intelligence people who search social media with divine discernment to perceive all genuine threats from those that are not (2 Sam. 21:10).

6. External security:

   While America and Iran trade blows and Trump says the Memorandum of Understanding [MOU] is over, Israel is being held back from destroying Hizbullah, Iran's main proxy. The diplomatic path with Lebanon is the blockage, yet as we have seen ever since 1948, diplomacy does not work with those religiously committed to Israel's annihilation.

   • Lord God, we thank You that although we are at times confused about what You are allowing or doing, You are not, therefore please lead us as we intercede (Psa. 10:17; Amos 3:7).

   • Abba Father, arise and complete Your threats as written in Isaiah 10:33 against Your arrogant foes in the Middle East [ME] – Iran, Hizbullah, the Houthis, Hamas, Turkey and all others.

   • Lord God, fulfill Deuteronomy 2:24-25 in the Torah portion and let the dread and fear of Israel's armies fall upon all their enemies so that they tremble and are in anguish because of Your nation.

   • Hizbullah in Lebanon: Almighty God, when the IDF pulls back from the agreed upon pilot zones to see if Lebanon's army can deal with Hizbullah, may the reality on the ground to be revealed quickly.

   • If, as we suspect, Lebanon's army cannot, or will not, defeat Hizbullah – fulfill Psalm 44:4-8.

   • God of Israel, increase Your protection over IDF soldiers in Lebanon and the civilians near Israel's northern border against the threats of Hizbullah's drones and other weapons (Psa. 121:4).

   • Almighty, guide the IDF to find and destroy all Hizbullah tunnels in South Lebanon (Psa. 23:3b-4).

   • Lord God, drain Hizbullah's finances and break its influence over the Lebanese people (Psa. 12:2-4).

   • Almighty, challenge the Lebanese government to decide whether they want to be a sovereign nation or a proxy for Iran – and if the former show them that only Israel is willing to help (Deut. 30:19).

   • King Yeshua, teach Lebanese believers how to pray for their leaders and for Israel (1 Tim. 2:1-4).

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

   • God, hear the boasting of Iran's leaders who declare that since they survived, they have defeated the US and Israel, and repay their arrogance swiftly and suddenly (Psa. 12:3; 86:14; Prov. 15:25a).

   • Continue sowing discord among Iran's leaders until their house collapses (Lam. 4:16a; Matt. 12:25)

   • Lord God, reveal to Israel how to help the Iranians to overthrow their wicked regime (Jer. 49:38b).

   • Lion of Judah; fulfill Jeremiah 49:38a and continue building Your throne, Your Body, in Iran today.

   • Messiah, guide our Iranian brothers and sisters with divine wisdom as they intercede (Job 12:13).

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

   • King Messiah, sharpen Israel's intelligence gathering on Turkey, Qatar, Pakistan and also Syria, which is becoming a proxy nation of Turkey today (Job 12:12-16).

   • Lord God, be glorified through Israel's relations with the Syrian Druze and Kurds (Isa. 48:11).

   • Abba Father, let Erdogan's and Turkey's foreign minister's open threats against Israel, including their threat to invade, open Trump's eyes to see the evil spirit inside Turkey's current leaders (Psa. 141:4).

   • King of kings, break all ties between Turkey and Egypt, using Erodgan's arrogant pride and hatred of Israel, and distrust of Egypt, to bring this treacherous alliance to ruin (Psa. 33:10; Prov. 17:19).

   • God of Moses, provide Israel with real-time insight into Egypt's military build-up in the Sinai which is against the Israeli-Egypt peace accords (Isa. 19:13).

   • As we hear that Israel has been under a huge cyberwarfare assault, Eternal God, provide all human and spiritual assistance so that Israel becomes the head of the nations in this arena (Deut. 28:10, 13).

7. Aliyah:

   We are privileged to see God fulfill His Word and regather His scattered people (Jer. 31:10). Yet as Messiah's Body, we also have a biblical charge to be part of this prophetic fulfillment (for example Isa. 43:5-6; 60:10-11), including through intercession (Jer. 31:7-9; 1 John 5:14-15).

   • Abba Father, burden the Body to pray for the Jews in their nations to make aliyah (Ezek. 36:37).

   • Lord God, strip away from Christian Zionists any Laban-like spirit and let them not only bless the Jews as they make aliyah, but encourage and help them to return to Zion (Gen. 30:27).

   • King Yeshua, anoint us and other intercessors with very specific prayers to break all spiritual chains which bind Your people as prisoners in "the captivity" among the nations (Psa. 124:7-8).

   • Lord Yeshua, gift Your Body with more elders who understand and are willing to talk about the link between may Your name be sanctified (Luke 11:2) and the aliyah (Ezek. 36:21-24).

   • Abba, place the spirit of the sons of Issachar in many Jews in the captivity, and show them the times we live in and also what they need to do – which is to make aliyah quickly(1 Chr. 12:32a).

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

   • God of Jacob, remove all stumbling stones from Jews who want to return but are held up by either circumstances, finances, or their current-nations refusal to let them leave (Ex. 8:1; Psa. 68:6a).

   • God, open Israel's gates for a huge remnant of Jews from "third-world" nations to enter (Isa. 43:5-7).

   • King of Jacob, thank You for regathering a remnant of Israel at this time; now use the next Israeli elections to set over Your people righteous shepherds (Jer. 3:15; 23:3-4).

   • King Messiah, direct Israel where to build new communities for new immigrants, especially outside of its main cities, and tear down all blockages from Israel's construction industry to build affordable housing for them, and in fact, for all Israelis (Obad. 1:17-20).

8. Salvation:

   God tells watchmen (Jer. 31:6) to pray (31:7a), YHWH, save Your people, the remnant of Israel (Jer. 31:7b). "Watchmen" is a translation of notzrim – today's Hebrew word for "Christians." So a burden like Romans 10:1 should be a part of every believer's prayer list.

   • Lord Yeshua, burden Your Body to pray more often for all Israel to be saved (Rom. 11:26).

   • Abba Father, teach believers how to share the good news of Messiah Yeshua by using verses from the Tanach [such as: Psa. 2:12; Prov. 30:4; Isa. 7:14; 9:6-7; Jer. 31:31-34; Mic. 5:2; Zech. 12:10]

   • Lord of the harvest, send forth laborers into the various Jewish harvest fields – including the Haredi [ultra-Orthodox] sects and the Religious Zionists who live in Your land today (Matt. 9:37-38).

   • God, draw Jews back to Your Word, which is the Truth (John 17:17), and enable them to compare what the mostly humanistic rabbinic teachings teach with what You actually say (Psa. 119:99-100).

   • Abba Father, heal Israel's backsliding and love them freely (Hos. 14:4; Eph. 2:8-10).

   • Messiah, show secret Israeli believers when and how they should confess You openly (Matt. 10:32).

   • Lord Yeshua, save a large remnant of Holocaust survivors and their families; survivors of terrorism; ex-hostages and their loved ones; IDF soldiers and families; loved ones of soldiers killed or severely injured; Israelis with PTSD; Israeli medical personnel; widows, widowers, orphans, children who are traumatized; Jewish politicians, judges, lawyers, diplomats; university students, teachers, professors; scientists; rabbis and Jewish anti-missionaries; Jews in Judea and Samaria; Jews on their death beds; Jews shamed by past abortions; Israeli archeologists and tour guides; Israelis in the nations; Jews who just made aliyah; alcoholics, drug-addicts, hippies, LGBTQ+, new agers; Jews in Iran, Ethiopia, India, and Turkey; Jews married to gentile believers; unsaved loved ones of Messianic Jews.

9. Body of Messiah:

   Using God's Word in prayer is the spiritual weapon which we need to wield today. As we pray His Word back to Him, asking Him to fulfill or watch over what He has promised, said, or prophesied, He hears and answers as it is His Word which reveals His will (1 John 5:14-15).

   • Lion of Judah, show Your Body the importance of intercession as a divine weapon to use as we pray for Your kingdom come and Your will be done here on earth (Matt. 6:10; Luke 11:2; cp. Psa. 50:15).

   • Divine Intercessor, as Your Body prays for Israel, or any other burden, arm them with ammunition in the form of specific verses from Your Word relating to those prayers (Isa. 55:11).

   • Abba Father, let the ultimate truth that is revealed through Your Word become the ultimate standard by which we in the Body judge everything that we see, hear and even think (John 17:17).

   • Messiah, to fulfill these requests, please burden Your Body to "eat" all of Your Word (Jer. 15:16).

   • Lord Yeshua, gift Your Body with genuine prophets, those "sons of Issachar" who know the signs of the times and what Israel, and Your Body, are supposed to do (1 Chr. 12:32).

10. IFI:

    Another "exciting" week is now history. As the excitement and danger and the wearing out of the saints will only increase as we get closer to His return, we covet Your prayers and support.

Thank you, blessings and Shabbat shalom

Chuck Cohen, for the IFI team

Jam. 5:16b-18