1. Praise:

   Isaiah 40:31 from Shabbat's prophetic reading is a verse believers should practice in these days: They that wait [+ hope; expect] upon YHWH shall exchange their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

   • Abba, thank You that You are actually waiting for us to wait upon You so that You can pour out Your grace and mercy on us – which is so needed today (Isa. 30:18; Lam. 3:25-26).

   • God, we praise You that as we wait on You the Psalmist says You strengthen our heart (Psa. 27:14).

   • What a blessing to experience what Paul experienced, that when we are truly weak in ourselves, we have no choice but to be strong in You Lord Yeshua (2 Cor. 12:9-10).

   • Lord God Almighty, we rejoice to read that we will be singing the song of Moses and of the Lamb before Your throne in glory (Rev. 15:2-4)!

2. Government & society:

   Israel will hold its national election in 5 days. Its new government will face serious issues: Will the next US president in 2028 be as pro-Israel as Trump? Will Hamas still rule in Gaza? Will Iran's regime survive and be even more dangerous? Will the new coalition pass the necessary judicial reform? Will it say “no” to the world and obey God by extending Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria? For all these issues and more, praying for the upcoming Israeli elections to produce a biblically Zionistic coalition is crucial for Israel – and for the kingdom of God.

   • Abba, regardless of the election’s outcome, we pray for You to be glorified (Psa. 115:1-3).

   • Creator God, unless You build the house man’s labors are useless (Psa. 127:1); so build Israel’s next coalition with many sons and daughters of Issachar and of Zion (1 Chr. 12:32; Zech. 9:13).

   • Lord Yeshua, move on Your Body to intercede for Israel’s elections, teaching them the link between Israel’s restoration and salvation and Your return in glory (Zech. 12:10; 14:3-4; Matt. 23:39).

   • God of Israel, answer Moses’ request once again and let Israel’s elections produce a leader who will be a righteous shepherd to lead Your nation (Num. 27:16-17).

   • Sovereign One, reign over all that happens from today until the formation of Israel’s next governing coalition (which could take many months, even needing another election) (Psa. 115:1-3; Rom. 8:28).

   • Lord of Jacob, give Israeli ministers who have done Your will more influence in the next coalition: Defense Minister Katz; Justice Minister Levin; Israeli UN Ambassador Danon; Foreign Minister Sa’ar; Finance Minister Smotrich; Diaspora Affairs and Anti-Semitism Minister Chikli; and all others who have proven to be faithful sons and daughters of Zion (Neh. 7:2; Psa. 101:6; Prov. 25:19).

   • Lord, use US President Trump’s strong endorsement of Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu as the one who should be Israel’s next leader for Your own purposes (Prov. 19:21).

   • God of Abraham, guard over Bibi from all mental, emotional, physical and spiritual attacks from world leaders, the media and from satanic forces (Gen. 15:1; Psa. 3:3; 115:9-11).

   • Lord God, fulfill Isa. 1:25-27 and deal in Your righteousness with Israel’s Supreme Court judges who arrogantly act as if they – and not the democratically elected officials – rule Israel.

   • Lord, we agree with the Haredi [ultra-Orthodox] that Torah study is essential for Your nation, and pray You draw them back to the Torah and away from their mostly humanistic Talmud (Ex. 19:7-8).

3. Foreign relations:

   As Messiah Yeshua’s disciples, 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 is our top priority over loyalty to any nation, including Israel. Yet we also need to see that this goal will only be fulfilled when Israel becomes all that God has promised it will be.

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

   • Lord God, we declare, YHWH is the true God; He is the living God, and an eternal King. At His wrath the earth shall quake and the nations shall not be able to bear His indignation. (Jer. 10:10)

   • King Yeshua, as nations try to divide Your land, that draws them into your judgment (Joel 3:1-2), so turn Your Body in these nations to pray for mercy and against this anti-biblical plan (Ezek. 22:30).

   • God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as You severely shake many nations (Isa. 34:1-8), grant great wisdom to Israel’s diplomats to know what to say and what not to say (Psa. 51:15; Prov. 13:3).

   • Lord God, place Your words in the mouths of all of Israel’s diplomats (Ex. 4:11-12; Jer. 1:9-10).

   • God of Abraham, direct Israel to become totally independent from America and any other nations as soon as possible, and to keep their eyes and hearts focused on You (Psa. 118:8-9; 123:1-4).

   • God, grant great discernment to Israel to know which nations are safe to share and sell its hi-tech weaponry and defensive achievements to and which nations are not (Isa. 39:3-7).

   • Almighty God, anoint Israeli leaders with wisdom and courage to resist all the well-meaning yet anti-biblical advice it gets from its Western “allies” (Num. 23:23; Psa. 33:10-11; Ezek. 37:4-10).

4. Gaza:

   The current situation in Gaza has gone on for way too long. If President Trump had not forced a ceasefire on Israel, the IDF could have defeated Hamas a while ago. Yet today Hamas is still a dangerous threat to Israel and it needs to be destroyed (Rev. 6:10).

   • King Messiah, confound all nations on Trump’s “Board of Peace” who are enemies of Israel’s – such as Turkey, Qatar, Pakistan, and most EU nations (Psa. 129:5; 144:7-8; Isa. 33:7).

   • Lord God of Israel, speak through Shabbat’s prophetic portion and encourage all Israelis that as they read Isaiah 41:10-13 and look to You expecting You to fulfill Your Word, Hamas will be erased.

   • King Yeshua, oversee the next steps in Gaza in a way that brings You glory as it is seen in Israel and among believers how even today You command deliverances for Jacob (Psa. 44:4-5).

   • Lion of Judah, as in biblical times, download strategies and tactics to the IDF to shock, divide and to permanently defeat Hamas (Josh. 6:2-5; Judg. 7:16-18; 2 Sam. 5:23-24).

   • Almighty, as Gaza is part of Judah’s inheritance, fulfill Genesis 49:8b and anoint the IDF’s hand to be on the neck of [all its] enemies.

   • God, remove Israel’s fear of repossessing Gaza by a biblical fear of disobeying You (Judg. 2:1-4).

   • Lord Yeshua, build up, protect, and guide every Arab believer in Gaza and burden Your Body to pray for our family who live under Hamas’ demonic control (Matt. 16:18).

5. Internal security:

   Shabbat’s Torah portion begins the story of God’s relationship with Father Abraham. It is also the first time of more than 200 instances throughout the Tanach where we read in one way or another that God has promised to give His land to Abraham and his seed – the Jews.

   • Almighty God, impress both Jews and believers from Shabbat’s Torah portion just how serious You are about giving Your land to Your people (Gen. 12:1, 7a; 13:14-15, 17; 15:7b, 17-18; 17:7-8).

   • Abba Father, show Your people that circumcision is actually the sign of Your covenant that the land has been promised to them as we realize when the context of Genesis 17:10 is read [cp. vs. 7-8]!

   • Lord Yeshua, remove the unbiblical term “West Bank” from the Body, and replace it with the names You used when You walked on it – “Judea and Samaria” (Matt. 2:1; 24:16; John 4:4).

   • God of Isaac, promote leaders in Israel’s next coalition who are biblical Zionists and 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).

   • King Messiah, hedge in the zealots among the settlers and do not allow their violent acts to ruin the good character of the vast majority of Israelis living in Judea and Samaria (Gal. 5:9).

   • Also Lord, hedge in any reports which exaggerate what these zealots have done yet never report on what the Palestinians often do to purposely provoke a violent reaction (Psa. 50:19-20; Prov. 10:18).

   • God, help Israel’s efforts to halt the Palestinians from creating facts on Your land (Num. 21:3).

   • Sovereign Lord God, disperse off of Your land Your enemies (Deut. 33:28; Psa. 10:16).

   • All-wise God, guide Israel to know how to deploy its security forces in its land (Prov. 21:30-31).

   • Abba, provide divine caffeine for the IDF as all leaves have been cancelled until after the elections as reports of terrorist attempts to disrupt that day increase (Psa. 121:3-4; Isa. 41:30).

   • Lord of hosts, promote in the IDF more Zionist warriors and have them replace all humanistic commanders that weaken Israel’s army’s fighting ability (Zech. 9:13-15; 10:3-7).

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

6. External security:

   Shabbat’s prophetic reading exposes the ultimate goal of God making out of Israel an exceedingly great army (Ezek. 37:10). As Isaiah 41:15-16 explains, it is for His praise and glory. Behold, I will make you a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth. You shall thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and make the hills as chaff. You shall fan them, the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them, and you shall rejoice in YHWH, and glory in the Holy of Israel.

   • We thank You that Netanyahu comprehends that in the ME peace comes from strength (Psa. 29:11).

   • God Almighty, anoint the next government to be at least as aggressive as Israel’s current one when it comes to defending Your nation against its neighborhood enemies (Psa. 60:12; 68:35; Zech. 10:5).

   • God of Israel, fulfill Deuteronomy 2:24-25 and let the dread and fear of the IDF fall upon all their enemies, making them tremble and be in anguish because of Your nation (Isa. 55:11).

   • Abba, encourage Israelis that You are the same One today that they read about in the Tanach, which means angelic armies are always with them against their enemies (2 Kin. 6:15-17; 2 Chr. 32:7-8).

   • Iran: Messiah Yeshua, gift the Iranian Body with divine insight as they intercede (Job 12:13).

   • Lord God, it seems impossible for the Iranians to retake their nation from its current rulers, but we pray for You to help them to do that as nothing is too hard for You (Jer. 32:17, 27; Luke 1:37; 18:27).

   • As we hear reports that various ethnic groups in southern Iran are actually fighting against Iran’s current regime and its henchmen, we ask You to give them supernatural success (Jer. 49:35-37).

   • Haman, a Persian, was hung on the gallows he built for Mordecai, so God let Iran’s leaders “hang” on their nuclear weapons program that they are building to use against Israel (Est. 7:10; Job 4:8).

   • Almighty Judge, judge harshly every nation that still maintains financial links with Iran despite the world knowing that Iran is the #1 global sponsor of terror (Jer. 12:13; Hag. 1:6).

   • Hizbullah in Lebanon: God, use Iran’s financial crisis to drain Hizbullah’s finances (Psa. 12:2-4).

   • Lord, we asked You to fulfill Joel 2:17-21 and to remove Hizbullah from Israel’s northern border, and we thank You for using the IDF to answer our prayer (1 John 5:14-15).

   • Now we ask for a biblical solution to the Lebanese situation, with Israel possessing its inheritance in southern Lebanon, and we pray against all politically-correct solutions (Psa. 33:10-11; Isa. 14:24).

   • King Yeshua, teach the Lebanese Body how to pray for their nation (1 Tim. 2:1-4).

   • Other: Abba, if we are seeing You move nations to fulfill Micah 4:11-13, such as the recent Mecca Pact between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, then lead us in prayer so that we do not pray against that which You are doing to fulfill Your word (Amos 3:7).

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

   • Lord God, uphold Israel’s insightful suspicions of Syria’s radical Islamic leaders (Psa. 140:1-2).

   • Arise, God; release Your Angel to fight against the Houthis (Psa. 35:1-6; 68:1, 30b).

7. Aliyah:

   The story of the Jewish people began when Abram obeyed God and made aliyah from Ur of the Chaldeans to the Promised Land as we see in Genesis 12:1-3 in the Torah reading.

   • God, again we ask You to let the results of both the Israeli and US mid-term elections [Nov. 3rd] to set Jews free in America from all excuses which hold them back from making aliyah (Psa. 124:7-8).

   • Abba Father, may Jews living in the West understand the consequences of the anti-Semitic spirit that is now acceptable with politicians, media personalities and often their neighbors (Isa. 53:1a).

   • Lord God, use the uprisings and riots in many European nations to wake up Jews still living there to see the bullseye they have on their backs and their need to flee “Babylon” today (Jer. 51:5-6).

   • You Lord, are not a God of confusion, so we ask You to remove all confusion from the minds of Your people in the captivity, replacing it with clarity concerning the signs of the times (1 Cor. 14:33).

   • King of Israel, let the reality of many Western Jews needing to hide their Jewishness, wake them up to see how they are no longer welcomed to live there – as Jews (Jer. 51:9-10).

   • Great Shepherd, send forth the good news of Israel’s economic resilience over the past few years and let that encourage Your people to come home with their silver and gold (Deut. 28:8; Isa. 60:9).

   • As applications pile up in many pro-aliyah organizations, Almighty God provide all the finances and manpower needed to process these requests swiftly and efficiently (Psa. 36:8; Phil. 4:19).

   • Abba, raise up people in the next government who will prepare Israel for the massive aliyah You are organizing from the UK, France and many other Western nations (Psa. 106:47; 107:2-3).

   • King of Israel, build a new coalition government in Israel that will break apart all the strongholds in the nation that hinder or discourage Jews from coming home (Psa. 127:1a; Isa. 62:10).

   • Lord of all, as Israel’s relations with Latin America nations improves, may that initiate a mass return of many Spanish and Portuguese speaking Jews to Your land (Isa. 43:6; Ezek. 11:17; Obad. 1:20b).

   • Messiah Yeshua, speak to Your Body to pray for Jews in their nations to make aliyah (Ezek. 36:37).

   • Raise up believing gentiles who will hide and protect Jews as anti-Semitism increases (Jer. 16:16).

   • Also Lord, move upon Your Body to be aware of their responsibility to the Jewish people (Rom. 15:26-27) and to open wide their wallets to aid the coming aliyah tsunami (Psa. 112:5; Isa. 60:3-10).

8. Salvation:

   Save Your people Lord; bless Your inheritance; shepherd them, and carry them forever. (Psa. 28:9) Amen!

   • Almighty God, use Genesis 15:5-6 in the Torah portion to show unsaved Jews that salvation is by faith first and then works follow as the proof of being saved (Rom. 4:3; Gal. 3:6).

   • Divine Healer, perform eye surgery on Your people and remove that partial blindness (Rom. 11:25) that remains upon most of them at this time (Psa. 119:18; 146:8a; Zech. 12:10).

   • Abba Father, reveal to Your people that You want a personal relationship with them (Jer. 31:34).

   • Then Lord, by Your Spirit, transform many of their traditional prayers which they tend to repeat by rote into genuine supplications for salvation (Psa. 50:15; 80:18-19; 116:2).

   • King Messiah, turn Jews to read Matthew 1:1 and to see how the NT begins by looking back to the Davidic Covenant, and then reveals that You are the Greater Son of David (Matt. 9:27; 12:23; 15:22).

   • King Yeshua, by the power of Your Spirit, let Your glory shine through believers and give them wisdom and sensitivity on how to provoke Jews to jealousy (Matt. 5:14-16; Rom. 11:14).

   • Abba Father, save 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, traumatized children; Jewish politicians, judges, lawyers, diplomats; university students, teachers, professors; scientists; rabbis and Jewish anti-missionaries; Jews, including Jewish zealots, 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, Turkey; Jews married to gentile believers; unsaved loved ones of Messianic Jews.

9. Body of Messiah:

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

   • Lord Yeshua, show Your Body the many “signs” that have accompanied Israel’s restoration: the land flourishing again (Isa. 27:6); the IDF is an exceedingly great army (Ezek. 37:10); Jews are making aliyah from over 100 different nations (Isa. 43:5-6); more Messianic Jews today than at any time since the book of Acts; huge revivals in many non-Western nations (Psa. 22:27-28; 67:1-7), plus more!

   • Abba Father, do not allow either the Tanach or the issue of aliyah to be aborted from Your Son’s Body at this time (Isa. 8:20; Jer. 8:9; 2 Tim. 3:15-17).

   • Lord God, send out Your light and truth and let Yeshua’s followers be led by them (Psa. 43:3a).

   • As many Western nations are experiencing severe judgment, King Messiah, grant to Your Body in those nations a prophetic voice to warn them of why they are being judged (Num. 24:9b; Jer. 50:28).

   • We ask You Lord, that since Your Word never returns to You void (Isa. 55:11), train us to use it even more effectively as we intercede (Psa. 144:1; Eph. 6:17b-18).

10. Water:

    In line with Jeremiah 10:12-13a, please ask God to send rain upon His land at this season: He made the earth by His power; established the world by His wisdom and spread out the heavens by His understanding. When He utters His voice, there is the roar of waters in the heavens, and He causes the mist to ascend from the ends of the earth.

IFI: God has indicated that after the elections, the burden to intercede will most likely increase. Considering that both Judy and I are dealing with physical issues and are already tired from standing in the gap, we truly need your sustaining prayers, words of encouragement and financial support. Once again, we thank you for your faithfulness to this ministry.

Shabbat shalom from Zion
Chuck Cohen, for the IFI team
Psa. 47:6-9