1. We started with a sacrifice of praise unto our God - a sacrifice because of the horrific situation Israel finds itself in with the raging fires on the top of the Carmel range, the death of 40 people so far, and evacuation of thousands of others.

    • Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto Your name give glory, for Your mercy, and for Your truth's sake. Why should the nations say, Where is their God? But our God is in the heavens. He has done whatsoever He has pleased.

      Psalms 115:1-3

    • Give thanks to LORD [YHWH] for He is good, for His mercy endures forever.

      Psalm 136:1

    • Abba, we bless You for Your love and righteousness.

    • We thank You that You desire mercy to triumph over judgment (James 2:13) and are just looking for those who will stand in the gap to ask You to do this (Habakkuk 3:2).

  2. Israel has declared this as a day of mourning because of that fire situation. Believing that God is wanting to say something to us and to this nation through this, we stood in the gap, with those of us who are Messianic Jews confessing the sins of this nation and the Jewish people, and with the gentile believers praying for God to have mercy on this nation and the Jewish people. [Note: in line with the biblical definition of repentance, we only repent for our own sins. But we can confess the sins of the people or group with whom we are associated.]

    • Feed Your people with Your rod, the flock of Your heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel...as in the days of old.

      Micah 7:14

    • Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity, and passes by the rebellion of the remnant of Your heritage? He retains not His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which You have sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.

      Micah 7:18-20

    • Abba, we confess Israel's many sins before You [Obviously, this list is not complete and does not apply to every Israeli equally]:

      • We have lost our will to live as a nation that is called by You to be separate and to be a blessings to all the other nations (Numbers 23:9; Genesis 12:3).

      • We have forgotten why You have brought us back home - that through us You would be glorified in all the nations (Ezekiel 36:23).

      • We have too often been a law unto ourselves, and lawlessness runs very deep in this land and her people (Judges 21:25).

      • We have feared man and the nations more than we fear You (Proverbs 29:25).

      • We confess that our nation is full of idolatry, and in particular that we have set up an idol of "peace" before which many of our people worship (Jeremiah 6:14; 8:11).

      • We confess the deep division in this nation between various groups.

      • We confess that too often our leaders have betrayed us - by promising one thing to get elected and then doing something totally different when they get into office.

      • We confess that the Gaza withdrawal was a grievous sin in Your sight (Joel 3:1-2).

      • We confess that the shedding of innocent blood through legalized abortions is a sin of unimaginable evil in Your sight (Deuteronomy 19:10).

      • May this fire be a refiner's fire to bring many Israelis to repentance. (Malachi 3:1-7)

      • Come, and let us return unto LORD: for He has torn, and He will heal us; He has smitten, and He will bind us up.

        Hosea 6:1

  3. We asked God to use this disaster to draw Israel's current leaders to Himself.

    • Lord, may this situation affect deeply the hearts of Israel's political leaders.

    • Convict them of their sins - personally and nationally.

    • Convict Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu of the sin of bartering with this land - which is not his to do with as he wants (Ezekiel 36:5).

    • We declare that this is Your land that You have given to Your people - for Your glory.

    • We hold up the arms of this current government for strength in the face of international pressure to "make peace" with a people who has shown no signs that they want to live in peace with us.

      My soul has long dwelt with him that hates peace. I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.

      Psalms 120:6-7

    • Raise up leaders like King Josiah, who will cleanse this land from all idolatrous altars and speak the words of God to this people (2 Chronicles 34:29-33).

    • Abba, as per Ezekiel 34, please remove all evil shepherds in whatever area they may be found and raise up shepherds after Your own heart (Jeremiah 23:3-4).

  4. Emergency services, when responding to a disaster like this, often endure severe trauma as they try to help the victims. We prayed for the emergency workers from Israel and other nations who are trying to put out the fire and need to deal with all of the dead and homeless.

    • Give the firefighters wisdom to know how to stop this blaze.

    • Protect all who are helping - both physically and spiritually.

    • We lift up to You all of the firefighters, the ambulance crews, the doctors and nurses and government aid workers. Have mercy and use them to bring comfort to the victims.

    • We thank You for the international help - both in the sending of men and supplies.

    • For LORD shall comfort Zion. He will comfort all her waste places; and He will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of LORD. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.

      Isaiah 51:3

  5. We asked the Lord to extinguish this fire.

    • Have mercy on Israel, O God.

    • Abba, please put out this blaze sovereignly.

    • If You chose to use human resources, then use them quickly.

    • Hedge this fire in.

    • Quench the winds that are fanning the flames.

      He arose, rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

      Mark 4:39

  6. Although there is no proof that this fire was caused by terrorists, Israel has had fires started by terrorists in the past that have caused grave damages. With so many of Israel's emergency and security forces focused on this blaze, it leaves an open door for terrorists to start trouble in other areas of this land - especially on the very dry Golan and in Jerusalem.

    • Confound all the plans of Israel's enemies (Psalm 129:5).

    • Expose them before they can even be started.

    • Prevent any terrorist initiated fires.

    • Behold, He that keeps/guards Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

      Psalms 121:4

    • Lord, keep our army on the alert - especially on the northern border with Hizbullah.

  7. We ended by praying for the Body of Messiah to be awake to the times in which we live. So many earth-shaking things are taking place that we must not be asleep on our watch. When we see global economic shakings, shiftings of worldwide alliances, threats of nuclear war and nuclear weapons in the hands of rogue nations, weird weather patterns, floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, famines - and then when building homes in Jerusalem for Jews is the thing that brings global condemnation - we need to lift up our heads, because there is a good chance that our redemption is a lot closer than many of us think.

    • Lord, speak to Your Body concerning the times in which we live.

    • Do not allow us to be taken by surprise as You have already told us of so many of these things that we are now seeing come to pass (Matthew 24:25).

    • Help the Body take note as to what You are doing with Your city.

      Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling to all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. In that day I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

      Zechariah 12:2-3

    • Raise up shepherds who will prepare Your Body for the days ahead.

    • We pray for the Body of Messiah in the Haifa area who are being affected by this fire right now. Bring them comfort and opportunities to share the hope that they have.

    • But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you...

      1 Peter 3:15a

Thank you for your prayers. They encourage and help sustain us.

Shabbat shalom and happy Chanukah
The IFI Team

But the end of all things is at hand:
be therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

1 Peter 4:7