1. Praise: Deuteronomy 18:18-19 is part of this Shabbat's Torah portion. We praised God for how His Son, our Lord and Messiah Yeshua, has so faithfully fulfilled this word,

    • I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brothers, one like you, and will put My words in His mouth. He shall speak to them all I shall command Him, and it shall happen, whatever man will not listen to My Words which He shall speak in My name, I will hold him accountable for it.Deut. 18:18-19

    • Lord Yeshua, we declare that You are that Prophet; thank You for speaking God's Words (John 6:14).

    • Bless You for bringing eternal salvation to all those who trust You (Heb. 5:9).

    • Thank You Father that Your Word does not return to You void but accomplishes Your will (Isa, 55:11).

    • We are so grateful that You opened our hearts to know You through Yeshua (Matt. 11:27; John 15:6).

    • 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) Amen!

  2. Security: This past week the IDF avoided a major war with Hizbullah, Iran's proxy in Lebanon, outsmarting them into letting them think they had killed some IDF soldiers. Also, in the week, the Lebanese government separated itself from Hizbullah, calling them a world-wide problem – even though Hizbullah is part of the current government. The IDF is still on high alert in the north.

    • Thank You for hearing our prayers and giving the IDF wisdom to outsmart its enemy (Psa. 50:15).

    • No matter how great Israel's enemies are – You are greater (Job 37:5; Isa. 33:22)!

    • Lord, send the four lepers on Hizbullah and scatter them (2 Kin. 7:3-7).

    • Abba, send Your fear on the IDF for Your wisdom to guide Your battle-axe (Psa. 111:10; Jer. 51:20).

    • Strengthen all the soldiers who are guarding this nation during this season (2 Chr. 32:7).

    • Anoint all believers in the IDF and let the gifts of the Spirit flow through them (1 Cor. 12:7-11).

    • Thank You for exposing Hizbullah's terror tunnels. Any not yet found, please uncover them quickly.

    • Continue to provide Israel and the IDF with accurate actionable intelligence (Job 21:27).

    • Thank You for exposing of the military base Iran is building in Syria near the Iraqi border (Psa. 33:10).

    • Thank You for exposing Hizbullah's base in the Bekah Valley for guided missile production (Nah. 3:5).

    • Lord Yeshua, send Your peace and comfort to all the Israeli communities in the North – and let them know it is You who is doing this (John 16:33).

  3. Security: There is a time coming soon when Israel will need to fight its enemies with the goal of a total and complete victory. Yet it is not politically correct to "win" a war today; compromise and appeasement have replaced victory. But history teaches us that only an emphatic victory causes your enemy to surrender and only then is there a possibility for peace.

    • You are my king, O God; command victories for Jacob. Through You we will push down our enemies; through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us.Psa. 44:4-5

    • Abba, for Your holy name's sake, replace man's plans with Yours in IDF headquarters (Prov. 19:21).

    • Change the thinking of Israel's military leaders to victory as opposed to containment (Prov. 16:9).

    • Give Israel's military planners Your way to totally defeat Your enemies (2 Chr. 20:14-15; Psa. 144:1).

    • Fill the hearts of all those who hate Your nation with Your fear (Josh. 2:10-11; 1 Chr. 17:10).

    • Use Israel's victory to fill their faces with shame, that they may seek Your name, YHWH. (Psa. 83:16)

  4. Security: Iran is still Israel's #1 threat. As mentioned above, this past week Israel revealed two new major bases which are under Iran's umbrella. One is in Syria near the Iraqi border and the other is in Lebanon's Bekah Valley. Both are now viable targets for the IDF. Also, today Iran's is increasing its rate of enriching uranium, which is against the Iranian nuclear deal. It is using this to blackmail the EU to the tune of $1.5 billion.

    • Lord, give Israel the one stone needed to bring this threat crashing down (1 Sam. 17:49).

    • May America's increased sanction be more effective than the EU's appeasement money.

    • Use the intense pressure on Iran's rulers to press them into major geo-political mistakes.

    • We ask You to deal with the king and princes of Iran – suddenly (Jer. 49:38; 51:8)!

    • Give the IDF the tactics and timing to deal with these two Iranian backed bases (Prov. 21:30-31).

    • Do not allow Israel's political campaigns hinder a military response if and when needed (Eccl. 3:1, 8).

    • Continue to protect and cover all of Israel's undercover operatives (Psa. 121:4).

    • Show Israel what intelligence they have that can be used and what needs to be kept hidden (Isa. 39:1-7).

  5. Security: In the south along the Gaza security fence, and in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem, the threats of terror attacks of various sorts are very real.

    • Lord, please continue to watch over the restoration of Your people to all these areas (Jer. 31:3-5; 50:19).

    • Anoint and use the special security forces that daily deal with terrorists in these areas (Isa. 41:10-16).

    • Thank You for Israelis living in the Western Negev near Gaza. Reveal to them Your peace (Isa. 26:3-4).

    • Cut off all Iranian influence and money from the terrorists in Gaza (Isa. 14:29-32).

    • Thank You for increasing the divisions between the terrorist factions in Gaza. More, Lord (Psa. 55:9).

    • Watch over the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and prepare it to receive Your Son's soon return (Psa. 2:6; Ezek. 44:1-3; Zech. 14:4-5).

  6. Elections: The polls indicate that we might be stuck with the same result as last time; no way to form a government. We need to pray for a breakthrough, asking God to override and bring about His government for Israel at just this time.

    • This week's Torah portion starts with: You shall appoint judges and officers for yourself in all your gates which YHWH your God gives you, tribe by tribe. And they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. (Deut. 16:18) Lord, watch over this word in the September 17th elections.

    • Please watch over this promise also: I will restore your judges as at first, and your counselors as at the beginning; afterwards you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city. (Isa. 1:26)

    • Bring out many Israelis to cast their votes.

    • Let the voters have Your mind when they cast their ballot (Prov. 16:9).

    • Stir up the Israeli Body of Messiah to pray into this election and to vote (1 Tim. 2:1-4).

    • Lord, we ask You to muzzle the negative media campaign against PM Bibi Netanyahu (Ex. 22:28b).

    • Unless You show us differently, we ask for Netanyahu to be the next Israeli leader (Dan. 4:25b).

    • May the results of the elections be for a government through which You can be glorified (Psa. 115:1-3).

    • May every stone of stumbling that would prevent a godly government be removed (Isa. 62:10).

  7. Peace: Jason Greenblatt, one of the main movers in US President Trumps' peace plan, just resigned. This might mean that no Trump peace plan will be presented until at least after the November 2020 US elections. Hallelujah!

    • Lord, give Israeli leaders, current and future, wisdom to know what this really means (Psa. 16:7; 64:9).

    • Please God, we ask for the new government to just say "No!" to any plans that require dividing up Your land any further (Lev. 25:23; Joel 3:1-2).

    • Use all of this to slay the sacred calf that is the "two-state solution" (2 Chr. 15:8).

    • We thank You that after all these years, there is still no nation called "Palestine"!

    • Abba, direct Jason Greenblatt's heart to come home – to make aliyah and become an Israeli (Prov. 21:1).

  8. The fall feasts: The feasts of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Succoth begin at the end of this month. What a great time to pray for Jews to be reconnected to their biblical roots, to be confronted with their refusal to return home to Israel and to ask the Father to open up their eyes to see the King of Israel, Yeshua their Messiah and Lord.

    • Lord, with anti-Semitism totally out of the closet in the West, send a loud wake up call to Your people who are trapped by the comforts of Babylon and who choose to remain in exile (Jer. 50:4-5).

    • Make all the Jews affected by the recent natural disasters decide to rebuild in Zion (Isa. 43:5-7).

    • Abba, use this feast season to make Israelis living in the nations very homesick (Psa. 122:1-8).

    • Show Your people it is time to move their lives even if it means giving up their comfortable lifestyles.

    • May many of the adults realize that they do not want their children and grandchildren facing the increase of Jew hatred in their nations and for the children's sake – return to Israel (Jer. 31:16-17).

    • Remove all excuses from Messianic Jews and let them seriously listen to their Shepherd's voice as to where You want them to be in these days (Psa. 23:3; John 10:27).

    • Thank You for the lone soldiers. Use them to bring the rest of their families back to Zion (Zech. 8:1-8).

    • Open wide the doors here in Israel to receive all Jews who want to return – regardless of their color or belief or financial situation (Ezra 2:1, 70).

    • In Israel's Interior Ministry, replace all the clerks who do not have a heart for aliyah with those who actually want to see their brothers and sisters return (Isa. 62:10).

    • Lord, as You are a miracle-working God, we ask for You to anoint all immigrants – even those of us who have been here for years – with an ability to learn Hebrew (Acts 2:4-11).

We also prayed for salvation over this feast season – especially as we are already in what is known as the month of repentance. Please lift up specific groups of Jews in your area for both salvation and to come home to Israel. May Yeshua use you to provoke His people to jealousy (Rom. 11:11).

And we started to pray for rain as we are entering the season of the early rains here (Zech. 10:1).

Again, we thank you for standing with this nation and us – your brothers and sisters in Zion. As we see the world going from bad to worse, let's be encouraged. Our God is in heaven and nothing – never, ever – takes Him by surprise (Psa. 103:19).

Shabbat shalom and blessings from Zion

The IFI team