1. We began by reading Psalm 63.

   O God, You are my God. Early will I seek You. My soul thirsts for You, my flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.  So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.Psalm 63:1-2

   • Thank You that we can praise You in Your sanctuary.

   • Thank You for Your steadfast love.

   • Thank You that You are always there and always the same.

   • Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.Hebrews 13:8

   • Thank You that Your mercies are new every morning. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

   • Thank you that nothing is hidden from You. You are in control. Nothing surprises You. (Jeremiah 33:3)

   • You are exalted about all the earth. (Psalm 57:5)

2. Gaza

   In the last week, there has been an increase of demonstrations and attacks, including activity at night with the intent of causing terror in the hearts of the Gaza border residents. Envoys from Egypt have met with Israeli and Gazan leader hoping to reduce the level of tension, without much effect.

   • We ask You, Father, that You will be our first line of defense. (Psalm 91:4)

   • Would You provide the Head of Southern Command with Your tactics and strategy. Be with Aviv Kochavi, the Commander in Chief, and give him a clear end plan for this conflict. (2Samuel 5:22-25)

   • Abba, we ask You to protect our soldiers, who are providing a physical intercession for us on that border. (Psalm 3:3)

   • Our prayer is also that they will have the rest that they need to be able to carry out what they need to do.

   • I lay down and slept. I awoke, for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.Psalm 3:5-6

   • Reveal every hidden plan of the enemy so that our soldiers will have the right response, with no surprises or misdirection. (Isaiah 48:6) (Job 12:22)

   • Father God, protect the residents of the Gaza border communities from terror by nigh, especially the children. (Psalm 91:5)

   • As Hezekiah came to You in face of threat from Sennacharib, we come to You with the call for destruction from our enemies today, and ask You to deal with the evil of Hamas, that all may know that there is a God in Israel. (Isaiah 37:14 -20)

   • You are the Ruler of the earth. Blow on Hamas like grass that they may whither and pass away. May the fear of God fall upon them.

   • No man shall be able to stand against you; the Lord your God will put the dread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where you tread, just as He has said to you.Deuteronomy 11:25

3. Elections

   This election season has, unfortunately, descended to mudslinging. At the same time we are looking at very real security issues from outside. We desire unity from inside. According to the latest polls, no one has a clear majority. Margins between the factions are very narrow.

   • Lord, we beseech You for Your mercy in this situation. Give us a government that will bring glory to Your name, that will be strong , firm on security and refusal to divide the land. (Joel 3: 2)

   • Almighty God, You have used very human and fallible men for Your purposes in leadership throughout history. Bring good and bring Your will out of all of this confusion.

   • May election choices be made based on principles, not personalities. Cause the campaigners to expose their real thoughts and plans for government. (Obadiah 1:6)

   • Bring together the coalitions of Your choice, and divide those that are not according to Your will.

4. Benjamin Netanyahu

   • Abba, our prayer for this man at this time is that he may express himself as the statesman that he can be and that he will stand on his accomplishments in governing this country.

   • Grant him peace and rest at home.

   • May he receive good counsel from those around him, including those believers with whom he has contact. (Proverbs 11:14)

5. Temple Mount

   The Gate of Mercy under the Golden Gate has been closed for 16 years. Recently this area has been forcibly opened by Muslims. The High Court has ruled that it must be closed again within 3 days, by Monday.

   • Father, it is our prayer that the government and the police will close this area and not back down to pressure. We stand against government weakness such as was expressed over the metal detectors last year.

   • Protect our police today at the time of Muslim prayers. Give them accurate intelligence and courage to act as needed. (Isaiah 41:10-13)

6. Aliyah

   We are seeing very clear anti-Semitic activity expressed by one of the new members of the American congress, and no one within her party is willing to rebuke her. This is a reflection of what we have been seeing in Europe for many years.

   • Oh Lord God of Israel, we ask that the Jews in exile will understand the signs of the times and recognize that the hunters are coming. “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’  but, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers. “Behold, I will send for many  fishermen,” says the Lord, “and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.” (Jeremiah 16:14-16)

   • Bless the fishers and make them effective.

   • Wake up the Jews outside of Israel and deliver them from deception.

   • We cry out for those who already have family in Israel, that they will come home.

   • Bring back the Yordim, those Israelis who choose to live elsewhere.

   • As we think of the European rabbis who have stated that they recognize that the time of the Jews in Europe is over, may they put feet to their belief and lead their congregations home.

7. Northern Border

   Within the last week there has been an amassing of troops along the Syrian border. Many of these troops are Iranian and Hezbollah. We are faced with the possibility of a three front war, with Gaza as the trigger.

   • Lord God, our prayer for Kochavi and the other IDF leaders is that they already have a plan for a three front war, with a plan, a strategy, and correct intelligence.

   • We ask for our military leaders to have the wisdom to know how to respond to these troops without fear of international outcry or UN response. The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe. (Proverbs 29:25)

   • Lord of Hosts, prepare our soldiers for what is to come. Give wisdom for deployment of men and equipment.

   • May our compassionate treatment of Syrians during the civil war be remembered and have an effect on decisions and behavior.

8. Lebanon

   Lebanon’s main missile depots are in heart of Beirut, one beside the soccer stadium and one beside the international airport.

   • Lord, we pray that the IDF will develop a military tactic of surgical precision to take out the rockets, accurate enough to prevent Israeli casualties or collateral damage.

   • We ask for Your divinely anointed and inspired plan for removing the rockets. For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. (Isaiah 64:4)

   • We want to thank You for the THAAD antimissile system being deployed by the U.S. We pray for good coordination between the American and Israeli teams that will be working together on this. We ask that the various technologies will mesh well.

9. Water

   Until Passover in mid- April, we are in the times of the latter rains. We have had a very wet winter, but we still need more. While the rain this week in Jerusalem was fairly light, there was heavy rain in the north and south.

   • Thank You, Father, for the abundance of rain that You have given until now.

   • In the time of the latter rains, we are asking for a miracle, that You would fill the sea of Galilee this year. We will give You the glory for this. O children of Zion, be glad and rejoice in the Lord your God; for he has given the early rain for your vindication, he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the later rain, as before. (Joel 2:23)

   • We are standing in the gap for your land, asking for Your compassion.

   • May the rainwater not be wasted in runoff, but be directed to the aquifers.

10. Body of Messiah

    • Lord Yeshua, burden the hearts of our pastors to pray for the elections. (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

    • Visit Your body this Shabbat and bless us with Your presence.

We pray for Chuck and Heinz-Jurgen in Germany, asking for a fresh anointing of Your Spirit. We ask for safety in travel.

Shabbat Shalom from the IFI team