1. Praise:

   Shabbat's Torah portion has this question from God to Abraham: Is anything too hard for YHWH? (Gen. 18:14a)

   • Abba Father, we know the answer is that nothing is too difficult for You (Jer. 32:17, 27).

   • We praise You for proving this by Your miraculous restoration of Israel to its land when it was at the weakest moment in its history – right after the Nazi Holocaust (Psa. 102:1-15; Jer. 30:4-10).

   • King Redeemer, only after we are saved do we realize how evil and distorted our hearts are, yet You still redeemed us, so we rejoice as this is also proof that nothing is too hard for You (Mark 10:26-27).

   • Lord, in the Torah portion as Abraham says to Isaac, God will provide himself [or, Himself] a lamb for the burnt offering, (Gen. 22:8a) we are in awe as one of Your greatest miracles is the incarnation when You, God the Son, became the Son of Man (Isa. 9:6; Matt. 1:20-23; Luke 1:30-35).

   • Creator God, thank You for the incredible lightning and thunder storm over parts of Israel just as the elections were drawing to a close, reminding us that You still rule over all (Psa. 103:19; Joel 3:16).

2. Government & society:

   The elections are over; the work of building a governing coalition has begun. The result will determine who rules Israel into the near future, so our prayers for this are vital. [Note: during this process, PM Bibi Netanyahu and his coalition continue to govern in a caretaker capacity, yet they have the legal right to act if a situation demands especially a military response.]

   • Abba Father, as the results of the election have not taken You by surprise (Isa. 46:9-10), guide us as we intercede for the formation of Israel's next governing coalition (Amos 3:7).

   • We praise You God that You are the Divine Kingmaker (Prov. 8:15-16; Jer. 27:5; Dan. 2:21).

   • Lord, we ask for a coalition filled with children of Zion and of Issachar (1 Chr. 12:32; Zech. 9:13).

   • God, hinder the Arab parties with 19 out of the 120 seats in the Knesset from having any serious influence as while many Israeli-Arabs are loyal to the state, no Arab MK [parliament member] has been willing to state that Hamas is a terrorist organization (Psa. 36:1-4)!

   • Sovereign Lord, reign over all the events from today until the formation of Israel's next governing coalition (which could take months, or even take another election) (Psa. 103:19; Isa. 52:7b).

   • God of Jacob, forbid a coalition from being formed that reverses the godly progress that Netanyahu's coalition has done in many areas (Ex. 14:15; Ezra 10:4-5; Luke 9:62).

   • Lord God of Israel, as Bibi is still prime minister, teach him to fear You and to know what to do and what not to do to advance Your will for Your nation at this stage in history (Psa. 90:12; 111:10b).

   • God Almighty, Israel's restoration is for Your holy name's sake, so anoint Israel's current and future political and military leaders to further that goal (Ezek. 36:20-24; 37:21-22).

   • Lord, in Shabbat's Torah portion we read of Abraham calling You the Judge of all the earth (Gen. 18:25), and we ask You to arise and deal with Israel's unrighteous judges on its Supreme Court who usurp authority for themselves that they are not supposed to have (Isa. 1:25-27; Mal. 3:3).

   • God, place many more influential children of Zion in Israel's social media scene (Psa. 144:1b).

3. Foreign relations:

   Unless Israel's new government appeases the nations there will be no let-up on the growing assault against God's nation. While we rejoice for breakthroughs in relations with several Latin American and other nations, yet most Western and Middle Eastern nations, and Russia and China, have set themselves up as enemies of an Israel that does God's will. [If Bibi is not the next leader, Israelis will soon see that their negative relationship with most of the world was not his fault.]

   • King of Israel, wake up Your Body to the very real danger for their nations (Isa. 33:1-2) if they boycott the Jews who are living exactly to where You are bringing Your people back (Jer. 32:41-44).

   • Messiah Lord, anoint the Body to be more pro-God than pro-Israel as they defend Your nation and Your land, as Israel's restoration is ultimately for Your holy name's sake (Isa. 43:5-7; Ezek. 36:22-24).

   • Lord God, we bless You for the boldness of Israeli diplomats under Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, like UN Ambassador Danny Danon and US Ambassador Yechiel Leiter (2 Chr. 32:7).

   • God of Jacob, forbid Israel's new government from trying to appease any nation, or global entity, in order to win the favor of the world (Isa. 26:13; Matt. 4:10).

   • Almighty One, shield Israel from the Jewish communities in “the captivity” among the gentiles who often want it to say or do things that are out of line with Your revealed will (Neh. 4:1-14).

   • Abba Father, release Your Spirit to aid Israel's leaders to know how to deal with the US in the face of its biennial change of leaders and policies towards Your nation (Prov. 26:4-5; Isa. 31:1; Jer. 17:5).

   • God Almighty, give Israel wisdom to know if remaining a UN member is a waste of time, effort and money, or if now is time to wipe the dirt off its feet and depart (Psa. 1:1; 26:4).

   • Savior, send revivals upon nations that bless Israel – such as Azerbaijan, India, Ethiopia, Slovenia, Somaliland, Argentina, Colombia, Vietnam, and many American states (Gen. 12:3a; Psa. 117:1-2).

4. Gaza:

   Hamas openly refuses to disarm and is actively rebuilding its fighting ability. Yet most of the world turns a blind eye to this. But if Israel kills Hamas terrorists then we hear accusations that Israel is destroying the “ceasefire”! Hypocrisy and anti-Semitism have joined hands in today's world!

   • Abba, based on Psalm 9:19-20, arise and release Your fear upon US President Trump's ill-named “Board of Peace” that has many anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic nations as members.

   • Lord God of justice, fulfill Deuteronomy 32:41 and Isaiah 34:5, and render vengeance on Your enemies in Gaza who hate You and hate Your people (Psa. 83:1-4; Rom. 12:19).

   • Almighty God, strengthen Your angelic protection over Israeli soldiers stationed in Gaza, especially against any successful kidnapping attempts (Psa. 3:5-8).

   • Lord God, hook Hamas' jaw and draw them down into destruction (Isa. 30:27-28; Ezek. 29:4).

   • King Messiah, cut of all financial support that helps Hamas pay its terrorists (Zeph. 1:11).

   • God, strengthen Israel's stance that its buffer zone in Gaza will remain a part of Israel (Isa. 54:2-3).

   • Thank You God of Jacob for the growing desire among some Israelis to resettle Gaza which is a part of Judah's inheritance (Josh. 15:1, 47; Judg. 1:18).

   • As surveys show that about 80% of Gazans want to leave, Lord God guide Israel to accelerate this as swiftly and proficiently as possible (Job 38:13; Psa. 10:16; Jer. 12:14-17).

5. Internal security:

   Bibi's government made great progress in establishing facts on the ground in Judea and Samaria, as well as in the Galilee and the Negev. It approved many new settlements as well as expanding pre-existing ones. Also, Jerusalem's Temple Mount was opened for Jews to pray and worship up there! These answers to prayer are an encouragement for us to press on and ask God that the new government would complete the extension of sovereignty over all of His, and Israel's, land, at least west of the Jordan River at this time.

   • God, You are planting Your people back in the land with all of Your heart and soul (Jer. 32:41), as well as for Your holy name's sake (Ezek. 36:21-24), so teach believers how vital this is to Your end-time plans and burden them to persistently pray for this to be totally accomplished (Luke 11:2; 18:1).

   • 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. 33:10-11; 125:3; Zech. 14:1-3).

   • Abba Father, fulfill Amos 9:15 in relation to all of the positive steps that Bibi's government has done to extend sovereignty over the land of promise (Jer. 32:41-44).

   • God of Abraham, insure that Israel's buffer zones in Lebanon and Syria remain as part of Israel, and Lord be magnified both from upon, and beyond, Israel's borders (Mal. 1:5).

   • Almighty God, block all fear of man from Israel's current and future leaders as this is what hinders them from extending Israel's sovereignty over Judea and Samaria (Psa. 118:6; Prov. 29:25).

   • Yet Lord, if this “little by little” extension of sovereignty is actually being directed by You, then please let it continue regardless of who forms the next government (Deut. 7:22-24).

   • Thank You for the growing Jewish population in Judea and Samaria, and we ask for this to also be the case in the Negev, the Galilee, the North and on the Golan Heights (Isa. 49:19-20; 51:3).

   • Lord God of Moses, for Your name's sake, fulfill what You promised in Exodus and go out with the IDF against its enemies inside the land: send Your fear out before the IDF (23:27); drive out Israel's enemies (23:30); and expand its land to encompass all that You promised to it (23:31-33).

   • Lord of hosts, remove all humanistic chains from off the IDF, and anoint it to war against terrorism in the land in a biblical way, including by openly asking You to lead them into battle (Psa. 18:36-40).

   • Abba Father, please help Israel's human guardians stay alert and undistracted (Isa. 28:6).

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

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

6. External security:

   There were reports that after the America midterm elections next Tuesday the US and Israel were going to strike Iran again. Netanyahu has been quite vocal that Israel's goal is nothing less that regime change. Yet Trump has just said that he still wants to make a deal! Is this only subterfuge to confuse the Iranian leaders or is this his real goal? If the latter – oy vey!

   • Divine Judge, rebuke every world leader who thinks they can control Israel's destiny (Psa. 94:2).

   • King of kings, continue to use Israel as Your weapon of war against all of Your/its enemies, both near and far, even during this season of coalition building (Jer. 51:20-24; Zech. 9:13-16).

   • Yet Almighty Ruler, do not let Netanyahu approve of any military offenses if it is only based on political considerations (Psa. 115:1-3).

   • On the other hand, Abba, do not let political considerations stop him from pursuing military action if that is what Your will is at this time (Mic. 4:11-13).

   • Iran: Lord of hosts, if Israel attacks Iran again, let nothing, or no one, stop it from achieving its goal of regime change, both for Israel's sake and for the Iranian peoples' sake (Jer. 49:38b; 51:20-24).

   • Abba Father, reveal to Israel how it can help the Iranians overthrow their evil regime (Prov. 29:2).

   • King Messiah, hide and protect Israel's spies and collaborators already in Iran (Psa. 138:7).

   • Abba, as You did with the Babylonians and in modern times with the Iron Curtain and Assad's rule in Syria, so do in Iran and erase that regime suddenly (Josh. 10:9; 11:7; Psa. 6:10).

   • God, ignite many more ethnic upheavals throughout Iran, as is happening in its south, and use that to break apart the false unity imposed by the regime and to totally weaken the regime (Luke 11:17).

   • Messiah Yeshua, guide the Iranian Body as they intercede for their nation (Jam. 5:16b).

   • Hizbullah in Lebanon: Fulfill Isaiah 2:12-13 against Hizbullah – today's arrogant cedars of Lebanon.

   • Lord God, use the Lebanese government's extremely wishy-washy approach to disarming Hizbullah to open the way for the IDF to do it once and for all (Psa. 18:39-42; 44:4-7).

   • God, lead the IDF to destroy Hizbullah's global drug trade and thus severely impair their finances.

   • Abba, teach Israel that the best way to deter its Middle East enemies is to permanently retain all land they capture – such as South Lebanon which is part of Israel's biblical inheritance (Deut. 11:24).

   • Other: God of Abraham, if You are using Israel's activities in South Syria to fulfill Jeremiah 49:1-2, as that area is part of the tribe of Manasseh's inheritance, then lead us as we pray about this.

   • Thank You Lord that Israel now sees Qatar as a hostile-state; please burden American believers to pray for Trump's eyes to be opened to this reality as well (Est. 8:3; Prov. 21:1; Luke 12:2).

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

7. Aliyah:

   Shabbat's Torah portion contains this verse: While [Lot] lingered, the men [i.e., angels v.1] laid hold upon his hand, and the hand of his [family], YHWH being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. (Gen. 19:16)

   • Abba Father, be merciful to Your people in captivity in today's “Sodoms and Babylons,” and create in the new government a zeal to bring Your people back home (Isa. 54:7-8; Zech. 8:1-8).

   • God, promote ministers who will be diligent to remove stones of stumbling from Your peoples' path, whether bureaucracy, the rabbinic definition of who is a Jew, or whatever else hinders (Isa. 62:10).

   • King Messiah, guide Israel as to where to build communities for new immigrants, especially outside of its main cities, and also how to remove all blockages from Israel's construction industry in order to build more affordable housing for them, as well as for all Israelis (Obad. 1:17-20).

   • Lord, let the good news of Israel's strong economy, despite fighting wars on every side, provoke Jews to come home today while they still can bring their silver and gold with them (Isa. 60:9).

   • Abba Father, rebuke Jewish pride that says, “They will not chase us out!” and let them see that You are the One doing the chasing in order to bring them home (Prov. 16:18; Isa. 43:5-7; Jer. 31:3-5).

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

   • King Messiah, anoint us and other intercessors with prayers that 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 know, and will preach about, the link between may Your name be sanctified (Luke 11:2) and Jews returning home to Israel (Ezek. 36:21-24).

   • 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).

   • Faithful Lord, watch over Ezekiel 28:25-26 and as aliyah increases also remove Israel's surrounding enemies, and reveal Your Son Yeshua as King Messiah unto many Israelis.

8. Salvation:

   While Rabbinic Judaism and Islam are monotheistic religions, we who trust in the Bible believe in a God who is not a singularity, but a unity. Shabbat's Torah reading contains a verse which clearly reveals this: Then YHWH rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah brimstone and fire from YHWH out of heaven; (Gen. 19:24)

   • God, use this verse to challenge Jews to seek You, and not man, for who You really are (Psa. 40:16).

   • Abba, also draw them to Zechariah 2:8-11 and let they see that Messiah Yeshua is YHWH of hosts who has drawn so many gentiles to You, YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel (Psa. 22:27; 67:1-7).

   • Messiah Yeshua, please stop hiding from Your people (Isa. 45:15), and like Joseph, remove Your “Egyptian” garments and let them see that You are in reality their brother and king (Gen. 45:1-3).

   • We thank You Lord for the increased spiritual hunger in many Israelis since Oct. 7th (Jer. 29:13).

   • Abba Father, we thank You for saving many Jews today, not by might, nor by power, but through Your Spirit and by Your grace (Zech. 4:6-7).

   • We praise You that You save Jews and gentiles by grace and any deeper understanding of who You truly are only comes afterward as they grow in You and read Your Word (Zech. 12:10; Eph. 2:8-10).

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

   • [Please seek the Lord about any specific groups of Jews He wants you to pray for this week.]

9. Body of Messiah:

   The only reason why believers would be confused by, or even stand against, Israel's restoration, is a refusal to perceive the Tanach as still God's Word. Regardless of how they arrived at this unbiblical stance, it denigrates that part of God's Word that Yeshua, His disciples, and all the New Testament writers, read, loved, and on which they trusted (2 Tim. 3:15-17)!

   • Lord God, the Torah says several times (Gen. 18:17-18; 22:16-18) that based on Abraham's trust in You the gospel would go to the gentiles through Abraham and His seed (Gal. 3:8), so please reveal to gentile believers that their very salvation is connected with Your promises to Israel.

   • King Messiah, remove from members of Your Body that partial blindness they have as, and when, they read the Tanach (John 5:46-47; 2 Cor. 3:15).

   • Son of Man, gift Your Body with many more children of Zion who will teach the whole counsel of God – from Genesis to Revelation (Zech. 9:13; Acts 20:27; Eph. 4:8, 11-15).

   • King of kings, promote in Your Body many sons of Issachar who discern the signs of the times and know what Israel, and the Body, are supposed to do (1 Chr. 12:32).

   • Lord Yeshua, lead Your Body to pray for Israel to possess all of its land (Obad. 1:17); for all Jews in their nations to make aliyah (Isa. 43:5-7); and for all Israel to be saved (Rom. 10:1), and show them that the above are biblical ways to bless Your people.

10. Water:

    Based on Psalm 65:9-10, we are asking God to visit His land and water it. Please join with us as we have now entered into Israel's rainy season.

IFI: Persistent prayer is hard work with rarely any instant gratification. Yet as only by faith can we please God, we persist and then as we look back we often see the answers to our prayers. Please stand in the gap for us to have the courage, wisdom and strength to finish the race He has chosen for us to run in. Thank you and may He bless you abundantly (Psa. 134:3).

Shabbat shalom from Zion
Chuck Cohen, for the IFI team
Psa. 68:34-35