1. We began our meeting this morning with the reading of the whole of Psalm 96 leading us into prayers of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord.

    • Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all the earth.

      Psalm 96:1

    • Say among the nations, The Lord reigns; the world also is firmly established, it shall not be moved; He shall judge the peoples righteously.

      Psalm 96:10

    • We bless Your name, Lord. You are always on Your throne. Nothing changes with You.

    • Thank You, for Your amazing grace.

    • Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!

      Psalm 103:1

    • You are the same yesterday, today and forever, (Hebrews 13:8) and we trust You.

    • Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in His holy mountain. Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.

      Psalm 48:1-2

    • Thank You, Lord, for choosing Jerusalem. (2 Chronicles 6:6)

    • The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.

      Proverbs 18:10

    • Thank You that You are our strong tower.

    • Thank You that Your word is sure and unchanging and that You are watching over Your word to perform it. (Jeremiah 1:12)

    • Your word will not return to You void. (Isaiah 55:11)

    • Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

      Psalm 119:105

  2. Water – Israel is a world-leader in water use, desalination, recycling, agriculture, etc. , and we have recently concluded an international agreement in development and use of water resources which is also intended to benefit the people of Gaza and the Palestinian Authority. Yet low rainfall has left the land dry and the Sea of Galilee dangerously low.

    • Thank You, Lord, for equipping Israel with the know-how to make use of water, yet we still need You desperately to water the land.

    • The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, their tongues fail for thirst. I, the Lord, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open rivers in desolate heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

      Isaiah 41:17-18

    • Fulfill Your word so that all may see that You have done it.

    • Open up water sources which were not there before, as You have done so often before.

    • Thank You for enabling Israel to be a blessing to other nations through her expertise with water.

    • Make Israel a blessing also to Gaza and use this to turn the hearts of many Gazans toward Israel and the God of Israel.

    • With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation

      Isaiah 12:3

  3. Salvation of Israel – as the land is thirsty for water, so the people are thirsty for the Lord, even if they are mostly unaware of their thirst.

    • Quench our thirst for You, O Lord!

    • As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.

      Psalm 42:1

    • Move through Your land by Your Spirit.

    • Touch and save those who are weary and weighed down. May they not hide from You but run to You and meet with You. (Isaiah 55:5)

    • The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.

      Jeremiah 31:3

    • Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!

      Isaiah 40:9

    • Turn the Jewish people to reading Isaiah 53.

    • Pour out the Holy Spirit for salvation upon multitudes in the IDF.

    • Reveal Yourself to many of our leaders in the Knesset.

    • Remove the veil from many among the elderly who have turned from You or resisted You all their lives.

    • Turn those in the prime of their lives who are too busy with life to consider eternity.

    • Break into the secular cities such as Tel Aviv and speak to those who have rejected You.

    • Overturn the pride of the ultra-religious. Transform them as you did to Saul of Tarsus. (Acts 9)

    • Transform many teachers, who have such influence on the lives of the young. Make them into those who will speak Your word into the lives of our children and youth.

    • Lord, breathe on the dry bones of Israel: I will … put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. (Ezekiel 37:6)

  4. Syria and Lebanon – the latest “peace” agreement is supposed to offer some protection to Israel from Iranian control close to our borders. Meanwhile millions of Syrian refugees are scattered in neighbouring countries and across Europe and beyond. Many are open to the gospel, and congregations are being established among them.

    • Thank You that You are using the appalling suffering of the Syrian people to bring many into a saving relationship with Yourself.

    • Send more laborers into this harvest. (Luke 10:2)

    • May they know the fullness of the gospel including a complete understanding of Your plans for Israel.

    • May Israel be provoked to jealousy by the salvation of multitudes of Moslems. (Romans 11:11)

    • Thank You for using Israel as a blessing, eg. in medical care for the wounded in the conflict. Let there be more opportunity for such blessing.

    • Protect Israel from Hezbollah. Hedge in our enemies.

    • Keep Israel’s security forces alert and ready to act to protect us from every enemy. Give wisdom in discerning where real danger will come from.

    • Anoint Defense Minister Liberman, Chief of Staff Eizenkott and Prime Minister Netanyahu to protect Israel from the threats in the North.

  5. Aliyah

    • Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd does his flock.

      Jeremiah 31:10

    • Please, Lord, remove the obstacles which prevent Your people from coming home.

    • Set them free and gather the outcasts of Israel. (Psalm 147:2)

    • Straighten the path for those who come home so that they won’t choose to go back to exile. (Isaiah 42:16)

    • Bring back the Israelis who have chosen to go and live in the nations. Restore their desire for Zion. How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? (Psalm 137:4)

    • Set up signposts, make landmarks; set your heart toward the highway, the way in which you went. Turn back, O virgin of Israel, turn back to these your cities.

      Jeremiah 31:21

  6. “Tomorrowland” – another international occult electronic music festival is scheduled to be held in Israel later this month.

    • Lord protect our young people from this deception.

    • Thank You that last year’s event in Jerusalem was largely a flop. May this year’s festival in Rishon-le-Tzion be just as unsuccessful. Cause it even to be closed down before it happens.

  7. Terror attack – during our meeting we heard of another terror attack in Jerusalem’s Old City. The Temple Mount has been closed by Israel in response.

    • Lord, have mercy!

    • Please keep the security forces vigilant today and prevent any further violence.

    • Give Israel wisdom in responding to this terrorism.

    • Bring healing and comfort to the injured and their families.

  8. IFI team – Please continue to pray for IFI’s Chairman, Eliyahu Ben-Haim, following his recent surgery, for complete healing and rehabilitation, for encouragement and awareness of the Lord’s presence. Pray too for Chuck Cohen ministering this weekend in Rome, Italy with Ebenezer Emergency Fund.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21

Shabbat Shalom from the IFI team!