1. This Shabbat's prophetic portion read in the synagogues is Isaiah 66.

   • Thus says the LORD, Heaven is My throne, and earth My footstool. Where, then, is the house that you build for Me? And where is the place of My rest?…But to this one I will look, to the afflicted and contrite spirit, and the one who trembles at My Word.

     Isaiah 66:1-2

   • We thank You for the house You are building in Jerusalem and in Israel in these days - a temple of the Holy Spirit made of living stones.

   • We bring the sacrifice of praise into Your house this morning.

   • Thank You for being our Rock - our stability in these days of intense pressure and shaking.

   • …ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock; His work is perfect. For all His ways are just, a God of faithfulness, and without evil; just and upright is He.

     Deuteronomy 32:3b-4

2. There is a severe division taking place in Israeli society over the issue of whether Israel should attack Iran. This runs through the political area especially, and is fueled by Israel's left wing media. It seems everyone has an opinion - and everyone who is anyone needs to make his opinion known. This is not only dangerous for Israel's essential unity at this time, but it also increases the tension of an already tense situation. So first we prayed for Am Yisrael - the people of Israel - to find that peace of God that passes all understanding.

   • In that day this song shall be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city; He sets up salvation as our walls and banks. Open the gates, and the righteous nation shall enter in, keeping faithfulness. You will keep him in perfect peace [lit; shalom shalom], whose mind is stayed on You - because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever; for in the LORD YHWH is everlasting strength.

     Isaiah 26:1-4

   • Abba, we as a nation cannot do this on our own. Please send comfort and peace to many hearts in Israel during this very tense time.

   • Lord, speak to Your people through Psalm 37: Do not fret yourself with evil doers; and do not be envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon wither like the grass; and fade as the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; you shall dwell in the land, and you shall be fed on truth. Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Roll [commit] your way on the LORD; trust also in Him, and He will work. He shall bring forth your righteousness like the light, and your judgment like the noonday. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of him who practices wickedness. (Psalms 37:1-7)

   • Enable Israeli Messianic Jews and Christians to be salt and light to this nation now (Matthew 5:13-16).

3. We prayed next for Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Barak, plus the security cabinet of nine ministers - to come into unity concerning Iran. We are in total agreement with DM Barak's assessment that as bad as the aftermath of an attack on Iran may be - an Iranian nuclear weapon would be immeasurably worse.

   • Lord Yeshua, You who are the Captain of heaven's hosts, clearly reveal Your will to Israel's leaders.

   • Bring Netanyahu and Barak into one accord over this vital decision.

   • Enable them to communicate succinctly their reasons and decisions to the security cabinet and the nation.

   • Block all leaks from what the security cabinet discusses.

   • God of Israel, we look to You to overrule and to reign (Psalm 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 99:1).

   • Reveal Your perfect timing to any Israeli action against Iran - or any other enemy.

   • Watch over this word and do that which You have declared. Hear the Word of the LORD, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands afar off, saying, He who scattered Israel will gather him and keep him, as a shepherd keeps his flock. (Jeremiah 31:10)

   • Now also many nations are gathered against you, who say, Let her be defiled, and let our eyes look on Zion. But they do not know the plans of the LORD, nor do they understand His counsel. For He has gathered them like the sheaf to the floor. Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion; for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hoofs bronze; and you shall crush many peoples. And I will give their gain to the LORD, and their wealth to the Lord of the all the earth.

     Micah 4:11-13

   • Amen, Lord. We pray that the results of Israel's decisions will bring You glory.

   • Abba, as You did in the Six Day War in 1967, may You again use Israel to overcome Your enemies (Psalm 83:1-2) in such a way that multitudes of Moslems recognize that You are Lord (Psalm 83:16-18)!

4. Today, the last Friday in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, is also known as Al Quds day, al Quds being the Arabic title for Jerusalem. There will be rallies throughout the Moslem world, especially in Iran, stirring up passions to set Jerusalem free from the 'Zionist occupiers'. Of course, the 'Zionist occupiers' are those to whom God has given His city - for His glory.

   • For I will defend this city to save it, for My own sake and for My servant David's sake.

     Isaiah 37:35

   • The God of Heaven, He will bless us, and we, His servants, will arise and build. But you have no portion or right or memorial in Jerusalem.

     Nehemiah 2:20

   • So the angel who talked with me said to me, Cry out, saying, So says the LORD of Hosts: I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. And with great anger I am angry at the nations at ease; in that I was but a little angry, and they gave help for evil. Therefore so says the LORD: I have returned to Jerusalem with mercies. My house shall be built in it, says the LORD of Hosts.

     Zechariah 1:14-16a

   • Lord, place Your angelic hosts to watch over the Temple Mount today and stop any plans to start riots or to throw stones at innocent worshipers at the Western Wall.

   • Give Israel's security forces courage and strength to deal with any riots quickly and with all necessary force.

   • Thank You for restoring Jerusalem to Your people in 1967.

   • May Israel never voluntarily divide Your city.

5. Isaiah 19 is coming to pass before our eyes in what we see happening in Egypt. Of course, many want to see that highway between Israel, Egypt and Assyria come into being - but they do not see what God says must happen before that. Yet the earlier verses of Isaiah 19 read like today's headlines.

   • The burden against Egypt: Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud and comes into Egypt. And the idols of Egypt shall tremble at His presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in its midst. I will set Egyptians against Egyptians; and they shall fight each man against his brother, and each against his neighbor; city against city… The spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst of it, and I will destroy its wisdom… I will shut up Egypt into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, says the Lord, YHWH of Hosts.

     Isaiah 19:1-4

   • Lord, is the 'cruel lord' the Muslim Brotherhood, and the 'fierce king' President Morsi?

   • Please watch over all of our Egyptian brothers and sisters in Messiah.

   • Increase their numbers as the persecution from Islam increases.

   • Surely the rulers of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counselors of Pharaoh has become brutish. How do you say to Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? Where are they? Where are your wise men? And let them tell you now, and let them know what the LORD of Hosts has planned against Egypt. The rulers of Zoan have become fools, the rulers of Noph are deceived; they have also caused Egypt to go astray, the chief of her tribes. The LORD has mixed a perverse spirit in its midst; and they have caused Egypt to go astray in all its work, like a drunkard staggers in his vomit.

     Isaiah 19:11-14

   • Abba, watch over this portion of the prophecy and send that 'perverse spirit' to Egypt's leaders and counselors.

   • Cause them to make all of the wrong decisions and bring their military might to destruction.

   • Prepare Israel for the new reality on the Sinai border and in the Sinai itself.

   • Provide Israel all of the intelligence it needs to be ready for any Egyptian attempts at deception.

6. We turned our attention to the IDF. With almost all of Israel's borders now consider 'high alert' areas, these young men and women who defend this nation need to be constantly alert and imbued with courage and strength.

   • Do not fear; for I am with you; be not dismayed; for I am your God. I will make you strong; yes, I will help you; yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of My righteousness. Behold, all those who raged against you shall be ashamed and confounded; they shall be as nothing. And those who fight with you shall perish. You shall seek them, and shall not find them; men warring against you shall be as nothing, and as ceasing. For I, YHWH your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel; I will help you, says YHWH, your Redeemer, and the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I make you a new sharp threshing instrument, a master of teeth; you shall thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shall make the hills like chaff. You shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and a tempest shall scatter them. And you shall rejoice in YHWH and shall glory in the Holy One of Israel.

     Isaiah 41:10-16

   • Amen to that Lord, and we agree with You for strength and courage to all of those in the IDF at this time.

   • Prepare the reservists for whatever task they may need to do when they called up.

   • Use all of the Messianic believers in the IDF for Your glory.

   • May they be a source of peace and comfort in this time of increasing tension.

   • Bring Israeli Air Force pilots into a place of being willing to do whatever it takes to defend Your people.

   • We pray for the IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, and all of the other commanders, that You would make them those generals You prophesied about in Zechariah 12:6. In that day I will make the governors [allufim = 'generals' in modern Hebrew] of Judah like a hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire among cut grain. They shall devour all the peoples all around, on the right hand and on the left hand. And Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her place, even in Jerusalem.

   • Reveal Messiah Yeshua to multitudes of IDF soldiers and reservists - before they go out to battle.

7. That last point led us to pray for the salvation of Israel. And since that is intimately linked with Jews making aliyah ­- immigrating to Israel - we also prayed for an increase in the number of Jews coming home.

   • Lord, we bless You for the 167 teens who immigrated from North America this past week with the specific intention of immediately joining the IDF.

   • Bless, protect and save them.

   • Provoke their families to follow them soon.

   • Thank You for all of the Jews who are coming home - especially those from the West.

   • Thank You for increasing the numbers of Israelis living outside this nation who are also returning.

   • As You did after the Six Day War, increase the numbers of Jews coming home after Iran is dealt with.

   • Do a miracle and uproot the 25,000 strong Iranian Jewish community from Iran to Israel - before Israel needs to strike.

   • For so says the Lord YHWH: Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out My sheep and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the lands, and will bring them to their own land and feed them on the mountain of Israel by the rivers, and in all the places of the land where people live. I will feed them in a good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel…and in a fat pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel.

     Ezekiel 34:11-14

   • Lord, as we approach the month of Ellul on the Hebrew calendar, known as the month of repentance, in preparation for the holy days in Tishri, we ask for Your Spirit to be poured out throughout this land and multitudes of Your people have a vision of the One whom we have all pierced (Zechariah 12:10).

   • Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations. Cry out, give praise and say, O YHWH, save Your people, the remnant of Israel.

     Jeremiah 31:7

   • Abba, it is not by might, nor by power, but by Your Spirit that anyone gets saved. Move by Your Spirit on this nation at this time.

   • We ask for You to double the size of the Israeli Body in the next two months.

   • Lord, as You are doing with many Muslims, so also here in Israel give dreams and visions of Yourself seated on the right hand of Your Father (Daniel 7:13-14; Psalm 110:1)

Blessings in the name of the King of the Jews, the King of Kings, Yeshua, our Lord and Messiah.

Shabbat shalom,

The IFI team