1. To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
    I waited patiently for the Lord;
    And He inclined to me,
    And heard my cry.
    He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
    Out of the miry clay,
    And set my feet upon a rock,
    And established my steps.
    He has put a new song in my mouth-
    Praise to our God;
    Many will see it and fear,
    And will trust in the Lord.

    Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust,
    And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
    Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works
    Which You have done;
    And Your thoughts toward us
    Cannot be recounted to You in order;
    If I would declare and speak of them,
    They are more than can be numbered.

    Psalm 40:1-5

    Although we live in turbulent times and can so easily become weighed down by cares and troubles, yet the Lord reminds us constantly in His word that He is not taken by surprise by the events of these days.

    • Thank You that You are Lord, You hear us and continue to answer our prayers.

    • Your steadfast love never ceases and Your mercies are new every morning. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

    • Thank You that we can come boldly to Your throne of grace, and You supply everything we need. (Hebrews 4:16)

    • You are the way, the truth and the life. (John 14:6)

    • Yours is the kingdom. Yours is the glory. Yours is the power. Yours is the battle.

    • He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

      Psalm 121:4

    • Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

      Psalm 90:2

    • You are high and lifted up and Your train fills the temple. (Isaiah 6:1)

    • Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

      Psalm 46:10

    • How wonderful it is to know, Lord that our God reigns! (Isaiah 52:7)

  2. The Body of Messiah

    Just like the rest of the nation of Israel, the body is experiencing a post-war weariness which could cause us to take our eyes off the Lord and off the continued task in hand. We are also approaching the season of Israel's high holy days which are traditionally a time for many to visit the land. Many bring much-needed encouragement, but there are some bringing deceptive teachings which can lead us astray. While we do desperately need unity, we need to be united in the Lord's truth and not in anything else.

    • Lord we are weary. Refresh Your body. Send a time of refreshing in the presence of the Lord (Acts 3:19). Refresh us with Yourself, Lord!

    • Thank You that there is a growing body of Your followers in the land of Israel. Please repair and renew what is worn down, injured or broken.

    • We are so dependent upon You. You are the head of Your body (Colossians 1:18). You are also our heart, causing life to flow in us.

    • Refresh and renew us, Lord, so that we might be the light, the hope, and the witness which this nation needs at this time.

    • The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.

      Psalm 23:1-3

    • Give us grace, Lord, to finish strongly. In the midst of troubled times which You said would take place, help us to draw near to You, coming together to encourage one another. (Hebrews 10:22-25)

    • Lord, as You refresh us in Yourself, so too unite us in Yourself (John 17:20-23), sanctified by the truth of Your word (John 17:17).

    • Pour out the gift of discernment on Your people so that we may know what is from You and what is not. Keep us alert. Help us to Test all things (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

    • Equip the leaders of Your body to stand, to discern, to lead forward with renewed clarity of vision.

    • Make us a signpost to Israel.

  3. Israel in God's Appointed Feasts

    The Lord has appointed certain times of the year as special meeting times with His people (Leviticus 23). We are in the month of Elul, approaching the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh HaShannah/New Year), Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement) and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles). Traditionally this has been a time for calling the Jewish people to reflection and repentance, shofars are sounded daily throughout Israel. This is a wonderful opportunity to pray that the Lord would meet in a new way with His people Israel.

    • Lord, reveal Yourself to Your people in these days.

    • Put a hunger in Your people that they may cry out to You for truth.

    • Blow the trumpet in Zion,… (Joel 2:15-17). Lord would You sound the trumpet during this season when each day the trumpet is sounded throughout the land, gather Your people in weeping before You.

    • And as they draw near to You, draw near and meet them. (James 4:8)

    • Reveal Yourself in dreams and visions. (Joel 2:28)

    • Lord, as many believers come up to Jerusalem at this season in fulfillment of Your word (Zechariah 14:16), let them come up in joy and expectation that You are doing a new thing.

    • I was glad when they said to me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.

      Psalm 122:1

  4. Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu

    Our Prime Minister has been under unbelievable pressure during these last weeks and continues to need our prayers during the post-battle period as everyone has their own idea of what to do next. Not only does he carry the regular pressures as leader of a nation, but this leader is leading Your nation with all the additional pressures this brings in the spirit. During the battle there was amazing unity in Israel. Afterwards everyone is criticizing Netanyahu for what happened or what didn't happen. Pray:

    • Lord, You know what it is to experience such rejection. Please have mercy and refresh and renew Benyamin Netanyahu. Give him super-human strength for the super-human task he has been given.

    • Give him wisdom and discernment to know Your way forward for the nation.

    • Make him and his advisers like the sons of Issachar who knew what Israel should do. (1 Chronicles 12:32)

    • Give him joy in the study of Your word. Thank you for the bible study he does in his home. Where this may have lapsed restore it and give him a greater hunger and respect for Your word.

    • Refresh and protect him physically from any sickness which may attack him at a time of weakness. Protect him and his family from all accidents or attacks.

    • Equip him to complete the task You have given him as leader of this nation. Increase Your anointing upon him.

    • There is little Benjamin, their leader,… Your God has commanded your strength;…

      Psalm 68:27-28

    • Make Netanyahu one who waits (hopes) on the Lord. Renew his strength. Let him mount up like eagles, run and not be weary, walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

    • May Netanyahu's heart be in Your hand. (Proverbs 21:1). Use the many influences of believers over many years in his life to bring him into true relationship with You.

  5. Israel's Government

    As noted above the end (at least for now) of the military battle has led the members of the cabinet and members of Netanyahu's Likud Party, to roll out all their rivalries and differences and personal ambitions. Pray:

    • For restored unity and collective responsibility.

    • For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

      Isaiah 55:9

    • Bring the hearts of the leaders of the nation into line with Your ways and Your thoughts.

    • Lord, put down all the strife and discord and the placing of personal ambition ahead of the good of the nation. Release loyalty and cause submission to the leader to be something to be respected.

    • If there needs to be a reshuffle of personnel or roles, bring in the men and women of Your choice.

  6. What next for Gaza?

    There is a great deal of pressure to find THE solution for Gaza. The Palestinian "unity" government (Remember that?) and the subsequent war should have shown that there is no future for the Two-State Solution. Hamas is still there (albeit weakened) in Gaza and in Judea and Samaria. Mahmoud Abbas, while he remains the world's choice, has shown he doesn't have the strength to rule, even if his intentions were pure! Kerry is about to bring a new plan (Oy veh!) Pray:

    • Lord, thank You that we know Your ultimate plan. But please show us how to pray for the next step towards getting there!

    • If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God (James 1:5). Let the nation cry out to You for wisdom. Lord, we cry to You for wisdom on behalf of Israel!

    • Hold back the plans of the enemy. Frustrate and foil the corrupt plans of the world community to divide up the land. Silence the voices amongst the leadership of Israel (even including Netanyahu) which give credibility to a two-state solution.

    • Have mercy, o Lord, and do not allow us to sell Your land. (Leviticus 25:23)

    • Our eyes are on You, Lord (2 Chronicles 20:12). Give creative ideas to direct Israel into Your plans.

    • Thank You that Judea and Samaria (the mountains of Israel) are an integral part of Your land. Although it looks impossible at the moment, bring the whole land back into the stewardship of Your people. (see Ezekiel 36:1-10)

  7. Aliyah

    When the Jewish people come home there will be no need to fear that the Palestinians will outnumber us. God is continuing to bring Jews home, and they are making Aliyah even in the midst of the war and its aftermath. The outpouring of anti-Semitism in the wake of the Gaza conflict is causing many European Jews to think more seriously about coming home.

    • Lord, wake up Your people throughout the world. Let them seeing the writing on the wall. Let them see the signs of the times and realize that Israel is their only home.

    • Cause the anti-Semitism to prompt them to turn a vague intention to make Aliyah one day into a firm plan to book their tickets, pack their bags and come.

    • Enable the Jews of Ukraine to flee. May they flee to Israel and not to anywhere else.

    • Put a fidgeting spirit in the Jews of New York and elsewhere in the USA. Make them uncomfortable and willing to come home quickly bringing their wealth with them.

    • Unsettle the Israeli living back in exile (especially in the USA). Remind them that this is their only home.

    • Bring the families of lone soldiers home to Israel to be reunited with their sons and daughters. (Lone soldiers are those serving in the IDF although parents and immediate family are living abroad.)

    • Continue to transform the Ministry of Interior into an institution seeking to welcome Jews home. May they seek to help rather than hinder the Aliyah.

    • But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are about to come.

      Ezekiel 36:8

Shabbat Shalom!