Praise :
In Shabbat's Torah portion, Moses declares to Israel that YHWH their God is the only God in all of existence. This is a huge encouragement for us as well as we see people running after this god and worshipping that god and challenging us to not be so narrow-minded!
We bless You Lord God for drawing us to You – the one true God:
Know this day… that YHWH is God in heaven, and upon the earth; there is none else.
(Deut. 4:39; cp. 33-35).We praise You for choosing us in Messiah Yeshua for the same two reasons why You chose Israel: You loved us (Deut. 4:37; 7:7-8; 1 John 4:19) and You will keep Your promise to Israel's forefathers that through them the gospel would reach even the gentiles (Gen. 12:3; cp. Rom. 15:8-12; Gal. 3:8).
Abba Father, as this world's shakings increase, we thank You that Your Word, as You say so clearly in the prophetic portion, is established forever (Isa. 40:8; cp. Psa. 119:89; Mark 13:31).
We praise You that Your name, that is Your true character, is our eternal security (Prov. 18:10).
Government & society :
Israel's election campaigning is now in full swing. The anti-PM Bibi Netanyahu opposition blames him for Israel's current problems. Much of this is by distorting facts or deemphasizing all the good that Bibi and his coalition have accomplished. We are praying for the shielding of Israel's voters against manipulation by lies, innuendoes, half-truths, etc., from both man, the media, and increasingly from AI [Artificial Intelligence] (Num. 23:23).
King Yeshua, burden the worldwide Body to pray for Israel's next government to be composed of many children of Zion (Zech. 9:13), and so to bring You much glory (Isa. 48:10-11).
Abba Father, oversee the election results – for Your holy name's sake (Psa.115:1-3; Prov. 16:33).
Lord Yeshua, You opened the physical eyes of blind Jews when You walked among them, so open the eyes of many Israelis to perceive how You want them to vote (Isa. 42:16; Matt. 12:22).
Lord God, as Your people hear what the various parties say on critical issues, like sovereignty over the land and judicial reform, guide them to vote for that which lines up with Your will (Prov. 16:9).
As nothing is too difficult for You Lord, build a Sons-of-Zion type coalition that does not need to depend on the Haredi [ultra-Orthodox] parties to survive and pass righteous laws (Jer. 32:17, 27).
Alternatively Lord, raise up a true Sons-of-Zion Haredi party that will support the new coalition to pursue the paths of righteousness on which You are wanting to lead Israel (Psa. 23:3b).
God of justice, with Israel desperately needing judicial reform, anoint the next coalition to do it and also promote more God-fearers throughout Israel's judiciary (2 Chr. 19:6-7; Psa. 75:5-7).
King Yeshua, oversee Netanyahu's time left in office so that he completes whatever is important for Israel at this time (Prov. 19:21; 21:1).
Abba Father, restrain the Haredi orchestrated violent protests against the detention of Haredi draft-dodgers as they have become a genuine danger to the rest of Israeli society (2 Sam. 22:3).
Thank You Almighty Provider, for miraculously aiding Israel's economy to do better than expected despite what Your nation has faced since Oct. 7th 2023 (Psa. 132:13-15; Ezek. 36:8-11).
Foreign relations :
Israel is constantly condemned by the UN, major global NGOs, and most of the world's nations. This is in essence a spiritual battle, so nothing that Israel does, or doesn't do, will stop these unjust and often anti-Semitic accusations. Satan, the Accuser, hates Israel and the Jews because God loves them and has chosen them, and their King Messiah, to bring his demonic influence over most of this world to an end (1 John 5:18-19; Rev. 12:9).
We are encouraged by Your declaration in the prophetic portion of how You view the gentile nations (Isa. 40:15, 17), and we ask You to guide our prayers based on that.
Lord God, if You have sent a deceiving spirit into Western leaders who hate Israel, reveal this to the Body of Messiah and teach them how to pray for their nations (Rom. 1:28; 2 Thess. 2:10-12).
God, anoint more believers to be spiritual diplomats for Israel today (Psa. 98:2-3; Isa. 60:3).
Lord God of Israel, forbid that the next Israeli government would try to appease any nation, or other global entity, in order to win the world's favor (Isa. 26:13; Matt. 4:10).
God of Abraham, continue to pressure Israel to become totally independent from America or any other nations, and to instead put their trust totally in You (Psa. 118:8-9).
Help Israel strengthen its ties – but not in a dependent way – with non-Western nations like India, Azerbaijan and Argentina who truly appreciate what Israel brings to the relationship (Deut. 4:6).
Abba, give Israel wisdom to know if remaining a member of the UN is a waste of time, effort and money and if instead it should wipe the dirt off its feet and resign (Psa. 1:1; 26:4).
Lord God, only if it is Your will, release Bibi to travel to America to meet Trump, attend Lindsey Graham's funeral, and to be at the UN's annual General Assembly meeting in September (Prov. 16:9).
Gaza :
Trump's unworkable ceasefire plan for Gaza and the IDF's plans to destroy Hamas are both moving ahead slowly. The ceasefire plan has shown no real fruit while the IDF's plans have resulted in great success. We are praying for Trump to see that his plan cannot succeed and then for Israel to move swiftly and release the IDF to accomplish its plans.
Lord, thank You that Israel recognizes that the new Hamas leader, Khalil al-Hayya, is as radical and unyielding as Sinwar, the Hamas leaders who planned the Oct. 7th massacre (Psa. 34:16).
God, let Trump and his Board of Peace also see what al-Hayya's election means (Prov. 1:15-16).
God of Israel, do not let Israel concede on its demand for Hamas to be disarmed totally and blocked from having any future role in the governing of Gaza (Num. 33:53-55).
Yet Abba, as Israel recognizes Hamas' uncompromising goal of destroying Israel and murdering all living Jews, strengthen their resolve to wipe-out this terrorist organization (Psa. 10:15).
Lord of hosts, as with Joshua, Gideon, David, and others, impart strategies and tactics to the IDF to shock, divide and defeat Hamas completely (Josh. 6:2-5; Judg. 7:16-18; 2 Sam. 5:23-24).
Creator God, shake the earth and bury all of Hamas' remaining tunnels (Num. 16:31; Psa. 99:1).
Abba Father, increase Your overall protection for Israel's soldiers stationed in Gaza (Psa. 3:5-8).
Lord God, if the war with Hamas will not be won until Israel commits to repossess all of Gaza, then move on the next government and more Israelis to do just that (Neh. 2:20; Isa. 44:26; Obad. 1:17-20).
Internal security :
The Jewish people will read through Deuteronomy as their Torah portions until mid-September. Again we note how Moses says over 80 times in that book that Israel should possess all of the land God promised to them west of the Jordan River. We are asking God to plant this biblical truth of His gift of His land to His nation firmly in the minds and hearts of Jews – both in Israel, as well as those who reside in the captivity.
Abba, as Your people read Shabbat's Torah portion, let them take note of how often You emphasis the issue of the land: Deuteronomy 4:1; 4:5, 14, 21-22, 38, 40; 5:16, 31, 33; 6:1, 3, 10, 18, 23; 7:1!
Lord Yeshua, open the eyes of Your Body to also believe that all of Your promises to the nation and people of Israel are still very much in effect (Num. 23:19; Psa. 119:89; Matt. 5:18; 2 Cor. 1:20).
King Messiah, rebuke any born-again believer who rejects, or worse, fights against that which You are doing with all of Your heart and soul – planting Your people back in their land (Jer. 32:41-44).
God of Abraham, use Leviticus 25:23 to show Jews, wherever they may live, that the land is Yours and You do not give them permission to give it away for any reason whatsoever (Joel 3:1-2).
God of Isaac, raise up in Israel's next government biblical Zionists who are as zealous as You are to see all of the land of promise come under Israel's rule (Psa. 75:6-7; Ezek. 36:5-12).
God of Jacob, encourage Israel to spread its tent pegs over the land which You swore to give them regardless of how other nations or global NGOs will react (Judg. 2:1-4; Psa. 105:5-12; Isa. 54:2-3).
Abba Father, oversee Israel's plans to enhance security along the 186 mile [300 kms.] long border with Jordan through the building more settlements and IDF bases there (Psa. 147:14).
Divine Commander, anoint Israel's security forces to fight like those prophesied sons of Zion against all Palestinian and Arab-Israeli terrorists (Zech. 9:13-15; 10:3a-7; 12:5-6).
Lord God, with the return of the hot summer weather in Israel, protect Your people and guard over Your land against the arson-terrorist attacks which have already begun (Isa. 43:2).
Almighty King, increase Your angelic protection over Israeli shepherds and farmers who are being increasingly attacked by local Palestinian gangs (Psa. 3:5-8; 23:4).
Release Your terror upon all in the land who would attack and kill today's sons of Jacob (Gen. 35:5), including the Palestinian Authority security forces who are now a significant army (Psa. 18:32-42).
Messiah, save many Palestinians and let them provoke Jews to jealousy (Matt. 5:44; Rom. 11:11).
External security :
America and Iran are still trading blows with both saying that their MOU [Memorandum of Understanding] is over. This is good news as that MOU was basically a total surrender of the US to Iran's demands. Yet the US is still hindering Israel from destroying Hizbullah, Iran's main proxy, because it wants to achieve a peace deal between Israel and Lebanon. Yet without Hizbullah being destroyed, no genuine peace will come about for either Lebanon or Israel.
Abba Father, thank You that the house of Islam throughout the Middle East [ME] is being divided and at war with one another, and we ask You to stir up the centuries old hatred between the Sunni and Shi'ite Islamic sects to bring the principality of Islam to sudden destruction (Psa. 6:10; Luke 11:17).
King of the nations, let Iran's attacks against other ME Arab nations destroy the reputation of Allah in the minds of every thinking Muslim (Psa. 95:3; 96:4-5).
Lord Yeshua, heed ex-Muslim believers' prayers and save many Muslims (Ezek. 18:23; 2 Pet. 3:9).
Iran : Almighty King, Jeremiah 49:38b states that Your goal for Iran is total regime change, so we ask for this war to not cease until that becomes a reality (Num. 23:19; Luke 18:1).
Thank You Lord God that Mossad's new chief is aiming for exactly that in Iran (Jer. 1:10; 49:38b).
King Messiah, hide and protect Israel's spies and collaborators already in Iran (Psa. 138:7).
God, with Israel sidelined in America's war against Iran, prepare Your weapon of war to deal with Iran alone if need be, so that You, and not man, receive the glory (Isa. 41:15-16; Jer. 51:20-24).
Lord, as Israel is on high alert with suspicions of Iran planning to attack it this weekend, if this is in fact true, we ask You to direct Israel to pre-empt – without asking anyone for permission (Isa. 30:1-3).
Lord Yeshua, during the war build Your throne in Iran through the growth of the Iranian Body (Jer. 49:38a), and please supply all of their material and spiritual needs at this time (Phil. 4:19).
Hizbullah in Lebanon : Lord God, with the IDF pulling back from agreed-upon pilot zones to test if Lebanon's army can handle Hizbullah, let the reality of that be quickly revealed (Judg. 9:33).
God of Israel, if they cannot, or will not, then use the IDF to scatter Your enemy (Psa. 68:1; 30b).
Abba, forbid Israel from being pressured by Trump to go back on what was agreed in the agreement with the US and Lebanon, and to pull out of their buffer zones in Lebanon before Hizbullah has been completely disarmed (Num. 30:2).
King Messiah, we have persistently asked You to fulfill Joel 2:17-21 and to drive Hizbullah off of Israel's northern border, and we praise You for using the IDF to answer our prayers (1 John 5:14-15).
Lord of hosts, fortify Your shield over IDF soldiers in Lebanon against drone attacks and against all attempts to kidnap them (Deut. 33:29; Psa. 3:3; 32:7; 121:4).
Other : Abba Father, release massive confusion and panic among all nations, peoples and terrorist groups, in and outside of the ME, who hate Zion (Psa. 35:4, 26; 129:5).
Use the chaotic situation in the ME to set a trap for Turkey's arrogant President Erdogan (Job 21:30).
Lord of hosts, bring to Israel accurate, and, if need be, actionable intelligence concerning the new defense pact between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan (Job 12:22; Prov. 16:5).
Sovereign Lord, hold back Your nation from agreeing to any treaty with Syria based on the desires of the US administration that is not in line with Your will (Psa. 29:11).
God, as Israel is battling a huge cyberwarfare assault, provide all the human and spiritual assistance for Israel to defend itself and to become the head of the nations in this arena (Deut. 28:10, 13).
Aliyah :
God is drawing His people home in mercy yet at the same time His hunters, the anti-Semites and anti-Zionists, have been released to drive the Jews out of the captivity (Jer. 16:16). While both are part of His plan, it is hard to hear most Jews and Western Jewish leaders stubbornly refuse to read the demonic graffiti on city walls and in social media, and to ignore God's Word.
Abba Father, rebuke Jewish pride that says, "They will not chase us out!" and show them that You are doing the chasing in order to bring them home (Prov. 16:18; Isa. 43:5-7; Jer. 31:3-5).
God of Jacob, reveal to Western Jews that they can either maintain their lifestyles or their life and the lives of their loved ones by "fleeing" from today's "Babylon" (Jer. 30:10; 46:27).
Lord God, enable Jewish Americans to really hear the anti-Semitic spirit that is now acceptable with politicians, media personalities and often with their neighbors (Isa. 53:1a).
Lord God, tear down all the gilded cages trapping Your people in "the captivity" (Psa. 124:7-8).
Messiah Yeshua, Shepherd of Jacob, speak to Israelis who live in the nations, especially those who have met You there, that now is the time to return (Isa. 35:10; 51:11).
King Messiah, rebuke the mountain that blocks aliyah for many Jews – the rabbis' limited definition of who is a Jew – and replace it with a truly kosher biblical definition (Mark 7:9, 13).
Lord God, enable Israel to open wide its gates to all non-Western Jews, as it is doing with the Beni-Menashe of India, and to welcome them home in great numbers (Isa. 43:5-6; 60:4, 8).
Almighty Shepherd, let more gentile believers hear Your voice to help to carry Your Jewish family home – whether physically, financially, or through intercession (Isa. 49:22; John 10:27).
Precious Lord, pour out Your grace, favor and sufficient finances on all believing organizations whose main ministry is to aid in the aliyah process (Isa. 49:22; Rom. 15:27).
Salvation :
Romans 11:26 says that
all Israel will be saved!
In context, "all Israel" refers to a remnant of His people (Rom. 9:27; 11:5; cp. Jer. 31:7). Prayer can increase that remnant as: 1) God does not want any to perish (1 Tim. 2:1-4), and 2) the Lord Yeshua told us to pray for Him to send forth laborers into the harvest (Luke 10:2).Abba, as Your people read the Shema in the Torah portion, show them how impossible this is to do without Your grace and let them cry out for help:
Hear Israel; YHWH our God is one YHWH, and you shall love YHWH your God with all your heart, soul, and might.
(Deut. 6:4-5; Isa. 30:19).God, also use Deuteronomy 7:9 in the Torah portion to cause Your people to want to know You of whom Moses wrote:
Know that YHWH your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations;
Lord God, turn many Jews to read Matthew 1:1 and to see that the New Testament starts by looking back to the Davidic Covenant, thus declaring that Yeshua is Messiah, the Greater Son of David.
Messiah Yeshua, provoke Jews to jealousy through the love and concern of gentile believers who helped them to make aliyah (Isa. 49:22; Rom. 11:11).
Lord of the harvest, send out many more laborers into the vast Jewish harvest fields (Matt. 9:37-38).
King Messiah, save multitudes of Jews living in the Jerusalem area so that they can begin to cry out today:
Blessed is He who comes in the name of YHWH
(Psa. 118:26; Matt. 23:39).[Seek the Lord about specific Jewish groups He would have you to pray for this week.]
Body of Messiah :
It is imperative that believers "see" the Lord as He is revealed in His Word – from Genesis to Revelation. Yes, He loves little children, but He hates those who lead them astray. He rebukes His disciples as needed, which is more often than we care to admit. His return will not end all wars until His enemies submit or are dead. He is also still the God of Israel and Israel is still His chosen nation, regardless of what heretical teachers and professors say.
Lord God, help Your Body to see that You are the same God of whom Moses declared in the Torah portion:
For YHWH your God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.
(Deut. 4:24; cp. Heb. 12:29).King Messiah, let Your people note that there are things that You hate (Deut. 12:31; 16:22; 32:41; Psa. 11:5; Prov. 6:16; Isa. 61:8; Zech. 8:16-17; Mal.1:3; Rev. 2:6, 15).
Also Lord Yeshua, teach Your followers about those things that we should hate as well (Psa. 97:10; 119:104, 128; Prov. 8:13a; 13:5; Amos 5:15; John 12:25).
Lord Messiah, train Your Body to discern truth from lies today by judging all things via the filter of the ultimate truth as revealed in Your Word (John 17:17; 2 Tim. 2:15).
King of Israel, let Your Body perceive the centrality of the restoration of Israel to their land as the preparation for Your return in glory (Zech. 14:1-4; Matt. 24:30).
Abba, thank You for the growing remnant in the Body that stands with and prays for Israel, and who seeing Israel's role in Your plans desire for You to be glorified through them (Isa. 43:7, 21).
Lord God, use them as "leaven" to influence many others in the Body (Luke 13:20-21).
IFI: A Christian song that I loved in my early years as a believer had this line: "We don't know what the future holds, but we know Who holds the future!" The truth of this line is a source of great comfort and encouragement to us as we live in Israel in these days. So is your prayers and words of encouragement and financial support. Thank you once again.
Blessings and Shabbat shalom
Chuck Cohen, for the IFI team
Deut. 4:30-31 [from Shabbat's Torah reading]