1. Praise: Several verses from this Shabbat's Torah portion helped to focus our praise.

    • He humbled you and allowed you to hunger, and then fed you with manna, which you did not know, neither did your fathers know it, so that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of YHWH man shall live.Deut. 8:3
    • You know…that, as a man chastens his son, so YHWH your God chastens you.Deut. 8:5
    • But you shall remember YHWH your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, so that He may confirm His covenant which He has sworn to your fathers, as it is today.Deut. 8:18

    • We thank You that Your discipline in our lives is proof that You love us (Heb. 12:5-6; Rev. 3:19).

    • We bless You for opening up our hearts to hear and believe all Your Word (Psa. 119:18).

    • Thank You for Yeshua's example of Your Word's power in dealing with Satan (Matt. 4:4, 7, 10).

    • By Your Word You have created and sustain this universe (Psa. 33:6; Col. 1:15-17).

    • You, Yeshua are the Truth and Your Word is also God's truth (John 14:6; 17:17).

    • What a joy to live at this time in history to see so many of Your promises coming to pass (Jer. 1:12)!

    • We thank You for giving us intercessors the privilege of reminding You of Your promises (Isa. 62:6-7).

    • Your Words were found, and I ate them; and Your Word was to me the joy and gladness of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O YHWH, the God of Hosts.Jer. 15:16

  2. Israel's current government: While a temporary government until a new one is formed after the Sept. 17th elections, still needs to govern and protect this nation today.

    • Lord, while we know there are most likely no believers in the current government, still we ask that they would hear You say, Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow; for tomorrow shall be anxious for its own things. Sufficient to the day is the evil of it. (Matt. 6:34)

    • Pour out Your fear which gives them the wisdom they need to rule Your nation. The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me: he who rules over men justly, ruling in the fear of God, (2 Sam. 23:3)

    • Abba, as there is more than enough instructions in the Tanach – the Old Testament – on how to rule a nation, please give the ministers a deep hunger for Your Word (Psa. 119:105, 130).

    • Bring the current government into a deeper unity (Psa. 133:1-3).

    • Aid them to focus on what You are focusing on and protect them from all distractions (Prov. 3:5-6).

    • Prevent them from becoming those who only react to the media headlines (Neh. 6:10-14).

  3. Elections: Our prayers for a right-wing government were answered in the previous elections, yet Bibi Netanyahu could not form a coalition. Now we face elections again and one of our concerns is that apathy could overtake the voters. Also, we want another right-wing government but the polls indicate that there is no surety of that happening.

    • In our frustration of the last election – we look to You who are still in total control (Psa. 103:19).

    • For Your glory, move on the hearts of the people to vote in line with Your will (Prov. 19:21).

    • Remove all discouragement, and encourage them in the reality of Israel's democracy.

    • Make Israeli believers see how important this is to You and to seek You as to who they should vote for.

    • First of all, I exhort that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.1 Tim. 2:1-4

    • Turn the election campaigns from personal attacks to policies (Eccl. 2:13; Isa. 5:20).

    • Give us a strong government that will rule in righteousness (Prov. 14:34).

  4. Security: The overall picture is very confusing and dangerous. We reminded ourselves that we are seated in places in heaven with Messiah Yeshua so we could pray "looking down" (Eph. 2:6)!

    1. Gaza: The severity of attacks has increased along with several rockets fired into Israel. Israel has responded and a number of terrorist have been eliminated. Yet as we get nearer to the elections, we think Hamas, Gaza's terrorist rulers, will get bolder in its attacks.

      • Lord, give the IDF wisdom on how to stop them (Prov. 21:31).

      • Anoint the young soldiers on the security fence to keep alert even in the midst of weariness (Gal. 6:9).

      • Make communications between officers and soldiers be clear and precise (Neh. 4:20).

      • Give IDF Chief of Staff Kochavi clarity and wisdom on what he must do to protect Israel (Psa. 144:1-2).

      • Give to Israel IDF leaders whose final goal is total victory over Israel's enemies (Num. 24:8-9).

      • Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid, neither dismayed. For YHWH your God is with you in all places where you go.Josh. 1:9

      • Thank You the miraculous success You have given to the IDF to protect Israel (Ezek. 37:10).

      • Bring a new sense of unity and determination into all IDF divisions.

      • Enable the IDF to be more pro-active than reactive (Isa. 41:10-16; Mic. 4:11-13).

      • Send confusion and division into the ranks of all who hate Zion (Psa. 55:9; 129:5).

      • In Gaza, set Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad against each other (Judg. 7:22; 2 Chr. 20:22-23).

    2. Judea & Samaria: This biblical heartland has also seen an increase in various attacks, some of which have resulted in grievous injuries. Yet we also see the pressure of withholding monies from the Palestinian Authority having a great impact. President Abbas has just fired all his financial advisors and demanded that they return their bonuses. He has also accepted a portion of the money from Israel that he previously refused to accept because Israel is withholding whatever he pays to terrorists in jail.

      • We thank You that there is no new intifada – although it has been repeatedly threatened (Isa. 41:11-12).

      • Lord, cause a grass roots uprising against the evil mishandling of money by the PA leaders (Jam. 5:4-6).

      • Send discouragement on the common Palestinians, making them fed up with death and poverty.

      • Expose the disinformation that Palestinian leaders are feeding to their people – and let the people clearly see that the problem is not Israel – but their evil rulers (Prov. 29:2).

      • Prepare the IDF for whatever happens in these areas after Abbas' death (Isa. 46:10).

      • Quicken all security personnel over this weekend (Psa. 121:4; 140:7).

      • Anoint the special security units and send forth special angelic units to accompany them on missions.

      • Watch over all of Israel's roads and transportation hubs (Psa. 121:5-8).

      • Thank You for protecting Israel's children by the IDF and for protecting its children who are in the IDF.

      • Heal 17 year old Nahum who is in critical condition after a car-ramming attack (Jam. 5:16b).

      • We ask for You blessing on the Israelis who boldly go to settle in these areas (Amos 9:11-15).

      • For all terrorists who are planning attacks, stop them as You did with Paul (Acts 9:1-6).

    3. Lebanon & Syria: Hizbullah, an Iranian proxy, is the big threat in both these areas.

      • Thank You for Paraguay's courage in joining with Argentina, and declaring Hizbullah a terrorist group this past week. May many other South America nations follow (3 John 1:4).

      • Lord, please expose all of Hizbullah's plans to attack Your nation (Job 12:22).

      • Let Israel be able to hear what is being plotted in Hizbullah's headquarters (Luke 12:2-3).

      • Prevent any further successful kidnappings or killings of IDF soldiers on those borders (Zech. 2:5).

      • Give the IDF wisdom and courage to pre-empt if and when it is needed (Josh. 10:6-11).

      • Prepare Israel for the day after Nasrallah, Hizbullah's leader, goes to his eternal destiny.

      • May his death cause all his various underlings to fight each other for supremacy (Mark 3:25).

      • Lord, we need Your supernatural intervention in dealing with Hizbullah. (Psa. 35:4-6)

      • Please draw them into the net that they have prepared for the innocent (Psa. 35:7-8).

      • Weaken their influence in Lebanon and may the Lebanese see how dangerous they are.

      • Dry up all the funds that they receive from Iran (Isa. 14:29-32).

      • Make the fires they are setting against Israel blow back on them and their weapons caches (Gal. 6:7).

    4. Iran: This nation is being pushed into a corner and right now is lashing out against whomever they see as against their demonic Shi'ite regime.

      • I will set My throne in Elam, and will destroy the king and the rulers from there, says YHWH. (Jer. 49:38) Lord, we see You doing the first part through the growth of the Iranian Church. We ask You to quicken and finish the next part by setting the Iranians free from their evil leaders.

      • With Israel apparently attacking Iranian weapons facilities in Iraq, give to Your nation wisdom on when, where, and how far to go in this war to defeat Iran's satanic goals for the Middle East (Jer. 51:20-24).

      • There was a report that both America and Russia have given Israel permission to attack Iranian facilities in Syria and Iraq. Even if it is not true, Lord please use this report to send fear and confusion into the hearts of Iran's leaders (Psa. 35:26; 83:16-18).

      • Bring out-of-the-box thinking and planning to the IDF against Iran (1 Chr. 14:15).

      • Thank You for the sanctions that US President Trump has re-imposed on Iran.

      • Watch over the Iranian oil tanker in the Mediterranean as it could start a huge conflict right in Israel's front yard (Psa. 107:23-27; Prov. 21:1).

  5. Aliyah: It was reported this past week that this return of Jews from exile to Israel has gone up by 30% so far this year. That is excellent news as well as an answer to prayer.

    • Thank You that the last three Jews in Sudan have finally come home (Ezek. 39:28).

    • Bring the remaining Ethiopian Jews who are longing to rejoin family and friends in Zion (Jer. 50:4-5).

    • Lord, whatever it takes to shake up the Jews in the West, with as much mercy as possible, do it – as we know that the return of Your people to You land is for Your holy name's sake (Ezek. 36:22-24).

    • Release all the Russian-speaking Jews who are stuck in Germany (Isa. 43:5-7).

    • As California goes from one crisis to another, wake up the Jews there – whether in Hollywood or those living on the streets – and bring them back to Israel.

    • Abba, remove all stumbling blocks from the path of Your people in the next government (Isa. 62:10).

    • Make aliyah and the absorption of these immigrants, a major priority for the new coalition.

    • Sweep through all the aliyah representatives throughout the world and make them hard-core Zionists!

    • YHWH loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.Psa. 87:2

  6. The Israeli Body of Messiah:

    • Thank You for a living, growing Body in Israel today.

    • Use the Body as the little leaven to leaven the whole lump – that is all of Israel (Gal. 5:9).

    • We bless You for the freedom we have to meet as a Body, knowing that there are many nations where our brothers and sisters do not have this kind of freedom to worship the King of Israel (Heb. 13:3).

    • Comfort those in Your Body who are going through dark and confusing times (John 14:16, 26).

    • Aid us to redeem the time as we see the evil days that we are living in (Eph. 5:16).

    • We thank You for Your declaration that Your sheep hear Your voice (John 10:27).

    • Clear out anything that has clogged up our ears to hear Your voice clearly (Deut. 6:4).

    • Speak this word to Your Body over this weekend: But we should not lose heart in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not faint. (Gal. 6:9)

    • For any Messianic Jews in Israel without a community, bring to them one or two others so that they can have fellowship (Acts 2:42; 2 Cor. 6:14).

Thank you for your fellowship with us in intercession.

Shabbat shalom and blessings from Zion,

The IFI team