1. We started this morning by praising God for who He is.

    • Bless You for being always faithful (Lamentations 3:22-23).

    • The steadfast of the Lord never ceases… Amen!

    • Thank You for being a merciful God, as well as being a God of righteousness and truth.

    • For I am YHWH, I change not. Because of this you sons of Jacob are not destroyed.

      Malachi 3:6

    • All of Your promises, to us and to Israel, are 'Yes' and 'Amen' in Messiah Yeshua (2 Corinthians 1:20).

    • With all that is going on in Israel, we know that You are being glorified. And your eyes shall see, and you shall say, YHWH will be magnified from the border of Israel. (Malachi 1:5)

    • We rest on this truth: YHWH has prepared His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom rules over all. (Psalms 103:19)

  2. Am Yisrael - the people of Israel - have been kept miraculously united since the kidnap/killing of our three teens through the current war - Operation Protective Edge vs. Hamas in Gaza. Yet as this war continues, the anti-Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu snipers are beginning to shoot. This is absolutely treacherous while we are in the middle of this raging conflict. Voices are also being heard against both the current government and the IDF.

    • Abba, we bless You for the unity that this nation is experiencing (Psalm 133:1).

    • Lord, we are so grateful that over 80% of the people supports Bibi and wants to see this war with Hamas through until they are totally defeated.

    • Captain of Heaven's hosts, please set up over this people a 'spiritual dome' so that the darts of the enemy to try to divide and conquer will be deflected and defeated (Isaiah 54:17).

    • Hedge in, and bring to shame, all the anti-Bibi snipers. Let them be humbled and put to shame…let them be turned back and be brought to blushing, those who plot evil to me. (Psalms 35:4)

    • Also hedge in the extreme left leaning Israeli media at this time.

  3. Operation Protective Edge.

    A 72 hour cease-fire is supposedly agreed upon that started at 8am this morning. But the IDF will continue to search out and destroy Hamas' terror tunnels. These tunnels are super dangerous and we stand amazed at God's timing in revealing the extent of them and the plans that the enemy had of using them. [i.e., a massive invasion of hundreds of Hamas terrorists on Rosh Hashanah this year [late September] through the tunnels - killing and capturing multitudes of Israeli soldiers and civilians, while at the same time bombarding Israel with rockets.]

    • Abba, thank You for revealing hidden things and bringing the darkness into light (Psalm 139:11-12).

    • For without cause they [Hamas] have spread their net for me in a pit-net [a trap hidden in the earth - a tunnel!]; without cause they have dug for my soul. Let…his net [tunnel] which he has concealed catch him, let him fall in it, into destruction.

      Psalms 35:7-8

    • Strengthen the Israeli security cabinet to commit to destroying all of these terror tunnels.

    • Give the IDF clear communicated goals from the security cabinet.

    • Enable the IDF to find any not yet uncovered, and to destroy them completely.

    • Lord, give breakthroughs to Israelis who are working on technology that will find all underground traps.

    • Lord, Look to the covenant; for the dark places of the earth are full of houses of evil. (Psalms 74:20)

  4. We prayed for the Israeli security cabinet - the group responsible for how this war needs to be fought, what the goals are, and when to stop.

    • Lord, thank You for the unity among these politicians! It is a miraculous answer to prayer.

    • We bless PM Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ya'alon and all of the rest with resolve to see this through.

    • Enable IDF's Chief of Staff Gantz to give the cabinet accurate information and projections of what the IDF can and cannot accomplish at this time in Gaza.

    • Abba, they need wisdom from above to know how to proceed - so we ask that for them (James 1:5-8).

    • Give the security cabinet Your strategy on whether to stay in or get out and when.

    • Provide the security cabinet with advisors who will be like the sons of Issachar, who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do… (1 Chronicles 12:32b)

    • Expose and cut off all false counsel.

    • There are many purposes in a man's heart, but the counsel of YHWH shall stand.

      Proverbs 19:21

    • Set their hearts as stone against the manipulations of the nations who are foolishly calling for 'peace, peace,' and yet not wanting Israel to remove the impediment to that peace - Hamas!

  5. We prayed next for the soldiers. Dozens have laid their lives down for this nation and its people. Yet the IDF has restored some of its deterrence that was lost in the 2nd Lebanese War.

    • Lord, no more IDF deaths. We know we are asking for a miracle, so that is why we are asking You! Ah, Lord YHWH! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and stretched out arm. Nothing is too difficult for You. (Jeremiah 32:17)

    • We bless You for the IDF and bless each soldier in the name of their Messiah Yeshua.

    • Give wisdom to the IDF on how to better protect staging areas for soldiers preparing to enter Gaza.

    • Please Lord, guard the morale of the soldiers and commanders.

    • Abba, forbid any successful kidnapping attempts - whether of live soldiers or dead Israeli bodies.

    • Release a spirit of true prayer upon these warriors. Call on Me in the day of trouble; and I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me. (Psalms 50:15)

    • Use the Messianic believers in the IDF to leaven the whole army (Luke 13:21)!

    • Anoint the commanders to lead. 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. (Zechariah 12:6a)

    • And they shall be like mighty ones who trample the mud of the streets in the battle. And they shall fight because YHWH is with them, and they shall make the riders on horses ashamed.

      Zechariah 10:5

    • Hide Israel's sons under the shadow of Your wings (Psalm 91:1-13).

    • Pour out upon them a spirit of boldness and strength to take the battle to the enemy (Zechariah 9:13-15).

  6. We prayed for the protection of the innocent in Gaza - especially young children - as well as for the people of Israel. Casualty figures being reported are Hamas' figures. For them, most of the deaths are civilians. Yet a look at the names and ages reveals a very different story. Almost 70% are males from 18-30, yet the total percentage of males that age in Gaza is less than half that figure. And figures for women and children killed are much less than their representative percentage. So the IDF has been targeting terrorists while avoiding extensive civilian casualties. Meanwhile, Hamas' rockets are specifically aimed at Israeli civilian centers, yet most of the world remains deaf, dumb and blind to this truth, only looking at what Israel does. Please pray for God to have mercy on the innocent in Gaza and in Israel.

  7. We also prayed for our nations of origin to stand behind Israel in this battle of light vs. darkness, and not hinder Israel from defending her people from these terrorists, and their backers. Spend some time asking God to turn your government from standing against Israel fighting this 'just' war - that is unless you are a Canadian, and then you can thank God for raising up a leader like Stephen Harper.

  8. We turned our attention to the 'morning after' the war stops. Israel is already being slandered for committing 'war crimes' and 'crimes against humanity', while hardly anyone is accusing Hamas of any of this. Three times, terror rockets were found hidden in UN schools and three times the UN gave them back to Hamas. Duh?

    • Lord, how my foes have increased! Many are the ones who rise up against me. Many are saying of my soul, there is no deliverance for him in God. Selah. But You, O YHWH, are a shield for me; my glory, the One who lifts up my head.

      Psalms 3:1-3

    • Lord, hedge in all of the current and future political attacks so that You alone will be glorified. 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)

    • Lord, according to Isaiah 54:17, we as Israelis condemn all tongues that rise against us at this time.

    • May the Spirit of truth (John 14:17) prevail over any and all investigations of the IDF's conduct.

    • Confront the world with the huge humanistic gap between the way the IDF fought this war as compared to the way that Hamas has fought.

    • Send out this warning in the spirit realm: He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, even both of them are hateful to YHWH. (Proverbs 17:15)

    • Thank You that so many Arab nations are fed up with Hamas - and publically declaring it!

  9. We prayed for you, and the rest of the Church in the nations, to stand before God's throne, pleading with Him to deliver His people - for His holy name's sake.

    • Lord, thank You for the remnant in the Church that is already doing this. More, Lord, more!

    • Yeshua, teach us all how to specifically pray into Israel's current situation.

    • Abba, if any are trapped by false propphetic scenarios and charts, release them.

    • Open our eyes to see what You are doing today (Malachi 1:5).

    • Show more believers the deep foundational roots that they have in this nation and with this people.

    • Do not boast against the branches. But if you boast, it is not you that bears the root, but the root bears you. (Romans 11:18)

  10. Hamas has called for this day to be a 'day of rage' for the Arabs/Palestinians living in Israel - including Judea, Samaria and East [i.e., biblical] Jerusalem. Pray for the Israeli security forces to know how far to go in dealing with this. Last weekend almost 10 Palestinians were killed in riots. Ask also for the Palestinian Authority security forces to be a help and not a hinder. Remember, Abbas and the PA hates Hamas.

  11. We ended by briefly touching on the issue of aliyah, the immigration of Jews from exile to Israel. It is now time for the Jews in Europe to wake up and come home. Thank God that many are doing that, but it is still a small minority of all Jews who live there. Jews in America need to wake up as well.

    • It is God's will for His scattered people to return. Here is where He reveals His Son to them and brings them into the bond of the covenant as a nation again - although we bless Him for saving Jews throughout the world now.

    • Thus says YHWH of Hosts: Behold, I will save My people from the east country, and from the west. I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be My people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.

      Zechariah 8:7-8

    • Behold, I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the corners of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and she who is in labor with child, together; a great company shall return there. They shall come with weeping, and with prayers I will lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way; they shall not stumble in it, for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn.

      Jeremiah 31:8-9

Thank you for standing with Israel and with us in these very tense days. We do struggle as the spiritual warfare in this city has definitely increased since this war has started. Yet by His grace we stand. Of course, we do so appreciate your supportive prayers.

Blessings and Shabbat shalom from Zion

The IFI team

PS We love the end of the story:

These will make war with the Lamb,
and the Lamb will overcome them,
for He is Lord of lords and King of kings.
And those with Him are the called and elect and faithful.

Revelation 17:14