1. Praise: In response to Balaam's declaration concerning God's nature in Numbers 23:19, we praised Him for just some of the specific answers to prayer we have had over the past decades.

    • God is not a man that He should lie, neither the son of man that He should repent. Has He said, and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken, and shall He not make it good?Num. 23:19

    • We thank You for Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and all he has done for this nation (Psa. 80:17).

    • We are so joyful and grateful that the Golan [biblical Bashan] remains in Israel's hands (Jer. 50:19).

    • Hallelujah! We bless You that despite the best efforts of man, there is still no Palestine (Isa. 14:29-32)!

    • You have watched over Your Word and protected Israel time after time (Psa. 121:4; Jer. 31:10).

    • We praise You that as of this past week, Turkey is no longer part of the American F-35 program.

    • What a joy to see You moving among Muslims and plucking out a remnant for Your glory (John 4:35).

    • Thank You for the Jewish people in exile who are coming home in their thousands (Isa. 43:5-7).

    • Amen Lord! Jerusalem's Old City is still in Israel's hands (Isa. 31:5).

    • We are very grateful for how You have answered our prayers for Israel to be at the cutting edge of new weapons and cyberwarfare technology. Thank You for the Iron Dome in particular.

    • What a miracle that Israel – even under all the threats and various boycotts and other pressures from the nations – has one of the world's strongest economies (Deut. 28:1-5).

    • We bless You for the growing Body of Messiah in Israel today (Matt. 16:18).

    • This is the confidence we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us, and if we know He hears us…we know we have the petitions that we desired of Him.1 John 5:14-15

  2. Iran: The Iranian-US situation has become even tenser since last week. Iran captured an oil tanker this past week, and yesterday the US shot down an Iranian drone. Iran has broken its commitment to the nuclear deal, enriching uranium to a higher percentage than what they agreed on – yet the spineless EU leaders said it was not such a huge break that they need to do anything about it. Chamberlain resurrected!

    • Lord of all, we ask You to overrule all the plans of man (Psa. 33:10-11; Prov. 19:21).

    • Thank You for answering our prayers that Iran's leadership would make major geopolitical errors. Yet if world leaders will not do anything about it, then we ask You to sovereignly intervene (Psa. 129:5).

    • YHWH reigns; let the peoples tremble. He sits between the cherubs; let the earth quake.Psa. 99:1

    • Yes, Lord, let the earth under all of Iran's nuclear plants quake mightily, and swallow them all up as You did to Korah in the wilderness (Num. 16:30-33).

    • We thank You for the strong stance US President Trump has taken vs. Iran. More, Lord (Prov. 28:1).

    • As we see the spirit of Persia on the move today, please send forth Michael, the archangel, and protector of Israel, to confront this wicked spirit (Dan. 10:12-13; 12:1).

    • Forbid that Israel be caught by surprise by Iran – especially now with only a caretaker government.

    • Protect Israel from being deceived by any Iranian disinformation (Psa. 37:12-13).

    • Continue to help Netanyahu to focus on the Iranian Shi'ite threat (Psa. 59:10; 92:11).

    • We condemn all curses which the Iranian leadership has spoken against Israel (Isa. 54:17).

    • Let them reap what they have sown and fall into their own traps (Num. 24:9; Gal. 6:7; Psa. 35:7-8).

    • Lord Yeshua, make the Iranian Church be part of the solution and not be deceived about Israel.

  3. Iranian proxies: Iran has surrounded Israel geographically with terror groups who are paid off to do Iran's bidding and to attack Israel whenever Iran says so. Hezbollah is in Lebanon and is the strongest of these groups – and a part of the Lebanese government. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are in Gaza, and along the Syrian/Israeli border Iran has Hezbollah units and various other smaller proxies. If America attacks Iran, Iran has said that Israel will be destroyed in a half hour. While this will not happen, Israel could experience much death and destruction.

    • Blessed is YHWH, who has not given us as a prey to their teeth. Our soul has escaped like a bird out of the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of YHWH, who made the heavens and earth.Psa. 124:6-8

    • Lord, expose all hidden snares that are being set against Israel – whether tunnels, or Iranian spies or any other demonic plots against Your people (Job 12:22).

    • Again, we ask for them to fall into their own nets (Psa. 141:10).

    • Set these various groups against each other (Psa. 55:9).

    • Thank You that Iran's financial support for these proxies has shrunken via renewed US sanctions. We ask You to totally dry up all the funds of these terror proxies (Jam. 5:1-3).

    • Cut off, or mess up, all lines of communications between them (Psa. 129:4).

    • As You did in 1 Kings 22:22-23, send a deceiving spirit into the hearts of Iran's leadership.

    • May Russian President Putin see that Israel is a much better ally than Iran or Syria.

    • Thank You for Argentina labelling Hezbollah a terrorist organization (Prov. 8:7).

    • Why hasn't the EU done this yet? Shame them openly Lord (Psa. 83:16; Isa. 59:4).

  4. Security: We expect more demon-strations along the Gaza border today – as usual.

    • Thank You Lord for the very few deaths on the Israeli side of the Gaza security fence although hundreds of thousands have demonstrated – often violently – against Israel (Psa. 3:1-8).

    • Yet there has been mental, emotional and spiritual damage done to Your people. God of all comfort, please heal them: to comfort all who mourn, to appoint to those who mourn in Zion, to give to them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the mantle of praise for the spirit of heaviness; so that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of YHWH, that He might be glorified. (Isa. 61:2b-3)

    • What the enemy means for evil, turn into good for Your chosen because of Your love (Rom. 8:28).

    • Dry up all of Hamas' finances so that they cannot pay Gazans to demonstrate against Israel.

    • Set Hamas against Palestinians Islamic Jihad in Gaza (2 Chr. 20:22-23).

    • Give Israel a way to settle this open wound once and for all (Prov. 16:9; 19:21; 21:31).

  5. Security: Judea & Samaria, Israel's biblical heartland, is always a ticking bomb that can explode at any moment. Yet it is specifically to these areas that God has promised to restore His people.

    • Lord, as we are in these areas as an open sign of Your covenant love for us, protect all the settlers and grant them favor and success (Jer. 31:3-5).

    • May no communities in these areas ever be uprooted, but be blessed and increase (Amos 9:13-15).

    • We give You the glory for the drop in successful terrorist attacks in these areas (Psa. 31:23).

    • Thank You for the IDF's nightly activity which constantly captures terrorists and exposes weapons caches and weapons factories in the Palestinian areas (Isa. 41:15-16).

    • Release the IDF to do what is needed to protect this nation – regardless of the increase in lawfare against Israel's army (Ezek. 37:10).

    • Please increase the safety on the roads – both from terrorism and from accidents.

    • Forbid any successful kidnappings or car-rammings (Lam. 3:60-61).

    • Give us a government that will take Your description of a godly government to heart: For the rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the bad. Do you desire to be not afraid of the authority? Do good, and you shall have praise from it. For it [the ruling authority] is a servant of God to you for good. For if you practice evil, be afraid, for it does not bear the sword in vain; for it is a servant of God, a revenger for wrath on him who does evil. (Rom. 13:3-4)

  6. Elections: Israelis will go to the polls on September 17th. It seems to us that Israelis are tired of all the political games and are fed up with the left-wing media's onslaught against Netanyahu and others who are more in line with God's Word.

    • Lord, make Israel a biblically-correct nation and one that shuns radical political-correctness (Isa. 2:3).

    • Abba, we still do not see anyone to lead this nation today other than Bibi Netanyahu. If he is not Your choice, show us who is, or else raise him up to be the next prime minister (Dan. 4:17b).

    • Thank You for this specific answer to prayer, that Netanyahu just said he wants to help mentor the next generation of Israeli leaders (2 Tim. 2:2).

    • Bring the right people to him that You want him to mentor (Deut. 1:38; 3:28).

    • Speak to Israelis over the summer to vote in line with Your will for the next government (Prov. 14:34).

    • Prove the polls wrong once again, and give Likud – Bibi's party – along with the other right-wing parties a massive victory (Prov. 16:9).

    • Forbid that there should be another stalemate.

    • If a unity government, between Likud and Blue & White, is Your will, please show us how to pray for it (Psa. 133:1).

    • Use Ayelet Shaked as seems good to You and prevent her from walking in pride.

    • Give Israel a government that is desirous of possessing its God-given possessions (Obad. 1:17).

    • Abba, we remind You of Your promise to give Israel shepherds after Your heart (Jer. 3:15; 23:3-4), and respectfully suggest that now would be a really great time to fulfill that promise (2 Chr. 29:36)!

    • We ask that the next government would be one through whom You will be glorified. Not to us, O YHWH, not to us, but to Your name give glory, for Your mercy and for Your truth's sake. Why should the nations [or gentiles] say, Where now is their God? But our God is in Heaven; He has done whatever He has pleased. (Psa. 115:1-3)

  7. Like most Western nations, it is a struggle for many in the Israeli Body of Messiah to pray into – let alone preach about – politics. Yet politics is touched upon, if not emphasized, in at least 65 of the 66 biblical books. [The only book that does not seem to touch it is the Song of Songs – and that mentions that other thing that should not be preached about! Oy vey!] Yet if Messiah's Body is not praying about their nation's politicians and the political situation, why should they expect God to intervene?

    • Lord, open up the eyes of the Israeli Messianic Body to our responsibility to pray not only into the elections – but for the government which is formed after that (1 Tim. 2:1-4).

    • Use those of us who understand this principle as leaven to impact the whole Body (Matt. 13:33).

    • Use this prayer alert to wake up many to the responsibility of standing in the gap (Ezek. 22:30-31).

    • Move on many elders in the Body to see this as an important obligation to be prayed into and to be spoken about (Prov. 21:1).

    • For the coming election, let 2 Chronicles 7:14 go forth throughout Israel. If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

    • Lord, we criticize so quickly, and often harshly, those in political office. Convict us to pray for them as quickly and fervently instead (Ex. 22:28; Matt. 7:1-2).

  8. We ended by praying for aliyah – the return of the scattered Jewish people from exile to Israel. Please lift up the Jews in your home country to see that it is not their home – but that God wants them to come home – to Zion.

    • 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; and to the south, Do not keep back; bring My sons from far and My daughters from the ends of the earth; everyone who 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
    • Therefore thus says the Lord YHWH: I will return the captivity of Jacob, and will have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for My holy name; after they have borne their shame and all their sins by which they have sinned against Me, when they dwell securely in their land and no one terrifies; when I have brought them again from the peoples, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations; then they shall know that I am YHWH their God who exiled them among the nations. But I have gathered them to their own land, and have not left any of them there, nor will I hide My face from them anymore, for I have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel, says the Lord YHWH.Ezek. 39:25-29

Shabbat shalom and blessings from Zion

The IFI team