1. This week's prophetic portion is Ezekiel 37:1-4 - the vision of the valley of dry bones. This section is always read on the Shabbat during the Passover/Unleavened Bread week. What is most interesting is that this Shabbat during this Passover season is the Shabbat when Yeshua was in the grave. So in synagogues throughout the world, Jews are reading about the resurrection of the nation of Israel and the Church is waiting for the first day of the week to celebrate the resurrection of Israel's King Messiah, the world's Savior Yeshua!

   • Abba, we see the evidence of Your overriding sovereignty in this 'coincidence' - and we bless You for it.

   • Lord, thank You that the same Spirit that raised Messiah from the dead dwells in us (Romans 8:11).

   • Hallelujah, that Your ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9), therefore we trust You explicitly.

   • Be still, and know that I am God! I will be praised among the nations. I will be praised in the land. YHWH of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

     Psalms 46:10-11

   • Worthy is the Lamb - for who He is and for what He has done (Revelation 5:12)!

2. We first prayed for Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yair Lapid as they put together a budget for this nation. The needs are great - and although Israel's economy is in good shape, with the shakings in the global economic situation, it is imperative for them to come up with a budget that God can bless.

   • Abba, we want to thank You for both PM Netanyahu and Finance Minister Yair Lapid.

   • While Lapid has confessed that he knows very little about national economic issues, we thank You that he has humbled himself and sat with a number of people involved with Israel's finances to get a quick education and a broader perspective.

   • Because he has done that, we ask that You would honor him in his endeavors (Proverbs 18:12b).

   • Surround Lapid with wise counselors - men and women whom he can trust and who are trustworthy.

   • Continue to anoint Bibi in the area of finances and draw him and Lapid into a close working relationship.

   • Raise up Naftali Bennett as the third with Netanyahu and Lapid, to form a threefold cord that cannot be easily broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12)

   • Shut the mouth of the opposition if they spew things that are not of You. By the blessing of the upright the city is lifted up, but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked. (Proverbs 11:11)

   • Use this situation in which the Haredim - the ultra-Orthodox - find themselves out of the ruling coalition to speak clearly to them and guide them to do some real soul-searching.

   • May the fruit of that be a blessing both to them and to the rest of the nation.

3. As US President Obama was leaving Israel last Friday, PM Netanyahu called Turkey's PM Erdogan and issued an apology to the Turkish people for any mishandling of the Gaza flotilla incident of 2010 which resulted in the deaths of nine terrorists. While there are a number of ways to see this - with opinions of whether Bibi did the smart thing or was manipulated by Obama to do something very dangerous - we at IFI were very sorry, even upset, that Israel issued an apology at all. Turkey is the guilty party in this situation and they are the ones who should issue the apology. After all, even the UN found that Israel's naval blockade of Hamas in Gaza was legitimate. Yet an apology was issued and now we need to cover in pray Bibi and Israel from the results of this action.

   • And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

     Romans 8:28

   • Lord, we know that Israel is 'the called' according to Your purpose - so while the main thrust of this promise is to Your born-again children, we present it to You for Israel at this time as well.

   • Abba, even if this apology was not in Your will, have mercy and protect both Bibi and Israel.

   • Erdogan has been boasting and using this to try and manipulate Israel and raise Turkey's influence in the Middle East. Lord, You use this to reveal the true heart intent of this enemy of Your people (Matthew 12:34).

   • Use this situation - especially Erdogan's harden stance - to draw the government into one accord over any further steps that need to be taken with Turkey.

   • Give our leaders wisdom on how to respond to Turkey's leaders.

   • Help Israel to not go any further in humbling itself before the Spirit of Islam.

   • Strengthen Netanyahu so that he will not make a habit out of doing things just to please Obama - or anyone else - other than You (Romans 8:8).

   • Abba, concerning the compensation Israel is willing to pay for the deaths of these terrorists, we are both upset and amazed that this nation is willing to humble itself to try and restore this relationship with this former ally.

   • Lord, do not allow Israel to succumb to Turkey's outrageous demands concerning the amount to be paid.

   • Are You allowing the enemy to overreach himself by their demands? We have seen You do it so often with Israel's enemies in the past. (For example, Palestinians not willing to compromise on their 'right of return' but insisting that five million plus 'refugees' be allowed to settle in Israel - not in a newly formed 'Palestine'. This demand is so over the top that not even the most extreme left-wing Israeli could agree to it!)

   • Lord, honor Bibi for being willing to humble himself and teach him what true humility is.

   • Arise, O YHWH; O God, lift up Your hand; forget not the humble.

     Psalms 10:12

4. Syria continues to implode and is affecting Israel more directly. More nations are training and equipping Syria's 'Rebel Alliance' - which unfortunately are not necessarily the good guys in this war. This is a lose-lose situation for Israel. While President Assad's downfall would put a huge stumbling block in the path of Iran's goal to create a Middle Eastern Shiite Caliphate, yet a victory by the rebels would bring radical Sunni Islamic forces, such as al-Qaida, the Muslim Brotherhood and others, right up to Israel's Golan border. Still, God does reign - and so we can pray in confidence in Him, regardless of what man does.

   • Arise, O YHWH; let not man prevail. Let the nations be judged in Your sight. Put them in fear, O YHWH, let the nations know they are but men. Selah.

     Psalms 9:19-20

   • Since this is a lose-lose situation, we simply ask for Your will to be done in Syria as it is already decreed in heaven.

   • Lord, we bless You for the Golan Heights - biblical Bashan - which is a place to where You said You would bring back and save Your people (Jeremiah 50:19-20). So for Your holy name's sake, arise and scatter all who would threaten this part of Your land and the people living there.

   • Protect the Israelis who do live there, and the many tourists who love to visit that area.

   • Enable the IDF to know exactly what is being planned in the areas of Syria bordering Israel.

   • Enable the IDF to pre-empt with all the skill and force needed any situation that threatens Israel.

   • Reveal to Israel where every Syrian weapon of mass destruction is and how to destroy them all.

   • Since this is one of the main reasons why Bibi felt it was important to try and restore relations with Turkey, Lord, use this situation to press Turkey and Israel to work together for their mutual benefit.

   • Abba, 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)

   • Use this Syrian chaos to destroy communications and relationships between Iran, Syrian and Hizbullah (Psalm 129:5).

   • Have mercy on multitudes of Syrians - both in Syria and in the refugee camps in the surrounding nations. Thank You for the reports of salvation of Syrians in the camps (John 6:44).

5. Iran continues to march towards its goal of developing nuclear weapons, yet many nations are still trying to negotiate with them. We have no faith whatsoever that anyone will deal with Iran militarily if that is needed - other than Israel. Obama may talk tough, but… So we continue to 'watch and pray' about this very dangerous issue.

   • Lord, how long will You allow Your enemy to rage against Your people (Psalm 83:1-5)?

   • If You will not deal with this threat sovereignly - then give to Israel all the plans and weapons and timing it will need to attack and do the job so completely that the world will see that it is You fighting for this nation. And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that YHWH fought against the enemies of Israel. (2 Chronicles 20:29)

   • We bless You for Israel's new defense minister, Moshe Ya'alon. Make him and Netanyahu of one heart and mind concerning Iran.

   • Do not allow Israel's leadership to be fooled by either their friends or their enemies concerning what is really happening in the 'negotiations'.

   • Trap the Iranian leadership, pressuring them to make major geo-political mistakes (Psalm 55:9).

   • Give the Iranian Church wisdom on how to pray, and live, at this time.

   • Watch over this Word concerning Iran/ancient Elam: I will set My throne in Elam, and will destroy the king and the rulers from there, says YHWH. (Jeremiah 49:38)

6. We have prayed often for Israel's Interior Ministry, which has the authority to decide who can make aliyah [immigrate] and who is not Jewish enough - as well as what type of visas to give to Christian volunteers. Until the recent elections it was in the hands of the Haredi anti-Zionist Shas party. Today, the interior ministry is headed up by Likud's Gidon Sa'ar, Israel's former Education Minister, who did an excellent job in restoring a Zionist vision to the Israeli school system. We are excited about what this man might accomplish. Yet that requires us to be alert and hold Sa'ar up in prayer. One of the IFI team was led to buy a new broom and to write Sa'ar's name on it as we have been asking God to make a clean sweep of this ministry of all that hinders His will from being accomplished.

   • Lord, we thank You for removing Shas and for raising up Sa'ar to take over this ministry.

   • Abba, use Sa'ar to sweep out all that is not of You from this gateway to Israel.

   • Make him a righteous gatekeeper for this nation (Isaiah 1:26).

   • Enable him to have the authority and courage to remove all bureaucrats and bureaucratic regulations that impair the proper working of this ministry.

   • Remove all hindrances that any religious spirits placed in the way of bringing Your people home. Go through, go through the gates; prepare the way of the people. Raise up! Raise up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a banner for the peoples. (Isaiah 62:10)

   • Lord, speak clearly to all the anti-Christ and anti-Zionist spirits that they are to leave the Interior Ministry this very day - never to return. If needed, prepare a herd of pigs (Mark 5:11-13)!

   • Yeshua, reveal Yourself to Gidon Sa'ar during this Passover season.

   • During the elections, there was a vicious, harmful and untruthful attack on this man. Messiah Yeshua, we ask for protection for him and his family as he does that which You have created him for.

   • In fact, we ask for a shield of protection on all of the government coalition members from any curses or other traps the enemy of this nation would try to place up them.

   • We bless this new government in the name of Yeshua, Israel's Messiah, Lord and King!

Please pray over this weekend for many Jews to recognize their Resurrected Messiah and also that many Christians would understand the deep spiritual connection between Passover and Yeshua's death, burial and resurrection.

We finished by taking a moment to thank God for the privilege of being called to live in and minister in Jerusalem - the city of the Great King (Psalm 48:2; Matthew 5:35).

Shabbat shalom, hag Pesach sameach and blessings from Zion

The IFI team

P.S. There are three possible sites of Yeshua's resurrection - Gordon's Tomb, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and a lone tomb on the Mount of Olives. Which is the genuine site? There are arguments for all of them - but the most important thing is what they all have in common: They are all empty!

He is not here, for He has risen, as He said.
Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
And go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead.

Matthew 28:6-7a

Do not be frightened. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.
He is risen, He is not here. Behold the place where they laid Him.

Mark 16:6

According to Paul's custom, he went in to them and reasoned with them out of the Scriptures…
showing that Messiah must have suffered, and to have risen again from the dead;
and that 'this Yeshua whom I preach to you is the Messiah'.

Acts 17:2-3

But now Messiah has risen from the dead,
and has become the first-fruits of those who slept.

1 Corinthians 15:20