1. Praise: May 2nd was Yom HaShoah, Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day. Interestingly, the Torah portion for this week starts at Leviticus 16, the chapter describing the rituals of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. We do have a High Priest who is also our Yom Kippur sacrifice through whom we approach God's throne with boldness.

    • Wherefore in all things it was needed that He was made like His [people], that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for their sins.Heb. 2:17
    • Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, who is passed into the heavens, Yeshua, God the Son, let us hold fast to our confession… And let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.Heb. 4:14, 16

    • Lord Yeshua, thank You for carrying our sins away, like that second goat on Yom Kippur upon whom the sins of Israel were placed and who was led into the wilderness, never to return (Lev. 16:21-22)

    • How awesome to see that You fulfilled both the first sacrificial goat's role by Your death on the cross, and the second goat's role who bore our sins away through Your resurrection (Rom. 14:9).

    • What a mighty Savior You are (2 Sam. 22:3).

    • You shall have a song, as in the night when a holy feast is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goes with a pipe to come into the mountain of YHWH, to the mighty Rock of Israel. (Isa. 30:29) Amen!

  2. Holocaust survivors: We prayed for those living in Israel – which according to current figures is about 200,000 – and their descendants. The survivors still struggle with what they went through and their children often did not know what their parents had experienced until later in life.

    • Thank You for bringing them home to their own borders from the camps of death (Jer. 31:15-17).

    • Abba, You have preserved them until this time. We ask You to not allow another survivor go to their eternal destiny without an opportunity of having a genuine revelation of their true Messiah (John 6:44).

    • Bring healing to their minds and emotions and salvation to their spirits (1 Thess. 5:23-24).

    • Thank You for all the believers who volunteer to minister to them in love and compassion. May many be provoked to jealousy by Your non-Jewish children's genuine God-birthed love for them (Rom. 11:11).

    • Thank You for the many who have come into the Kingdom of Your Son. Use them to provoke their fellow Jewish survivors to jealousy as well (Rom. 11:14).

    • Lord, lead the children of survivors into green pastures and restore their souls (Psa. 23:2-3).

  3. Aliyah: The steep rise of anti-Semitism, especially in the West, smells like Nazi Germany in the 1930s. That led us to pray for God to use this to wake up Jews in exile to return home– to make aliyah.

    • Lord, we see that the time of the hunters is now (Jer. 16:16).

    • May Your people trapped in an exile that seems so comfortable see this as well (Jer. 50:4-5).

    • Strip away that Jewish pride which arrogantly states, "They will not chase us away!" – yet in reality it is You who are overseeing the chasing (Jer. 16:16)!

    • Nor let them proudly say, "We will heal Babylon!" Now that the Jewish state of Israel is a reality, this is no longer Your will (Jer. 51:7-10).

    • Abba, Messiah told us to pray for Your will to be done on earth (Matt. 6:10), and we do that, reminding You that the return of Your people home to Israel is for Your holy name's sake (Ezek. 36:23-24).

    • Fear not: for I am with you: I will bring your seed from the east, and gather you from the west; I will say to the north, 'Give up'; to the south, 'Keep not back'. Bring My sons from far, and My daughters from the ends of the earth; even every one that is called by My name: for I have created him for My glory, I have formed him; yes, I have made him.Isa. 43:5-7

    • Lord, as we see anti-Semitic acts increasing in the West, wake up the rabbis to act like Middle Eastern shepherds and lead their people home (Psa. 23:1-2).

  4. The coalition negotiations to form Israel's next government, as expected, are complicated by pride and egos and demands and what is best for me and my specific group as opposed to what is best for the nation as a whole. Of course, we often see the same thing in churches – with division being the fruit – so why should we expect anything different from a people who are not yet born again? Still, it grieves us greatly and it is a major prayer burden until a new government is formed.

    • Lord, You promised to give us leaders after Your own heart in the time of Israel's restoration (Jer. 3:14-15; 23:3-4). We plead with you to bring them forth now!

    • May PM Bibi Netanyahu know when to stand strong and when compromise is needed (Psa. 80:17).

    • Remove all pride from these negotiations, and if some are demonic spirits, drive them out (Matt. 8:16).

    • Remind the religious parties of how You view pride (Prov. 8:13; 11:2; 13:10; 14:3).

    • These six things does YHWH hate: yes, these seven are an abomination to His soul: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked and vain thoughts, feet that swiftly run to evil, a false witness who lies, and he who sows strife among brothers.Prov. 6:16-19

    • We need a miracle and are looking to You – Lord Yeshua, upon whose shoulder the government rests (Isa. 9:6-7) – to arise in these negotiations and scatter Your spiritual enemies (Psa. 68:1)!

    • If we are praying amiss, Lord, teach us how to pray (Luke 11:1; Rom. 8:26).

    • We are asking for a government in and through whom You alone can be glorified (Psa. 115:1-3).

  5. Security: Gaza's two main terrorist groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, are both bound to Iran. We expect an increase of violent demonstrations every Friday, and even more often, during the near future. Unfortunately, the ultimate solution – for Israel to retake Gaza totally – does not seem to be on any Israeli leader's radar at this time. But God has promised it to His people.

    • [As with many prophecies, Zephaniah 2:4-7 has a near and a future fulfillment. We are in that future stage of this word.] For Gaza shall be forsaken, [also the rest of the Philistine cities] Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast…! The word of YHWH is against you…I will destroy you, and there will be no inhabitant…And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed on it, and in the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down in the evening, for YHWH their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity. (Zep. 2:4-7)

    • Lord, we see Your end-game. Guide us so that we can pray from where we are today to where You want Israel to ultimately be in relation to Gaza – Judah's inheritance (Josh. 15:1, 47; Judg. 1:18).

    • Send massive discouragement and disgust to the Gazan population in relation to what their evil leaders' demand of them week-in and week-out (Mic. 3:1-4).

    • Concerning Hamas' leadership, we ask in line with King David: Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that plot my hurt. Let them be as chaff before the wind: and may the angel of YHWH chase them. Let their way be dark and slippery: and may the angel of YHWH persecute them. For without a cause they have hid against me a net in a pit…Let his net that he has hid catch himself: into that very destruction let him fall. (Psa. 35:4-8)

    • Give the parents a greater love for their children to overcome their hatred for Israel (Tit. 2:4).

    • Give the IDF new, more effective, non-lethal crowd control weapons and tactics.

    • Encourage the IDF soldiers stationed along the border (2 Chr. 32:7).

    • Make their rules of engagement to be clear and concise and communicated to them.

    • Send safety and salvation to many Israelis living in that immediate area (Psa. 91:1-13).

    • Thank You for the recent report that this area in Israel is actually growing in population and doing well economically. What a God of miracles You are (Isa. 8:18; Jer. 32:20-21)!

  6. Security: Judea & Samaria, aka "the West Bank," could explode at any time. PA President Abbas is in his 80's and not in good health. He has not designated his successor and this has left the field wide open for at least four strongmen to fight over it, and that is not counting Hamas who is trying to replace the PA there. The Trump "peace deal" might be the spark that sets this area alight. Again, we know God's endgame (Obad. 1:17) – but how to pray to get from here to there is the question.

    • Thus says YHWH against all My evil neighbors who lay their hand on the inheritance which I have given My people Israel to inherit; Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. It shall come to pass… [that] I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to …his land, and if they will diligently learn the ways of My people, to swear by My name, YHWH lives, as they taught My people to swear by the Baal, then shall they be built in the midst of My people. But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, says YHWH.Jer. 12:14-17

    • Lord, this says the only hope for Palestinians is salvation. Save many, and do it quickly (Matt. 5:44)!

    • Use the Church that is already in that area to be a force that cannot be overcome (Matt. 16:18).

    • Show Israel how to prepare for Abbas' demise and whatever will come after (Prov. 21:31).

    • Download from heaven to the IDF all its plans for the chaos that might ignite this area (Prov. 19:21).

    • If a civil war breaks out among the various strongmen, lead Israel into what its response needs to be as there are many Israeli settlers living in those areas (Zech. 12:4-8).

    • Thank You for the growth of the Israeli population in this area that is Israel's biblical heartland. Move on more Israelis to settle in these areas (Jer. 31:3-5; Ezek. 28:25-26).

  7. Security: Israel's Lebanese and Syrian borders are both areas where Iran lurks, looking to destroy this nation. Thanks to the foolish world, Iran has lots of money from the removal of sanctions as part of the nuclear deal, so that now it threatens us from up close. This is exactly what Netanyahu said would happen! It is good that we look to God to deal with Iran – as the next item below will show.

    • Lord, if there is any activity being planned beyond these borders that Israel is not aware of, expose it – bring it to light (Job 28:11; 34:21-22).

    • Confound all those who hate Zion (Psa. 129:5).

    • Thank You for Israel's freedom to deal with Iranian and Hezbollah sites in Syria. Please maintain that.

    • Watch over Netanyahu's relationship with Russian President Putin. May he not go beyond that which is Your red line in dealing with this ex-KGB leader (Prov. 21:1 for both men).

    • If Israel needs to pre-empt – may it do so fully and not be more merciful that You in dealing with its enemies (Num. 10:9; 2 Kin. 17:39).

    • Give us a government that will allow Israel to "hit-back-first" if it sees the enemy planning attacks.

  8. Iran: Recent reports have indicated that God is trying to get the Iranian leadership's attention – but like Pharaoh they refuse to let the issue of Israel go. Iran has been hit with deadly and devastating floods, earthquakes, a several decades long drought, and recently a locust invasion – all on top of the crashing of its economy thanks in large part to US President Trump's renewing of sanctions against them and pulling out of the evil Iranian nuclear deal. Still, they threaten Israel.

    • Lord, have mercy on the Iranian people and remove from them their demonic rulers (Jer. 49:38).

    • Continue to increase in numbers and spiritual maturity Your Church in that nation and lead it in prayer in line with Your will for that nation at this time (1 John 5:14-15).

    • Send confusion and shame to rest heavily on Iran's Shi'ite leaders (Psa. 35:26).

  9. The Church: It is time for it to wake up and see the signs of the end of the age all around us. We are not to be children of darkness so that the thief overtakes us – but are to be children of light and to know the signs of the times (1 Thess. 5:1-8)). Yet so much of what we see in today's Western Christianity is all about me and my blessings and my future financial or spiritual position and how God is using me, and me, and also me! Yes, we are exaggerating – at least we hope so. But how should we view the Church when most of it is not even aware of God doing something today in Israel with all of His heart and soul (Jer. 32:41). And if the Church does not have Israel in the right place theologically, then exactly who are they worshipping? Yeshua is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and is still the King of the Jews, the Lion of Judah – and not some new-age Cosmic Christ. If the one a believer worships is not a Jew – then he is another Jesus, with another gospel and another spirit (2 Cor. 11:4). And that is very serious.

    • Lord, have mercy on all of us in these crucial days (Heb. 4:16).

    • Strip Your Body of all false teachings about who You really are (Rev. 22:16).

    • Thank You for the faithful remnant. May that number increase (Rom. 11:4).

    • Give to us all a deeper hunger for Your Word and the discernment to judge all things – both inside and outside of the Body – by Your Word, which is Your Truth (John 17:17).

    • Your words were found, and I did eat them; and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart, for Your name is called on me, O YHWH, God of hosts.Jer. 15:16

Shabbat shalom and blessings from Zion

The IFI team