1. We started by reading Psalm 75:1-7

    • To You, O God, we give thanks…for Your name is near, Your wonderful works declared. When I take the congregation, I will judge uprightly. The earth and all its people are melting away; I hold up its pillars. Selah. I said to the proud, Do not boast; and to the wicked, Do not lift up the horn; do not lift up your horn on high; nor speak with a stiff neck. For lifting up comes neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge; He puts down one and sets up another.

      Psalms 75:1-7

    • We bless You Lord and believe that You are in total control.

    • We are so thankful that You, King Messiah Yeshua, sit at the right hand of Your Father - already having won the battle (Psalm 110:1).

    • Our God is an awesome God. He reigns in the heavens above with wisdom, power and love.

  2. In line with 1 Timothy 2:1-4, we prayed first for the Israeli elections next Tuesday, January 22nd. Unless God directs us differently, we will continue to intercede for Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and his Likud-Yisrael Beytenu joint list to gain an overwhelming victory, so that he can lead this nation into a very dangerous future without having to be at the whim of every smaller party who wants this or that or whatever.

    • Abba, we are asking and trusting You to raise up a government through whom You will be glorified. For My sake, for My sake I will do it; for why should My name be defiled? I will not give My glory to another. (Isaiah 48:11)

    • Do not allow Israelis to be blinded in any way by the media or campaign slogans or foreign pressure.

    • Enable Israelis to see that we are much better off today than we were four years ago - and that is in spite of the 'Arab Spring' and the global economic downturn (Psalm 102:13).

    • Raise up a unity government - not only in name but in purpose.

    • Lord, according to the polls 25% of Israelis are still undecided about whom they should vote for. Speak clearly to them over this weekend to cast their vote for Likud-Yisrael Beytenu.

    • When the undecided enter the voting booth, watch over this verse: A man's heart plans his way, but YHWH directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)

    • We thank You for Netanyahu being Israel's prime minister today and for the fact of him continuing to govern this nation and not stop because of the election campaign.

    • Abba, let Your favor shine upon Netanyahu.

    • Lord, keep the ultra-Orthodox Shas party out of the next government. Drastically lessen their ability to influence this nation.

    • We trust You to raise up Israel's next leader. …the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and…He appoints over it whomever He will. (Daniel 5:21)

  3. We asked Yeshua to provoke the Israeli Messianic Body to stand in the gap this weekend for the elections. Also this coming Monday night, just before the Tuesday elections, is IFI's International Prayer Conference in Jerusalem's opening session. We have invited the Israeli Body to stand with us and all the international delegates as we stand in the gap for the elections.

    • Father God, set the shofar to Your mouth and wake up the Body this very weekend (Psalm 47:5).

    • Lord, cause pastors and elders to lead Your people in prayer specifically for the elections.

    • Wake up many in the Israeli Body to a revelation of our priestly function in standing in the gap for this nation as it chooses its next leaders (1 Peter 2:9).

    • Give the Body an understanding of why our current prime minister should also be our next prime minister.

    • Encourage the Body to both pray and vote in line with Your will (John 7:17).

    • I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem, who will not be silent day nor night. You who remind YHWH [are YHWH's secretaries], do not be silent, and give Him no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

      Isaiah 62:6-7

    • Bring out many of our brothers and sisters to join with us this Monday evening.

    • Allow there to be a unity in the Spirit among those who attend so that You can find that which You said would move the hand of our Father: Again I say to you that if two of you shall agree on earth as regarding anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them by My Father in Heaven. (Matthew 18:19)

  4. We prayed next for the Body in the world to understand how vital these elections are and to stand in the gap with us during this time.

    • Quicken many in the Body to see that You are fulfilling Your Word openly before the whole world.

    • Raise up true prophetic voices who will declare what You are doing in Israel: I will sanctify My great name, which was profaned among the nations, which you [Israel] have profaned in their midst. And the nations shall know that I am YHWH, says the Lord YHWH, when I shall be sanctified in you [Israel] before their eyes. (Ezekiel 36:23)

    • Wake up our brothers and sisters to see the prophetic significance of this election - especially in the face of the Arab Spring, the Syrian meltdown, an aggressive Iranian nuclear program, an Obama administration that is becoming more and more unfriendly to Israel and a Europe looking to force Israel to divide Your land as soon as possible.

    • Lord, shake up the Church to see with spiritual sight!

    • We ask for all of our family in the Middle East to also see what You are doing here and to stand with You.

    • [Continue to intercede for the Church in your nation.]

  5. We have seen in the past that events which occur just before an election often sway the way people vote. We saw this with Hurricane Sandy and the US elections and there have been terror attacks that have impacted Israel's elections. So we prayed for God to overrule all that happens here - for His holy name's sake.

    • YHWH has prepared His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom rules over all.

      Psalms 103:19

    • YHWH reigns. (Psalm 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 99:1)

    • Abba, rule over all events from now until the elections and only allow that which is best for Your will to be done here in Israel.

    • Hinder all that will interfere with that which is in line with Your will and purposes.

    • Keep Israel's security forces sharp to see and stop all that the forces of darkness would like to bring on this nation and her people during this time.

    • Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered; also let those who hate Him flee before Him.

      Psalms 68:1

  6. We next prayed into the horrific Syrian situation.

    • Concerning Damascus: Hamath and Arpad are put to shame, for they have heard bad news. They are melted; anxiety is in the sea; it cannot be quiet. Damascus has become feeble; she has turned to flee, and trembling has seized her. Anguish and sorrows have taken her like a woman in labor. How is the city of praise not left, the city of My joy! So her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be silenced in that day, says YHWH of Hosts. And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall burn up the palaces of Ben-hadad [or Bashar al-Assad].

      Jeremiah 49:23-27

    • Lord, draw many Syrian and other Muslims to Yeshua.

    • Cause them to question why Allah has Muslim killing Muslim and search for the truth.

    • Protect the believing community and use them for Your glory.

    • Lord, prepare the IDF for whatever may spill out over the Golan from the Syrian war and for the day after the war ends. The horse is prepared for the day of battle; but safety is from YHWH. (Proverbs 21:31)

    • As Israel is rumored to be working inside Syria to keep an eye over the chemical and biological weapons - we ask for protection for all of our undercover agents and collaborators.

    • Give the Kurds in the ME wisdom and save many of them.

    • Have much mercy on the tens of thousands of Syrian refugees.

  7. The Iranian threat was the next focus of prayer. US President Obama's choice of Chuck Hagel as the next US Secretary of Defense has the Iranian government and media overjoyed. They see it as a victory for them - and a defeat for Israel.

    • Lord, give Israel a government that will know what to do with Iran.

    • Anoint whoever will be Israel's new defense minister and new foreign minister to work very closely with Netanyahu and explain very clearly to the world the real threat of Iranian nuclear weapons.

    • Help the responsible protectors of Israel to think out of the box and surprise both Iran and the world - if indeed You are wanting Israel to deal with this threat directly (Jeremiah 51:19-24)

    • Lord, whatever it takes, do not allow Iran to obtain these weapons of mass destruction.

    • Continue to allow Israel's military industries to develop new weapons to keep this nation one step ahead of those who have sworn to destroy it.

    • God brought him forth out of Egypt. He has as it were the strength of an ox. He shall eat up the nations, his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. He crouched. He lay down as a lion, and as a great lion. Who shall stir him up? Blessed is he who blesses you, and cursed is he who curses you.

      Numbers 24:8-9

  8. Aliyah, the return of the Jews from exile back to Israel, was the next prayer target.

    • Behold, the days come, says YHWH, that it shall no more be said, As YHWH lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, As YHWH lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands where He had driven them. And I will bring them again into their lands that I gave to their fathers. Behold, I will send for many fishermen, says YHWH, and they will fish them. And afterwards I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.

      Jeremiah 16:14-16

    • We bless You for the almost 80,000 Jews who have come home during the last four years.

    • We thank You for enabling Netanyahu to direct this economy to be one of the strongest in the world - so as to both attract Jews in exile and to sustain them when they come home.

    • In the same way, we praise You for keeping Israel's unemployment rate down and much better than most of the nations in the West.

    • We are encouraged to see Israelis who have left this land coming back in record numbers.

    • Lord, impart to Your people in exile a love for Zion.

    • Lord, impart to the Messianic Jews in exile a love for Zion! (Psalm 137:4)

    • [Please pray for the Jews in Your nation or geographic region to desire to return to Zion.]

    • If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget. If I do not remember you, let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth; if I do not prefer Jerusalem above my chief joy.

      Psalms 137:5-6

We finished interceding for IFI's International Prayer Conference in Jerusalem next week. Continue to pray for the leadership team to know the voice of the Shepherd and to be sensitive and quick to lead as His Spirit guides; to be able to impart the prayer burdens on Yeshua's heart and to know what to share when preaching. Ask God to bring all those whom He wants to be here and to keep away all those whom He wants elsewhere. Please remember to pray for the health and strength of all the leaders and delegates. Also, that He would anoint and strengthen the administration team and all volunteers. We want to guard the unity of the Spirit - but we also do not want to give place to the enemy or any spirits of confusion or doubt or fear, etc. We need His guidance for the prayer tour, especially as some areas are right under the nose of the surrounding enemy. Finally, that God would raise up the next generation of prayer warriors, and bring to the conference many Israeli believers.

Please note: There will be no Friday Prayer Alerts for the next two Fridays. Lord willing, every day of the Prayer Conference, we will be posting a video update on our website [late afternoon Israel time]. But during the prayer tour, we are not planning to send out any updates. Of course, that could change if there is a crisis or other situation that requires it.

Shabbat shalom and blessings abundantly from Jerusalem,

The IFI team