Last night, part of the IFI team was in Tiberias, next to the Sea of Galilee, where they led IFI's quarterly regional prayer meeting. The coming together of believers from various congregations to seek the Lord in intercession for His land and His people is very precious to Him. …the prayer of the upright is His delight (Proverbs 15:8). Please ask Him to continue to direct us as we reach out to the Body in Israel to encourage more corporate prayer.

  1. As we started this morning in Jerusalem, we read a section from this Shabbat's prophetic portion.

    • The Lord YHWH will do nothing unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord YHWH has spoken; who will not prophesy?

      Amos 3:7-8

    • Thank You for revealing Your will to Your servants who are here before You.

    • We bless You for Your prophetic word that has been already fulfilled.

    • We bless You for Your prophetic word that is coming to pass before our eyes today.

    • Hallelujah, for the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns (Revelation 19:6).

    • Yeshua, we exalt You who are seated at the right hand of the Father (Psalm 110:1), to whom all power and authority in heaven and earth have been give (Matthew 28:18)

    • Precious Shepherd of Israel, thank You for saving us.

  2. The eyes of the West are on the Syrian situation as there are reports that the Syrian army has already prepared Sarin gas to use on their enemies. Although Western nations have said the use of chemical weapons is a red line for which Syria should expect a response, no one is sure what that means. And why is this a red line and not the killing by President Assad's forces of more than 40,000 people recently?

    • Lord, reveal to the leaders of Israel what they need to do to protect this nation.

    • Do not allow them to depend on the world to protect Israel (Psalm 20:7).

    • If You are wanting Israel to deal with this threat of Syria's weapons of mass destruction, led them to do so in Your timing, using Your methods - for Your glory (Psalm 115:1-3).

    • Abba, draw Your red line and prevent these weapons from ever being used.

    • If this is Your timing to fulfill the destruction of Damascus prophesied in Isaiah 17:1, then Abba have much mercy on Israel.

    • Almighty Messiah of Israel, You control the winds (Mark 4:41). If chemical weapons are used in Syria, cause the winds to block them from drifting over any part of Israel.

    • Prepare the people living in the north of Israel for whatever the future holds.

    • Use the Messianic Body in the north to be witnesses of Your peace and wisdom.

      …Messiah Yeshua, who is made to us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.

      1 Corinthians 1:30

  3. Our thoughts next turned to the Syrian people. They have been living in a hellish situation over the past several years.

    • Lord, pour out Your Spirit and save a multitude of Syrians - even those who are fighting.

    • Abba, You once called Damascus, the city of praise…the city of my joy! (Jeremiah 49:25b). Put Your praise and joy in the hearts of many who live there today. Reveal Your King, Messiah Yeshua.

    • Touch many Islamic fundamentalists and turn our enemies into our family (Romans 5:10)!

    • Lord, have mercy on the Syrian Druze and Kurds. Bring many into Your kingdom.

    • Anoint the believers in Syria to know what to do and what to say.

      …sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason of the hope in you, with meekness and fear.

      1 Peter 3:15

    • Hide them from the enemy, and for those who are supposed to flee, open wide the doors.

    • Walk through Syrian refugee camps in the surrounding nations and show Yourself to many.

    • Use this terrible situation as another prophetic step towards building that 'Isaiah 19' highway.

  4. Yesterday, Palestinian Authority police attacked IDF troops in Hebron. They were joined by over 250 Palestinians in what became a large riot. We see this as a fruit of last week's UN vote to give the PA the status of a non-member state. PA President Abbas now claims 'Palestine' is a nation. This is not true according to international law or common sense. Yet as Palestinians are brainwashed to believe this, they will become more and more frustrated as nothing much changes. So guess who they will take their frustrations out on?

    • Lord, thank You that no one was killed yesterday in Hebron, yet make this incident a red line for the IDF - that any further attacks from the western trained PA police will be met with overwhelming force.

    • 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. And 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, in Jerusalem.

      Zechariah 12:6

    • Enable IDF leaders to quickly come up with strategy and tactics to deal with this new attitude that will likely permeate more and more Palestinians in Judea and Samaria.

    • Give the so-called 'settlers' in Judea and Samaria protection, courage and wisdom.

    • Cause soldiers and settlers to cry out to You.

      Call on Me in the day of trouble; and I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.

      Psalms 50:15

    • Most of Israel's soldiers are very young. Help them to mature in battle very quickly.

      Blessed is YHWH my Rock, who teaches My hands for war, my fingers for battle.

      Psalms 144:1

    • Lord, arise and scatter the demonic forces that were released against Your people as a result of the world voting to divide Your land and scatter Your people.

  5. The feast of Chanukah starts at the end of Shabbat at sundown. The real battle that was waged almost 200 years before Yeshua was born was an internal struggle of Jewish Zionists - who wanted to follow God - against Hellenistic Jews - who wanted Israel to be a nation like all the other nations. And this is the same battle that is being fought in Israel, and in the Church, today.

    • For I have bent Judah for me as a bow; I filled it with Ephraim, and I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and make you as the sword of a mighty man.

      Zechariah 9:13

    • Lord, during this time of Chanukah, help Israelis recognize that no matter how many pigs we slay on the world's altar, they will still not accept us - because You have called us to be Your chosen nation.

    • This people that I formed for Myself; they shall declare My praise.

      Isaiah 43:21

    • During this season of light, open Jewish eyes to see that the only true light is found in Your Word.

    • Open my eyes, so that I may behold wonderful things out of Your Law.

      Psalms 119:18

      Your Word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.

      Psalms 119:105

    • Turn this nation back to Your Word - both written and living.

      Turn us again, O YHWH, the God of Hosts; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved.

      Psalms 80:19

    • In [Yeshua] was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.

      John 1:4-5

      And this is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.

      1 John 1:5

  6. We interceded for the upcoming Israeli elections on January 22nd, 2013.

    • Abba, we thank You for Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.

    • We bless You for enabling him to stand against the world in many life and death issues for this nation - like Iran, building in Jerusalem and not submitting to the UN's most recent ungodly demand that Israel open up its nuclear power program for their oversight.

    • Make this one of Bibi's prayers: Watch over me, O God; for in You do I put my trust. (Psalms 16:1)

    • Lord, give Netanyahu and his Likud/Yisrael Beitainu joint list an overwhelming mandate to lead this nation in the foreseeable future.

    • Abba, may the next government be even more united and able to accomplish all that is on Your heart for this nation at this time.

    • Raise up a government that will stand against the world pressure to divide this land and Jerusalem.

    • Raise up a government that will further Your will in the areas of social justice, budgetary concerns, military and security issues.

    • Raise up a government that will make aliyah, the return of Jews in exile back to Israel, a major priority.

    • Raise up a government comprised of people like the sons of Issachar, who will know the signs of the times and what Israel needs to do (1 Chronicles 12:32).

    • Awaken the people of Israel to know who to vote for.

    • Protect them from all media manipulation and the extreme left wing section of this society.

    • We take great comfort in the truth that You are the One who will raise up as Israel's next leader, the person of Your choice.

      …the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and…He appoints over it whomever He will.

      Daniel 5:21

  7. We next interceded for aliyah and salvation for the house of Israel.

    • Lord Yeshua, as the lights of the Chanukah menorah are lit and increase in brightness every night, cause the light of who You are to also increase in the hearts of Jews throughout the world.

    • Increase also the desire of the Jews in exile to come home.

    • Open up the eyes that are blinded by the comforts of Babylon to realize that outside of Israel is a very dangerous place to be for the Jew in these days (Jeremiah 16:16).

    • Bring to their attention the increase in anti-Semitic incidents in many parts of the West.

    • Lord, impart the spirit of Abraham to Jews in exile, that they will leave their "Ur of the Chaldeans" and come to the land You have already given to them (Genesis 12:1).

    • Arouse the gentile part of the Church to hear that helping the Jews come home is part of what You are saying to them today:

      So says the Lord YHWH, Behold, I will lift up My hand to the gentiles, and set up My banner to the people; and they shall bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.

      Isaiah 49:22

    • Abba, we ask that You do this for Your holy name's sake (Ezekiel 36:23-24).

We finished by praying for the Church in the nations and the Israeli Messianic Body. With so much happening so quickly today, it would be very easy to get distracted or deceived and stop running the race and fighting the good fight of faith. Yet we have many precious promises that God will complete that which He has started. Faithful is He who called you, who also will do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:24)

Blessings, peace and Shabbat shalom from Zion,
The IFI team

Brothers, pray for us.

1 Thessalonians 5:25