1. Praise:The goal of God’s election and protection of Israel is so that both Jews and gentiles know that Israel’s God is God. This is clearly seen in Rahab’s declaration to the spies in Shabbat’s prophetic portion: I know YHWH has given you the land; your terror is fallen on us and the people of the land faint because of you, for we heard how YHWH dried up the water of the Red sea for you … and what you did to the two Amorite kings on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. As soon as we heard, our hearts did melt and all of our courage fled because of you: for YHWH your God, He is God, in heaven above, and in earth beneath’. (Josh. 2:9b–11)
    • Hallelujah! We rejoice that You, our God, are God both in heaven and on the earth (Luke 10:21a).
    • We praise You because You are Judah’s God and You reign – and since You have become our God in Messiah Yeshua – we can declare with all of Israel that our God reigns (Isa. 52:7).
    • We bless You Lord Yeshua for today all authority and power is in Your hands (Matt. 28:18).
    • We also confess that God the Father has made You, King Yeshua, Lord of all (Acts 10:36).
    • We worship You as King of kings and Lord of Lords, the Mighty of Israel (Isa. 1:24; 1 Tim. 6:15).
    • We thank You Lord for we are now more than conquerors through You who loves us (Rom. 8:37).
    • Since You know the end from the beginning, we rest securely in Your sovereignty (Isa. 42:9; 45:21).
    • We are comforted that regardless of what happens on earth, You still reign (Psa. 103:19; Rom 8:28).
    • In the midst of the gross darkness covering the earth today (Isa. 60:2), we praise and thank You that Your Word is our light – as well as the ultimate truth (Psa. 36:9; John 17:17).
  2. Aliyah:The Torah portion tells of the evil report the 10 spies brought back after searching out the land God swore to give to Israel (Num. 13:26-33). This is still a problem today as many Jews, including believers, when faced with the various “giants” who are still in the land, struggle to trust in God to sustain them through the very difficult battles which are a reality for all who live here.
    • Lord, impart the faith of Caleb and Joshua to Your people so that despite the “giants” they will battle against in Israel, they persist to stay in the land that You have promised to them (Josh. 14:11-12).
    • Rebuke all the “evil reports” which most media brings forth about Israel today (Neh. 6:13; Rom. 3:8)
    • Whether You do it in mercy or by persecution (Jer. 16:16), since aliyah is for Your holy name’s sake (Ezek. 36:21-24), bring the Jews out of the West (Zech. 8:7-8).
    • Reveal to them that the current “giants” in the West are much more dangerous than whatever they will face in Israel where they will be under Your everlasting arms of protection (Deut. 33:26-29).
    • With anti-Semites having their masks ripped off, and with anti-Semitism/anti-Zionism now being too often seen as “free speech”, let the Jews see these signs and flee modern Babylon (Jer. 51:5-10).
    • Use the global financial instability, and the rising animosity against Israel, to encourage Your people to make aliyah in order to save their lives – even at the loss of their lifestyles (Joel 3:16).
    • Grace believers who have made aliyah to focus on You, Lord Yeshua (Heb. 12:2), and to see that in You those very real giants turn out to be food for us to grow stronger in faith (Num. 14:7-9).
    • Reduce the emigrants and increase the immigrants [olim] (Jer. 31:8-9).
    • Anoint the new olim to give a good report from their new home (Num. 14:6-9).
    • Increase the importance of aliyah in the eyes of all Israeli leaders in all areas of society (Jer. 32:41).
    • Tear down every barrier in any nation that prevents Jews from leaving, and when they are released bring them back to Zion (Isa. 14:26-27; 43:5-7).
    • Tear down all unnecessary barriers in Israel which make it harder to return (Isa. 62:10; Rev. 3:18).
    • Knit the hearts of young Jewish people touring the land – to the land (Isa. 62:4-5).
    • Draw more Spanish and Portuguese speaking Jews to return and settle in the Negev (Obad. 1: 20b).
    • Let the new programs to make the Negev and Galilee area more attractive to Jews be very successful and end up drawing many of the new olim to live in those places (Jer. 32:42-44).
    • Please Lord, in the near future settle Your people in many of the illegal houses that the Palestinians are building in Judea and Samaria with the illegal help from the EU (Deut. 6:10-11; Josh. 24:13).
    • Show Gentile believers how vital the restoration of Your people to Israel is to the preparation of the return of Your Son to Jerusalem (Zech. 14:1-4; Matt. 23:37-39; Acts 1:11).
  3. Salvation:What God says in the Torah portion as the reason for the exodus from Egypt is a type of why – through Yeshua – He brings us out from under the bondage of sin: I am YHWH your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God… (Num. 15:41a)
    • Lord, we bless You that Your aim in making a New Covenant with Israel is so that they will all know You – as opposed to just knowing about You (Jer. 31:31-34; cp. Isa. 59:1-2).
    • Continue to bring many Jews, both in Israel and in exile, into the kingdom of Your Son (Col. 1:13).
    • Draw more Jews to Your Word and away from the words of man (Job 23:12; Psa. 19:10; Jer. 15:16).
    • Lead believers by Your Spirit to know what to say and what not to say in sharing the good news of Messiah Yeshua with the Jewish people (Luke 21:13-15).
    • Remove any pride from gentile believers as they share with the Jews about You (Rom. 11:18-21).
    • Let there be a great harvest from all the seeds that have been planted and watered (1 Cor. 3:7).
    • YHWH, save Your people, the remnant of Israel. (Jer. 31:7) Amen!
    • We ask for the salvation in Israel of politicians; judges and lawyers; soldiers and officers in all units of the IDF; police and other security forces; prisoners and prison workers; Holocaust survivors and their extended families; terror attack survivors and their families; all who live in Judea and Samaria; Haredi [ultra-Orthodox] rabbis and many of the men and women in those communities; multitudes of medical personnel, hi-tech workers and scientists; teachers in all levels of education; many in the gay communities; unsaved loved ones and neighbors of Messianic Jews (Rom. 11:26a).
    • We rejoice over the reports of millions of Muslims in the Middle East being saved and ask for many of them to receive a burden to provoke unsaved Jews to jealousy (Rom. 11:11).
  4. Government & society:The Lord constantly reminds us to pray for Israel’s current coalition to make His priorities their priorities.
    • Since You hold the heart of all of Israel’s “kings” in Your hands, please turn them in the direction of Your will for Your nation at this time (Prov. 21:1).
    • Bring unity to Israel’s coalition concerning everything that is in line with Your will (Psa. 133:1).
    • Abba, it seems that the judicial reform is deadlocked, but again we ask You to take control so that however it happens, Isaiah 1:25-27 is that much closer to being fulfilled.
    • We ask for Your specific guidance on how to pray about this issue today (Psa. 31:3; 43:3a).
    • Bring about Your righteousness in any form of the judicial reform that is passed (Prov. 14:34).
    • Prevent PM Bibi Netanyahu from compromising with anyone or any nation – regarding any issue – if those concessions will compromise Your will and purposes (Psa. 33:10-11).
    • Aid Bibi and those working with him to dramatically reduce Israel’s high cost of living (Psa. 32:8-9).
    • Give Netanyahu and the rest of the coalition ministers the wisdom of Solomon when dealing with issues that Israel’s Haredi communities see as vital (1 Kin. 4:29-30).
    • Use more Haredi rabbis who are Zionists to increasingly influence their people (Psa. 14:7; 51:18).
    • Anoint the government with Your ways and plans in battling against the horrific increase of murders among Arab-Israeli communities (Eccl. 8:11; Rom. 13:1-4).
    • Aid Israel’s police to deal effectively with both Jewish and Arab crime families (Rom. 13:3-4).
    • Lord, send forth a genuine revival within Israel’s Arab communities (1 Sam. 12:20).
    • Show Israel when it is time to wipe the dust off its feet and leave the UN (Num. 23:9b; Luke 10:11).
  5. Internal security:There are reports from Lebanon that PA President Abbas is very ill. Only God knows when Abbas will go to his eternal destiny and what will be the results of his departure from the Palestinian scene.
    • When Abbas dies and Palestinian terrorist and political factions war with each other for dominance, please show Israel what it should do and especially what it should not do (Prov. 26:17).
    • At that time please protect all innocent Palestinians who are willing to live in peace in the midst of the Jewish state (Prov. 28:15; 29:2, 12).
    • Also, as chaos engulfs the Palestinians, use that to convince Israel of the necessity of extending its sovereignty over all of the land west of the Jordan River (Obad. 1:17-21).
    • You who are the Ultimate Influencer, show more Israelis that the creation of a Palestinian State in the land You promised them will only lead to more death and destruction (Judg. 2:1-5).
    • We ask that the constant putting off of making a decision to build in the E1 corridor will be put to a stop and Israel will arise and build in this area between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim (Neh. 2:20).
    • If it is still Your plan, then move Israel to extend its sovereignty little by little (Ex. 23:29-30).
    • In line with this, we thank You for the approval of building 4,000 new housing units in communities which already exist in Judea and Samaria, and ask that they will be built (Ezek. 36:35; Amos 9:11).
    • Deafen the ears of Israeli leaders against the negative responses of the nations, especially America, when it comes to Israel obeying You and possessing its land (Ezek. 36:1-15).
    • We bless You for the continued success against terrorists the IDF’s Operation Break the Wave has had and ask for it to continue until the wave of terrorism is completely broken (Num. 14:7-9).
    • Shield Israel’s young soldiers from the hatred and death that they face almost daily as they protect Your nation (Psa. 3:1-8).
    • Also protect them against any distractions that can cause them to let their guard down (Psa. 140:7).
    • Prevent the IDF from advancing in a way that pleases the nations but moves it further away from being biblically correct and thus from pleasing You (Isa. 31:1; John 3:6).
    • Lord, show Israel the need to restore and even increase the various checkpoints to make it that much harder for terrorists to pass from Palestinian controlled areas into Jews areas (Job 6:18; 19:8).
    • Increase the excellent intelligence gathering that Israel has from its various sources (Job 12:22).
    • Also increase the discernment for those interpreting this information (1 Chr. 12:32; Eccl. 8:5b).
    • Oversee the various IDF divisions to work in one accord with each other (Job 41:16-17).
    • Lord God, please protect Israel’s roads against accidents and terror attacks (Psa. 121:8; Jer. 31:10).
  6. External security:Most nations today are cowering before Iran’s Ayatollahs and their evil regime while severely criticizing Israel for everything it does which is in line with God’s will. Iran has executed hundreds of its citizens recently – yet has any nation demanded a UN Security Council meeting to condemn them? No, but Iran has just been gifted with two influential positions at the UN.
    • Strengthen and encourage us to be persistent in prayer and to keep striking the proverbial arrows on the ground until all of Your enemies are defeated (2 Kin. 13:18; Luke 18:1).
    • As Israel sees the insane diplomacy which is overtaking most of the nations, encourage it look to You alone for safety (Psa. 5:3; 123:2).
    • Let Israel perceive that America’s democratic-type of government – which every four years can turn its Israeli policy 180 degrees – makes it a very unreliable long-term ally (Isa. 36:6).
    • Show Israel how You want them to react if current reports of America and Iran being very close to a “less-for-less” nuclear deal are in fact true (Psa. 41:9; Prov. 27:5).
    • Prepare the IDF’s Iran Command for the day when Israel needs to attack Iran and then for the day after when the world will invariably condemn Israel (Psa. 33:10-11).
    • Send forth Your divine out-of-the-box thinking into the minds of all IDF strategists (Prov. 21:31).
    • May any attack on Iran be so overwhelmingly successful that Your fear falls on the rest of Your – and Israel’s – enemies (2 Chr. 17:10; Psa. 68:1).
    • Send forth Your “lightning” and “arrows” to accompany any Israeli attacks (Psa. 144:6).
    • Use Iran’s plots to surround Israel with proxies and to destroy Your nation to fulfill Micah 4:13.
    • Lord God Almighty, arise and fulfill Your promise to destroy the king and the princes of Elam – which is Iran today – and then set Iranian citizens free (Jer. 49:38b).
    • Anoint Your growing church in Iran (Jer. 49:38a) with wisdom and guidance in prayer so that You receive all of the glory and all of the praise in that land (Luke 1:51-52; 2:14).
    • Lord, protect Israel from the foolishness of ex- IDF Chief of Staff Eizenkot who just revealed that Israel’s army killed hundreds of ISIS fighters while he was in command (Prov. 14:3; Eccl. 10:12).
  7. Body of Messiah:From the beginning of God’s revelation of His goal until the very end we see that He focuses on having His glory – His influence and presence – totally fill His creation. Why should the Body of Messiah aim for anything less than that (Matt. 6:9; John 12:27-28)?
    • From the Torah reading: YHWH said, ‘I have pardoned according to your word, but as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of YHWH’. (Num. 14:20-21)
    • Use Your Body worldwide to bring about the fulfillment of Habakkuk 2:14.
    • Let Your Body pray as the nation of Israel did in Psalm 115:1: Not unto us, O YHWH, not unto us, but unto Your name give glory, for Your mercy, and Your truth’s sake.
    • Reveal to every member of the Body of Messiah – both Jewish and gentile – that the restoration and salvation of Israel is first and foremost for Your glory (Psa. 79:9; Isa. 48:9; Jer. 14:7, 21).
    • In these days, gift Your Body with shepherds after Your heart and remove all others (Jer. 3:15).
    • In these days, also gift Your Body with an increased hunger for Your Word (Jer. 15:16).
  8. IFI:We so appreciate and need your prayers and support for us, without which what we do would be that much more difficult – if not impossible. Once again, we thank you.

Shabbat shalom and blessings from Zion

Chuck Cohen, for the IFI team

Psa. 134:3