Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto You, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of Your wings. Selah. For You, O God, have heard my vows: You have given me the heritage of those that fear Your name. You will prolong the king's life: and his years as many generations. He shall abide before God for ever: O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him. So will I sing praise unto Your name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.

Psalm 61

  1. In Israel, as there rest of the world, there have been "social justice" protests that have thrown this country into confusion. The organizing people of the protests here called for a hiatus on protesting to see if their actions had put enough pressure on the government to do what they demanded. Now, two months later, they are planning to begin the protests again because their demands have not been met. They now demand that the government scrap the entire budget and write a new one that they approve of. If they can't do that, they want to bring down the current government. These protests have cost Israel millions of shekels, destroyed public park areas, and given the enemies of Israel reason to think that we are a divided people. There are things in Israeli society that demand justice, but it must be based on God's Word to be true justice. These protests are set to start again on Saturday.

    • Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. (John 17:17) May Your Word be established in this country as the foundation of justice and not the thoughts of man.

    • We ask that You would send rain to prevent these protests from even starting.

    • Divide this "movement" so that it can not gain any traction.

    • Expose the political motives and wickedness that is driving these protests which seeks to bring down the present government.

    • Please cut this off at the root so that it would not bring more destruction and waste of money.

    • We recognize that there are problems, but we pray You would raise up shepherds would help to properly correct them.

    • Help this country to deal righteously with the poor and see that the Biblical way is the correct way.

    • Thank You for Netanyahu, his strength in leadership, and his influence on the strong economy that there is in Israel now.

    • Don't allow these protests to be an encouragement to our enemies.

  2. Thus says the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. Thus says the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain. Thus says the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. Thus says the LORD of hosts; If it be marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvelous in mine eyes? says the LORD of hosts. Thus says the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness. … These are the things that you shall do; Speak, every man the truth to his neighbor; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates: And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbor; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, says the LORD.

    Zechariah 8:2-8, 16-17

    We then lifted up a prayer for Aliyah because we see how the country flourishes when Aliyah increases.

    • Thank You Lord for the increase in Aliyah this past year.

    • We pray for an increase from the US where Jews are still comfortable, but things are getting shaky - may they come into Zion with all their possessions.

    • Bring them from the far East where they have been scattered and provide the documents they need to come back.

    • Give the Jewish community in Iran an urgency in their spirit to come home and the wisdom to know how.

    • We ask for Your mercy in bringing the Jews out of Turkey where the Anti-Israel sentiment is on the rise and the whole country seems to be shaking.

    • We ask that You would bring all the Holocaust survivors home so that they can live out the rest of their days in the Land of their Fathers.

    • We pray that You would remove all the impediments in the way of Messianic Jews making Aliyah - remove from their hearts the fear of what might happen to them if they try to come.

    • We ask that You would fulfill the promise concerning Your people Israel coming home so that Your Name might be glorified to the ends of the Earth.

  3. Following up on the continued prayer for Aliyah, we turned the prayers to our brothers and sisters in the Church. The Church needs revelation concerning God's appointment with Israel here in the Land and what part they are to play in that appointment.

    • I have set watchmen upon your walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: you that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence, And give him no rest, till He establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

      Isaiah 62:6-7

      May the church see that if they make mention of the Lord as being the Lord of their lives, that is something they are to take part in.

    • May Your Spirit fall on the Church and cause eyes to be opened to the responsibility they have to intercede for Israel

    • Remove the apathy in the Church contained in words like that is not my calling or I am not gifted for that.

    • Open eyes and hearts to hear Your Word.

    • Remove from the Church the deceptive teaching that praying for Israel is simply a political issue and show the Church that it is a prophetic issue.

    • Have mercy on Your Church and reveal Your truth as spoken in Your Word.

    • We ended this time of prayer by praying for the Israeli and Arab Body of the Messiah here in Israel - may every congregation in this country be infused with a burden to intercede for this nation!

  4. We continued our prayer for the security of Israel in the wake for the Gilad Schalit prisoner swap. This country was held hostage by Hamas, and the same thing will happen if anyone else is kidnapped. A Saudi Arabian millionaire has offered a bounty to any Palestinian who captures another Israeli soldier. Muslim clerics are declaring that there only needs to be 6 more Schalits in order to get all the Palestinian prisoners out of jail. Every Israeli needs the protection of the Lord with the increased threat. The government here needs wisdom to know what policy needs to be established to stop the slide down the slippery slope we find ourselves on.

    • For You have been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.

      Psalm 61:3

      Be a strong tower for every soldier guarding our borders!

    • We pray protection for all Israelis from kidnappings - may every attempt utterly fail.

    • Thank You Lord for the attempts that have been prevented.

    • Give the IDF the new strategy they need in order to prevent kidnappings.

    • Please help stop this appeasement policy from snowballing anymore.

    • May there be an urgent push within the government to establish a solid policy of response if anything like this should happen again.

    • May this new policy be a Godly one.

  5. I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

    1 Timothy 2:1-2

    We continued our prayer watch for Prime Minister Netanyahu. Everything going on outside of Israel and within is way too much for one man to bear alone.

    • We thank You Lord for giving us this man as Prime Minister! We pray that he would be strong and courageous.

    • Bring Salvation to his household Lord!

    • Give him a strong backbone to stand in Your truth

    • Give him a clear head and a still heart so that he can hear Your voice.

    • Put the people and experts around him that he needs to accomplish what is before him.

    • Help him to get good sleep at night so that he can be refreshed for each day.

    • Protect his family and bless them.

    • May he have good discernment to know which voices to listen to and which voices to not listen to.

    • Thank You that he has continued to read Your Word and may it be a light to his path (Psalm 119:105).

    • Help him see that he is not alone - we pray You would be with him through all the tough decisions that have to be made

    • Thank You for raising up FM Liberman to take some pressure off of the Prime Minister.

Finally, please keep IFI in prayer as we are in full conference mode. Even though the conference is in January, there is still so much preparation that needs to be done. Please keep Eliyahu Ben-Haim in prayer as he is ministering in Germany at the moment and Chuck Cohen as he will be going to the States next week to minister.