1. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His covenant love endures forever (Psalm 136:1)!

    • From Shabbat's Torah portion: Joseph said to his brothers, '…God will surely visit you, to bring you out of this land unto the land which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob'. (Genesis 50:24)

    • Thank You that after many centuries, Your oath of the land to our forefathers is still true (Genesis 24:7).

    • We praise You for being so faithful, full of mercy and truth (2 Timothy 2:13; Malachi 3:6).

    • Thank You for the eternal life that is ours today because of Messiah's death, burial and resurrection.

    • We bless You for Israel being in better shape in many areas at the end of 2017 than a year ago.

    • Father, You are worthy of all praise and honor (Revelation 4:11).

    • We are grateful that You have good plans for us and this nation (Jeremiah 29:11).

  2. The lack of water in Israel is at a dangerous level. If it continues, the Sea of Galilee is in danger of being destroyed by springs of saline water that lie at its bottom, which are even now seeping into it.

    • Abba, if there is something specific that Israel is doing or not doing that holds back the rain at this time, please show us, as we do not want to fight against shadows. Yet, we hold before You the truth Messiah Yeshua taught us, that You send rain on the just and on the unjust (Matthew 5:45), and ask You to do it.

    • God, You sent a plentiful rain, and confirmed Your inheritance, when it was weary.

      Psalms 68:9

    • Lord, like You filled the empty jars of the widow with oil, please miraculously fill Israel's underground aquifers, its rivers and streams, the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea (2 Kings 4:1-6).

    • Be merciful; open the heavens over the right places so that the rain does the most good (Job 12:15).

    • While we see the reality of climate change, yet we know that You are the One in who is in charge of this and not man (Job 38:22-23, 33-35; Isaiah 40:12-17).

    • Abba, this is Your land (Joel 3:2). We plead with You to save its only living lake – the Sea of Galilee.

    • Lord, You are not limited to the weather forecasts. Prove the forecasters wrong again (Job 38:33-35).

    • And of Joseph, he said, Blessed of YHWH be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep waters that lay beneath,

      Deuteronomy 33:13

  3. Fridays, being the Muslim's day of "prayer," is usually the day of the most destructive riots and demonstrations. While there have been some of both in response to US President Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, the numbers and intensity have been most disappointing to the Palestinian leadership – and that is a direct answer to prayer. Now we prayed for these to totally dissipate, and for the media, which is today's main spark for Arab rioting, to stop serving the father of lies (John 8:44).

    • We thank You for the lack of Arab participation in these riots and demonstrations both here in Israel and in most other Arab nations.

    • Drain all their energy and anger, and let them see the emptiness of their actions (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3).

    • Shut the mouths of the media who are ready instigators of these events (Isaiah 59:4; Jeremiah 9:5).

    • Lord, please bring some integrity back into the mainstream media (Proverbs 8:7; Ephesians 4:25).

    • We bless You for all the righteous media people and ask You to encourage them (Galatians 4:16).

    • Thank You for the handful of Arab and Islamic reporters who expose the evilness and anti-Semitism of their political and religious leaders (Proverbs 8:7).

    • Protect them and use them to declare the truth far and wide (Jeremiah 26:15).

  4. One of several positive fruits of Trump's recognition of Jerusalem is the Palestinian leadership's rejection of America as now being able to have any part in its global effort to divide up God's land. And this is another answer to prayer, as Trump's "peace team" will not present its "peace plan" unless it can do so to both parties. Yet this demonic process has a life of its own – so while this is a victory, the battle is far from over.

    • Thank You for Palestinian President Abbas rejecting America from being a part of this anti-biblical move to divide Your land (Joel 3:1-2).

    • And thank You that the Trump Administration is not begging him to change his mind.

    • Continue to harden the hearts of Israel's enemies, causing them to make bad decisions (Joshua 11:20).

    • And continue to harden the foreheads of Israel's leaders to not divide Your land at all (Ezekiel 3:8-9).

    • Prevent America from ever forcing Israel to pay for their stance concerning Jerusalem.

    • Pressure Israel's leaders to cooperate with You in building up Jerusalem – especially in the E1 corridor between the eastern part of the city and Ma'ale Adumim (Nehemiah 2:20; Psalm 147:2).

    • Thus says YHWH, Your Redeemer, and He who formed You in the womb, I am YHWH who made …the heavens…[and] the earth by myself…Who confirms the word of His servant, and performs the counsel of His messengers; Who says to Jerusalem, You shall be inhabited; to the cities of Judah, You shall be built - I will raise up the decayed places thereof…Who says of Cyrus, He is My shepherd, who shall perform all My pleasure, saying to Jerusalem, You shall be built;

      Isaiah 44:24-28a

    • Help Israel's law-enforcement officers to deal punitively with all illegal EU sponsored buildings in areas surrounding Jerusalem to establish facts on the ground for a Palestinian State (Malachi 1:4).

    • Lord, this is for Your holy name's sake, so we also proclaim, "Jerusalem - be built!" (Malachi 1:5)

  5. Days after the Iranian parliament recognized Jerusalem as the capital of a non-existent Palestine, there are now riots in their streets over the common people's economic situation – and there was a significant earthquake near Tehran, Iran's capital. Many Iranians are very angry that most of their taxes and extra monies are going to battle Israel while they hurt. This is another answer to prayer.

    • Lord, thank You for shaking that nation both socially and physically (Galatians 6:7).

    • We ask for more shakings, until Iran's wicked regime is overthrown and its people set free to know You and develop a good relationship with Israel (Jeremiah 49:38).

    • YHWH reigns; let the people tremble. He sits between the cherubim; let the earth be moved. YHWH is great in Zion; and He is high above all the people.

      Psalms 99:1-2

    • Continue to confound those in Iran who hate Zion (Psalm 129:5).

    • Abba, there have been a couple of attacks against the Iranian Jewish community in the past days. Wake them up that now is the time to flee (Jeremiah 16:16).

    • Lord, give wisdom as to what to do and not do to all the anti-Shi'ite factions in Iran.

    • Lord of the earth (Matthew 11:25), as You did with Korah and Dathan in the wilderness, open the ground under all of Iran's nuclear facilities and swallow them whole (Numbers 16:30-33).

    • We bless the growing body of believers in Iran and ask that as You save them, You also deliver them from all remnants of anti-Semitism (Genesis 12:3a; Numbers 24:9b).

    • Thank You for answering our prayers that Trump pay attention to and respect Netanyahu's expertise in many areas – as it appears that they are on the same page concerning the Iranian threat (Psalm 49:3).

  6. We prayed for Israel's PM Bibi Netanyahu as he is still under several investigations. We are amazed at how well he is able to handle all his other responsibilities at a time like this. Most likely, this is the result of the intense prayer support he receives from believers in Israel and in the nations.

    • Lord Yeshua, continue to sustain Bibi by Your grace (Zechariah 4:6-7).

    • Reveal Yourself to him as his shield and exceedingly great reward (Genesis 15:1).

    • Expose only the truth in these investigations (Psalm 85:11).

    • Bless all investigators who are involved in this for righteousness sake and not for political reasons.

    • Help Attorney General Mandelblit make a righteous decision on whether to indict Bibi (Isaiah 1:26).

    • Please quickly clear up these investigations against Bibi and also his wife, Sara (Luke 18:4-7).

    • Lord, at some point, Netanyahu will no longer be Israel's leader. Would You please reveal to us Your replacement so that we can surround this person in prayer even now (Amos 3:7).

  7. Iran and its Lebanese proxy, Hizbullah, are inching closer to Israel's Golan Heights/Syrian border daily. This is a very dangerous situation and Israel must know what the will of God is.

    • Lord, raise up modern-day sons of Issachar, who were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; (1 Chronicles 12:32a)

    • Provide Israel with accurate, actionable intelligence (Judges 7:9-15; 2 Kings 6:8-12).

    • May Israel both declare and enforce its red lines – for Your holy name's sake (1 Samuel 17:45-47).

    • Thank You for how Israel has been doing that up to this time (Matthew 5:37).

    • Remind Russia's leaders of how foolish they have appeared every time they challenged Israel militarily and let them tell Iran and Hizbullah that if they clash with Israel – they are on their own (Isaiah 41:10-16).

    • As in biblical times, arise and go out with Israel's armies to fight alongside them (Psalm 35:1-2).

    • Is it not time Lord, for You to shut the mouth of Hizbullah and draw it into Your trap (Psalm 35:8).

    • Impart faith and courage to Israel's soldiers on its northern and northeastern borders (2 Samuel 10:12).

    • May all plans that are from You on how to deal swiftly with Hizbullah's huge arsenal of rockets and missiles be kept in the forefront of the IDF military planners plans, and all plans that are not from You, may they quickly be trashed (Proverbs 19:21; Isaiah 55:8-9)

    • If Israel needs to pre-empt, give its leaders courage, wisdom and remove the fear of man (Psalm 118:6; Proverbs 29:25).

    • Raise up Lebanese believers to be like King Hiram of Tyre who helped King Solomon to build Your house (1 Kings 5:1-12).

    • Lord, we ask that one fruit of an Israeli victory would be a huge number of Muslims being saved. 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)

  8. The Israeli Body of Messiah.

    • Thank You for a living, growing Body of Messiah in Israel at the end of 2017.

    • Impart to the Body a renewed hunger for Your Word in 2018 (Jeremiah 15:16; 2 Timothy 2:15).

    • Raise up more pastors after Your heart and remove all who are not (Jeremiah 3:14-15; 23:3-4).

    • Lord Yeshua, You see the onslaught against Your sheep. Arise and protect them for Your holy name's sake (Jeremiah 31:10; John 10:10, 27-30).

    • Open the eyes of more believers to understand how often we are warned of gross deception attacking the Body in the last days (Mark 13:5-6; Acts 19:27-32; Ephesians 4:14).

    • Help our discernment to grow and mature – and may we not be afraid to pay attention to it.

    • Lord Yeshua, give us discernment concerning both worship music and internet ministries.

    • Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

      Jude 1:3

    • Remove all man-inspired initiatives that have infected the Body (Matthew 16:23; 22:21).

    • Protect the younger members – both younger in physical age and in maturity.

    • Aid us to obey Your word to test the spirits and to prove all things (1 Thessalonians 5:21; 1 John 4:1).

  9. We finished by interceding for aliyah – the return of Jews in exile to Israel.

    • Abba, pour out a deep burden on the hearts of many Jews that 2018 is the year to come home.

    • Lord Yeshua, pour out a deep burden on the hearts of many Christians that this is a vital prayer burden for the next year (Isaiah 49:22; 62:6-7, 10).

    • May Your people in exile believe what the Bible says more than the headlines (Jeremiah 32:37-44).

    • As anti-Semitic attacks increase in Iran, make a way for the Iranian Jewish community to come home.

    • Clear out from Ethiopia all the Jews that remain there (Isaiah 43:5-7).

    • Provide ways for those Jews who want to come but are lacking finances, or papers, or courage.

Thank you for standing with us throughout this year. As you have seen, there have been a number of answers and partial answers to our prayers, and that encourages us to press on. Yet remember, our foundation for intercession is nothing less than God's glory.

 

Not unto us, O YHWH, not unto us, but unto Your name give glory, for Your mercy,

and for Your truth's sake. Why should the gentiles say, Where is their God?

But our God is in the heavens, and He has done whatever He has pleased.

Psalms 115:1-3

Shabbat shalom

The IFI team