Praise the LORD! I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, In the assembly of the upright and in the congregation. The works of the LORD are great, Studied by all who have pleasure in them. His work is honorable and glorious, And His righteousness endures forever. He has made His wonderful works to be remembered; The LORD is gracious and full of compassion. He has given food to those who fear Him; He will ever be mindful of His covenant. He has declared to His people the power of His works, In giving them the heritage of the nations.

Psa 111:1-6

Thank You Father for Your faithfulness to Israel, for You are a covenant keeping God. Thank You that Your words are eternal and You love to reveal Your purposes to Your people. Thank You Father that You are a strong tower, we can run to it and be safe. Thank You that we are in the city of the Great King. Thank You that Your promises are everlasting.

  1. Freeze in all settlements in Judea and Samaria

    Israel has bowed to the pressure of the USA and decided on a building moratorium of 10 months. That means that all new residential building in Judea and Samaria, the heartland of Israel, stops. (Public buildings, schools, synagogues etc are exempt from the freeze as are buildings already in progress.) There was an article in the newspapers that suggests that Netanyahu has given in to this demand of the USA so that they (USA) will do something regarding Iran. We do not really know. Israel has committed to ten months, but the Palestinians are still refusing to negotiate and they continue making more demands. This is the fault/responsibility of Obama who made the stopping of all construction in Judea, Samaria and parts of Jerusalem a demand during his Cairo speech. This put Abbas in a difficult position as he could not appear more flexible than Obama. Another example of Obama's foreign policy inexperience.

    We need to pray for the following:

    • That when the ten months are up, Israel will start building immediately.

    • That the whole thing bounces back on the Palestinians and the nations will realize that the Palestinians are the ones that refuse to negotiate; their heart is for the destruction of Israel and not for peace. Before Obama's demands on Israel the Palestinians were willing to negotiate without a settlement freeze, and now they will not do anything without a total freeze.

    • That the government of Netanyahu be able to stand, they desperately need political wisdom.

    • Help the government to trust God.

      I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; they shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them, Says the LORD your God.

      Amos 9:14-15

    • Abba, we pray for our government that they would set the clock to rundown this 10 month period and that we would be prepared to resume building the day this moratorium expires. Abba, may the government have to boldness to make this public and to frequently remind the Palestinians and the world that the clock is running.

  2. Iran

    Political commentators think that Netanyahu has made this move of stopping settlement construction for the purpose of persuading the nations to make a move on Iran. The Iranians have said no to moving their enriched Uranium to another country and now the P-5+1 nations have to make a decision. Will they go for enforceable "crippling" sanctions, agree to military action or do little or nothing? Sanctions are efficient if they are crippling ones. If the sanctions are loose in anyway, they will not be efficient. The only way to deal with this in my opinion is a military solution.

    Israel is under threat of extinction. The Iranians will use the bomb against us if they can. They have said it over and over again. This is evil and we have to resist it. The Lord did not tell us not to use the sword; He said that you should not live by the sword. We are not looking for the death of the innocent or the wicked, but we are facing an existential threat.

    Abba You are the creator, You rule over all the earth. You can bring an earthquake, or a natural disaster. We ask that the right hand of the Almighty come and destroy our enemies. We ask that You will show the nations that the evil that Iran is trying to do is a threat not only to Israel, but to the whole of the Middle East, even the world. Help our leaders to prepare for what needs to be done. Give us wisdom and knowledge regarding the areas in which we need to strike, in case we need to go to war, where the nukes are, where the long distance rockets are. May the military leaders in the USA realize that the Iranians would be able to use small bombs as an electro magnetic pulse weapon that would put the USA back into the 1800's. Make the USA aware of this threat and bring them to act in their own behalf, we ask You in the Name of Yeshua.

    A Song. A Psalm of Asaph. Do not keep silent, O God! do not hold Your peace, and do not be still, O God! For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; and those who hate You have lifted up their head. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and consulted together against Your sheltered ones. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation,that the name of Israel may be remembered no more. For they have consulted together with one consent; they form a confederacy against You: The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagrites; Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assyria also has joined with them; they have helped the children of Lot. Selah 9 Deal with them as with Midian, as with Sisera, as with Jabin at the Brook Kishon, who perished at En Dor, who became as refuse on the earth. Make their nobles like Oreb and like Zeeb, yes, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, who said, Let us take for ourselves the pastures of God for a possession. 

    Psalm 83

    Father no other nation in the world is threatened like we are, they would like us to be wiped out; they are calling out for the annihilation of Israel. Have mercy on us, Lord; release us from this existential threat. Make the counsel of Iran to come to nothing. The Arab nations around us need to realize the threat that Iran posses to them. Make them realize the problem that they have too, Father. Bring the Iranian threat to nothing.

    Abba, Iran is showing the true face of Islam. Show the world, Father, the impossibility of dialogue with Islam. Protect Israel, Abba, from this game of chess that the Iranians are playing. This is an affront to Your Name; this is an affront to Your People, they are trying to do this so that Your Word will not be fulfilled.

    Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. In that day, says the LORD, I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the LORD of hosts, their God. In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place-Jerusalem.

    Zechariah 12:2-6

    Father we see that this is coming to pass, we see how the nations are plotting together against Your people. They are turning more and more against Israel. If the UN had to vote today regarding giving even part of the Land to the Jewish People it would vote against it (29 November, 1947: the UN voted to partition Palestine allowing the creation of a Jewish State).

    Pray for:

    • The strengthening of the Israeli government so that they do not yield to the pressure of the nations, especially for Netanyahu.

    • Stand strong on the word of God

       Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord. Israel, put your eyes on God. This is His resting place; there is no hope from the UN. May the hypocrisy of the UN be revealed. Extend Your mercy, Father, that we will not yield to the evil of the nations. Allow Your people to recognize the Hand of God. Our government feels vulnerable, they need to be strengthened, Father. Strengthen the PM and the Knesset (Israeli Parliament). Give them a heart to fulfill Your word. This nation needs You right now; may Your word will be revealed to them; bring the counsel of the nations to nothing; cause Israel to rise in the mist of the pressure; renew us, oh Lord. Confound and divide the nations of the UN.

  3. Our Northern Border

    Throughout many months now we have been receiving reports that a war is imminent on our northern border. A new cabinet in Lebanon has declared that Hezbollah is an authorized armed force to battle against Israel. That means that if we go to war against Hezbollah we are going to war against Lebanon. Some people say that if there is smoke there must be a fire somewhere. And these rumors, this smoke has been rising for many months now. Israel needs to be ready, alert and prepared for any eventuality. (In the Middle East the time for war is spring, when the rain has stopped and the ground is firm.)

    Pray for:

    • The army to be sharp and alert.

    • That they will have the intelligence necessary to carry out an effective attack on Hezbollah. Hezbollah has amassed 40,000 long, medium and short distance rockets. Prepare the air force with accurate targeting data.

    Father You said in Your word that You will arise and Your enemies will be scattered. May the disaster that they are planning on Israel fall on their own heads. Strengthen our government to know what to do and how to do it.

    In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place-Jerusalem.

    Zechariah 12:6

  4. Gilad Shalit

    All signs indicate that a deal is very close for the release of Gilad Shalit. The government is being pressured to release terrorists that should not be released. These people are master terrorists and responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Israelis.

    Pray for:

    • God to issue a red line, here and no further!! Not to release those who must remain in prison, for if they are released they will be a major danger to Israel.

    • The release of Shalit but by other means, supernaturally or by the hands of the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). The release of Shalit will bring further loss of life if dangerous terrorists are released.

    • PM Netanyahu that he will remember that his brother died saving the captives in Entebbe, rather than releasing terrorists.

    Father, blind the enemy and release Gilad. You have done so before with Saul, You can even transport him, You have done so with the prophets of the past. Father shine a light in the darkness, release this boy supernaturally. Have mercy, Lord, both for Israel and for Gilad Shalit. Do not let our mortal enemies to go free.

  5. Rain

    We are still in a very serious draught.

    Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the LORD your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you - The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month.

    Joel 2:23

    That you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

    Matthew 5:45

    Abba, open the heavens to replenish the Kinneret and for this land to be restored with the moisture it needs. Abba, Shepherd of Israel, water Your flocks. We ask for rain, snow, water, dew, for the aquifers to be filled.

    Father, we ask You to show us if there is a blockage to the rain. You have not brought us back from all the corners of the world to die of thirst here. We ask You, Father, for Your mercy on us. You promised, Lord, that this Land is an everlasting inheritance to Your people Israel, You said that You rain on the just and the unjust. Bless this Land, Father, bless this people; if the Land is watered we will be blessed. Open the heavens so that the needs of the people will be met. Have mercy on us, Father, and send us the water that we so desperately need.

  6. Court Case in Beersheba

    A messianic congregation in Beersheba is fighting a court case against the Chief Rabbi of that city and the leader of Yad Lachim and anti messianic organization. The reason being is that the Rabbi incited a violent protest of a group of Orthodox Jews against this messianic congregation. The Pastor of that congregation decided to take a stand on behalf of all the messianic congregations in the Land, to ask for a judgment against such behavior. This is the first time in the history of Israel that something like that has happened.

    Pray that:

    • That God will isolate the judge from bending under pressure from the Orthodox community. That he will not be manipulated in anyway.

    • That the Almighty will give him a courageous heart to stand against this type of discrimination on the part of the Orthodox community.

    • That Justice will prevail.

    Father, we ask You in the name of Yeshua that You protect the Messianic Believers in this Land, that a righteous judgment will come about through this ruling to further protect Your people. Father, do not allow the judge to be manipulated by the religious communities.

  7. Alyiah (immigration to Israel)

    We know historically that the greater the number of Jews that make Aliyah in a year the greater the rainfall that year. The Parasha (Bible portion) for this week is the story of Jacob and how the Lord told him that he was going to come back to the Promised Land.

    Father, we ask You that You will bring a transformation in the Jewish heart, that they will feel that they are lacking something vital living in the countries in which they live, that they are missing something because they are not in Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel). Father, make Aliyah a priority to the government. This is a tool against our enemies, it brings fear to their hearts as Your word is being fulfilled. Father, You have preserved Your people throughout the centuries to bring them back to the Land. Open the gates, Father, so that all Jews will return. Open the gates for the believers, do not let the ministry of interior to have the upper hand against the believers in this land. Israel is the place that they are called. Help them, Lord, to leave their congregations and come to Israel. Convict those Messianic leaders who preach about Israel all over the world but are not willing to make Aliyah. May the USA and all the nations be emptied of Jews. Bless the organizations that are bringing them back. Take away the fear of coming home.

Father, we thank You that we have had this prayer time together. May our prayers be acceptable to You. We do not trust in our prayers, but in the God of Israel who answers our prayers. Watch over this land this Shabbat; bring your people home.

Shabbat Shalom,
The IFI team.