1. On the morning after Israel's ground troops entered Gaza we opened our time together declaring the praises of the God of Israel, reminding ourselves that nothing takes Him by surprise and thanking Him for His constancy.

    Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Jeremiah, what do you see? And I said, I see a branch of an almond tree. Then the Lord said to me, "You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it.

    Jeremiah 1:11-12

    The Hebrew words for almond and for watching are from the same root, which explains the meaning of these verses. Moreover, the almond is the first tree to flower in the early spring and also the last to bear fruit, reflecting the need for us to be patient in watching with the Lord to see Him fulfill His word.

    • Thank You that You are not sleeping. (Psalm 121:4)

    • Thank You that You are watching over Your word to perform it.

    • Thank You that Your word is living.

    • Lord, do not cast off Your people, nor forsake Your inheritance. (Psalm 94:14)

    • Thank You that You have not forsaken Your grafted in people (the Church) either.

    • This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

      Psalm 118:24

    • Thank You that You are the guardian of this nation. (Psalm 121:4)

    • Blessed be the name of the Lord most high. The name of the Lord is a strong tower the righteous run into in and they are safe.

      Proverbs 18:10

    • Thank You that we can be safe in knowing Your name and Your nature - You are merciful, just, righteous, compassionate,…

  2. Operation Protective Edge - Ground Offensive

    Yesterday evening the IDF ground forces entered Gaza with the objectives of destroying the infrastructure of Hamas and the tunnels which have been built to enable them to launch terrorist attacks against Israel.

    This week's Torah portion includes Numbers 31:49 at a time of warfare for Israel: And they said to Moses, Your servants have taken a count of the men of war who are under our command, and not a man of us is missing. Although we learned of the first casualty of the ground invasion during the prayer meeting, we can still pray in the knowledge that God is able to protect every one of the soldiers involved, and give thanks for the absolute minimum bloodshed on both sides of this conflict. Pray:

    • Lord, protect each one of our soldiers. Send Your warrior angels to protect, guide and empower each one of them.

    • God, arise and scatter Your enemies! (Psalm 68:1)

    • Go ahead of Your armies and surround them with Your protection.

    • Disarm and incapacitate the enemies of Israel who are also Your enemies and the enemies of the Church.

    • The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. (Proverbs 1:7) Thank You that You are a loving father who loves enough to discipline.

    • Put such a fear of the Lord into Your enemies that they might freeze, bow down, flee in panic before the armies of Israel. Scatter the peoples who delight in war. (Psalm 68:30)

    • Behold, all those who were incensed against you shall be ashamed and disgraced; they shall be as nothing, and those who strive with you shall perish.  You shall seek them and not find them - those who contended with you. Those who war against you shall be as nothing, as a nonexistent thing.  For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, Fear not, I will help you.

      Isaiah 41:11-13

    • Put fear of the Lord into those so-called friends among the leaders of the nations who continually say we have the right to defend ourselves as long as we don't hurt anybody.

    • Let Israel not be pressured into ending the operation before it is Your time to end it.

  3. Human shields

    While Israel does everything possible in the context of warfare to avoid hurting civilians, nobody takes more delight in the deaths of Palestinian children than the leaders of Hamas. This is perfect for the worldwide propaganda war to get the nations onto their side. When Israel's forces use leaflet drops, telephone calls, various types of warning to encourage the Gazan people to leave a location which is about to be attacked, Hamas order them to return. In the house to house fighting during the coming days there are likely to be many more terrorists protecting themselves with children and women as "human shields". Pray:

    • Give the IDF special weapons to deal with these situations, eg weapons which will stun but not kill.

    • Let the soldiers know exactly what to do when faced eg by murderous terrorists carrying babies.

    • Protect them from getting killed as a result of their fear of hurting the innocent.

    • Cause these innocent people to flee or surrender.

    • Cause communities to fear and to flee as Israel has advised them to do.

    • Lord, give Your supernatural wisdom to these young soldiers (young kids) who are faced with these life and death situations. Be their shield. But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head. (Psalm 3:3)

    • Cause many in Gaza to resist Hamas and to turn themselves over to Israel.

  4. Other enemies round about

    There are many enemies around the borders of Israel who might seek to exploit the Gaza conflict to their own ends. Hezbollah in Lebanon have far more rockets stockpiled than Hamas, there are different groups in Syria - government forces, salafist groups, the Islamic State operating in Syria and Iraq, which, according to reports already have some people in Gaza. Egypt and Jordan, on the other hand are, at least for now, more likely to offer tacit support for Israel. Pray:

    • Thank You that President Sisi in Egypt has been so strong against the Muslim Brotherhood, the brothers of Hamas.

    • Put the fear of God into the Your enemies in the nations round about, that they would be afraid to lift their hands against Israel.

    • Let Israel re-establish deterrence.

    • Confound those who hate Zion. (Psalm 129:5)

    • Let those who seek to destroy Israel be put to shame so they may know You alone are the Lord. (Psalm 83:17-18)

    • Make Israel's security forces a deterrence to those Israeli Arabs and Palestinians seeking to cause trouble. Bless and raise up those among them who want to live in and support Israel.

  5. Righteous Gentiles (see video clip)

    The Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial honors those non-Jews who freely risked their lives to help Jews during the Holocaust. Not all these "righteous gentiles" were believers in Yeshua, but perhaps all believers in Yeshua ought to be willing to risk their lives to save Jews. As the days grow darker and anti-Semitism is on the rise throughout the world, what is the Church doing and saying about it? Sadly not many are speaking out. Pray:

    • Pour out Your Spirit upon Your Church so they would be willing to lay down their lives for Your people.

    • Wake up Your Church and call her again to Comfort My people! (Isaiah 40:1)

    • Reveal to the Church that an attack on Israel is an attack on her own foundation, on their God, their Bible, their root.

    • Thank You, Lord for the gatherings around the world in these days in support of Israel.

    • Raise up Rahabs among the nations who would understand and declare of Israel, I know that the Lord has given you the land… (Joshua 2:9)

    • Send Your servants out to speak clearly to the Church of their responsibility towards Israel.

    • Raise up voices within the church denominations taking a stand against Israel, such as the Church of Scotland and the Presbyterian Church in the USA, to gather others to stand with Israel.

    • Guide and give wisdom to IFI's friends throughout the world to make good use of the video clip and make it known.

  6. Aliyah

    While there are still fishermen fishing to bring the Jewish people home, it is clear that the hunters are increasingly being released to drive them out of the nations where they are. (Jeremiah 16:16) It is getting increasingly dangerous to be Jewish in exile.

    • Use the nations to bring Your people home. (Isaiah 49:22)

    • Speak to the Messianic Jewish leaders in the nations to speak, teach, preach and lead their flocks home.

    • Provide the finances and smooth the way through the bureaucracy to bring the Jews home.

    • Prepare homes for them and jobs for them in Israel.

    • Where the Ministry of Interior has been largely a barrier to Aliyah, turn it into a bridge to help the Jews come home.

  7. Israel's Government

    This week Prime Minister Netanyahu fired Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon for the open way he was criticizing the handling of the war in Gaza.

    • Lord protect the government from in-fighting. Unite them together as one man. (Judges 20:11)

    • Use Benyamin Netanyahu's communication skills in this situation of crisis. Give him wise counsel, bless him, strengthen him and use him for Your glory.

    • Give wisdom and gifting to all involved in "hasbarah" - public relations, to explain accurately what Israel is doing and why.

    • Psalm 68:27 talks of little Benjamin leading Israel. Lord, Netanyahu is small and weak. Would You make him strong to lead Israel in this hour!

  8. Body of Messiah in Israel

    • Lord give us unity in Your Spirit.

    • Help us to understand how to pray at this time.

    • Set the Israeli Arab and Palestinian believers free from the deception which draws them into support for the enemies of Israel.

    • May Your sheep hear Your voice this weekend. (John 10:27)

Shabbat Shalom from the IFI team