1. Praise: Shabbat's Torah portion includes Leviticus 16, which has the instructions for the high priest on Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement. Praise God that today we have an eternal High Priest, Messiah Yeshua, who was our atoning sacrifice and now continually presents His blood before His Father's throne. Yeshua is the fulfillment of both the High Priest and the sacrifice on Yom Kippur, which used two goats (one dead; one alive), typifying His death and resurrection (Lev. 16:15, 20-22).

    • Hallelujah, Lord Yeshua. We bless You for being our High Priest today (Heb. 3:1).

    • We praise You because as our High Priest, we now have great boldness to approach God's throne of grace in prayer – through You (Heb. 4:15-16).

    • Lord, as our High Priest, You carry us into the Father's presence on Your shoulders and on Your heart (Ex. 28:12, 29)! We bless You as we are sustained by Your strength and in Your love.

    • Thank You that because You intercede for us today, our salvation will be completed (Heb. 7:25).

    • It is incredible to consider that that You were tempted in all ways like we are, yet You remained sinless (Heb. 4:15). Lord, in many ways, this is Your greatest sign and wonder as the Son of Man.

    • Abba, You led Your people through the wilderness and provided all their needs for forty years. Remind us of Your gracious sustaining power when we get overwhelmed today (Psa. 61:1-2; 136:16).

    • Thank You Great Shepherd, for Your provision and protection for Your sheep (Psa. 23:1-6).

    • We rejoice that we do not have to be strong for You – but we can be strong in You (Eph. 6:10).

  2. Salvation for Muslims over Ramadan: The greatest victory God has over His enemies is by adopting them into His family. Remember, we were also God's enemies when Yeshua died for us.

    • But God proved His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Messiah died for us. Much more then, now being justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him, for if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.Rom. 5:8-10

    • Abba, draw many Muslims out of their spiritual darkness and into Your Son's light (Col. 1:13).

    • Pour out Your Spirit on those nations that have recently made peace with Israel – the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and the Sudan – and bless multitudes with salvation (Gen. 12:3b; Gal. 3:8).

    • Like You did with Paul – stop many radical Muslims in the midst of their deadly plans (Acts 9:1-6).

    • Protect ex-Muslim believers and anoint their prayers for, and witness to, their families (Acts 16:31).

    • Set all ex-Muslim believers free from all spirits of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism (Ezek. 35:5).

    • Guide all believers who live in Islamic nations as to what to do and to say each day (Psa. 73:24).

    • Enable the Palestinian Church to experience miraculous growth during Ramadan (Psa. 127:1).

    • Aid the Iranian Church to also grow and mature over Ramadan (Jer. 49:48a; Luke 10:2).

    • Move by Your Spirit in many Israel-Arab communities and reap a harvest of souls (John 4:39-42).

    • Remove all politically correct fears from Western believers and let them declare the good news to all of their neighbors – especially to Muslims during this season (1 Chr. 16:24).

    • May there be no compromise in Your Church with Islam, especially in thinking that the Allah of the Koran is the same as the God of Israel – the Lord God of the Bible (Isa. 44:6-8).

  3. Negotiations for a new Israeli government have gone nowhere. Reports on what might happen are confusing and change with almost every headline. While this is very discouraging, we have an example of how to pray at a time like this. In Jeremiah 32, God asked the prophet to buy a field – yet He had emphatically said that Judah was going to be exiled in Babylon. Jeremiah obeys and buys the field, but he is confused and expresses this in prayer (32:16-25). He starts by recounting all that he knows is true about God's character and promises to Israel and only at the end does he question God on what He is doing. This is how we were led to pray in this very confusing and disturbing situation.

    • Jeremiah starts: Ah Lord YHWH, behold, You have made the heaven and the earth by Your great power and Your outstretched arm, and there is nothing too hard for You: (Jer. 32:17; cp. 32:27)

    • Amen! As nothing is too hard for You, we ask for Your Spirit to guide us in prayer (Psa. 123:1-3).

    • We thank You that Israel was born in a day (Isa. 66:8-10).

    • We declare that Israel remains a nation before You during this age (Jer. 31:35-37).

    • We praise You that the gentiles no longer rule over Your people (Jer. 30:8).

    • We are witnesses that out of the Holocaust, Israel has become a very great army (Ezek. 37:1-10).

    • We look back and see that after the Holocaust, it was Your time to favor Zion (Psa. 102:1-15).

    • Thank You for fulfilling Your many promises of regathering Your scattered people (Jer. 31:10).

    • We see in line with Your Word that Your people are resettling all parts of Your land (Psa. 147:2; Jer. 31:3-5; Amos 9:13-15). Amen and more Lord!

    • Since You are so clearly making sure Your Word does not return to You void, show us if we are praying in a way that is not in line with Your will for Israel at this specific time (Isa. 55:11).

    • Move by Your Spirit over Israel's political chaos and create Your ordained order (Gen. 1:2).

    • God, if there are obstacles which are not from You blocking the formation of the next government, please remove them – in Your timing and in Your way (Isa. 62:10).

    • Continue to clean out the political dross and to raise up leaders with integrity (Isa. 1:25-26).

    • As the heart of the king is in Your hands – and as Israel seems to have many little kings striving for preeminence today – Lord turn their hearts in the direction of Your will (Prov. 21:1).

    • You had a specific son in mind when Samuel went to Jesse's house in Bethlehem. So today we ask that the one You have chosen to lead Israel would rise up and be anointed by You (1 Sam. 16:5-13).

    • We again ask for a government through which You alone will be glorified (Psa. 115:1-3).

    • Lord God, vaccinate Israel's politicians against the seven deadly viruses in Proverbs 6:16-19.

    • Until his time is over, strengthen current Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu in those areas that are pleasing to you and straighten out all those areas that are not (Psa. 90:12, 17; 92:4).

    • As we read in Shabbat's Torah portion, raise up a government that will not be afraid to lead Israel to be a nation totally separated from all the other nations (Lev. 20:24).

  4. Security – Iran: This past week, a missile was apparently misfired from Syria towards Israel's nuclear power facility in Dimona in southern Israel. As of this time, it looks like a mistake on the part of Syria's defense system. Yet was it, or was this an Iranian response via a proxy to Israeli attacks against its nuclear facilities? Also, this week, Brig. Gen. Hejazi, deputy commander of Iran's Quds force, died of a heart attack, but now Iran is blaming Israel and America for his death. On top of this, there was significant earthquake activity near Bushner, Iran's nuclear facility on the Persian Gulf.

    • Thank You for protecting Israel's nuclear facility (Psa. 91:4-5).

    • Expose the truth quickly and aid the IDF to deliver Your response quickly as well (Prov. 21:31).

    • In this situation, if a response is needed, let there be totally unity in the government and between the government and the IDF (Psa. 133:1; Prov. 20:18).

    • As You did with Korah and Dathan, cause the ground under all of Iran's the nuclear facilities to open up and swallow them wholly – so that Your fear may fall on Iran (Num. 16:27-33).

    • Do something so supernatural that the Iranians know it is You fighting for Israel (Ex. 14:25).

    • So shake Iran's economy that the people have to rise up against their wicked leaders (Ezek. 34:3-4).

    • Cause rebellion to occur even within Iran's elite security forces (Mark 3:25).

    • Stir up exiled Iranians to help do whatever is needed to remove the regime (Ezra 1:4).

    • Replace the ayatollahs with the type of government that You have in mind for Iran (Jer. 49:38).

    • Lord, we have no faith in the US team in its negotiations with Iran – but we trust in You and ask You to not allow any agreement to be reached that is worse than the current situation (Psa. 33:10-11).

    • Hedge in the Iranians, Russia, China, the European nations and the US at these talks (Psa. 35:26).

    • Give the IDF courage and insight to know how to delay and ultimately destroy the development of any Iranian nuclear weapons (Psa. 68:20; 144:10).

    • Lord, arise! Divide and destroy Hizbullah – for Israel and Lebanon's sake (Job 26:12; Psa. 55:9)!

    • Continue to help Israel to disrupt all supply lines between Iran and Hizbullah (Mic. 4:11-13).

  5. Security – internal: The Palestinian Authority and its president Abbas are looking for any excuse to cancel the May elections. Now they are accusing Israel of not allowing Arabs in East Jerusalem to vote and are complaining to their anti-Zionist friends – the UN and the EU.

    • If the May 22 elections happen, guide Israel's response to whatever the outcome may be (Isa. 42:9).

    • If cancelled, give Israel wisdom to respond to all accusations that this was its fault (Isa. 54:17).

    • If they are cancelled and a civil war breaks out between Hamas and the PA's Fatah, show Israel how to protect itself yet not to get involved by picking sides (Prov. 26:17; Lam. 4:16a).

    • Provide Israel with accurate intelligence concerning the current inner workings and plans of these two terrorist organizations (Job 28:11; 34:21-22).

    • Prepare Israel for the day after PA President Abbas dies and chaos ensues (Jer. 12:5).

    • Bless Israeli settlers in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley with security at this time (Psa. 121:4).

    • Give wisdom to the security forces to know how best to deal with the Arab riots which have been taking place in the eastern side of Jerusalem during Ramadan (Isa. 31:5).

    • Give wisdom to the security forces to know how to deal with the increasingly violent demonstrations between Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs, and Palestinians that are occurring in many areas of Israel.

    • Protect the Temple Mount after Friday prayers during Ramadan (Psa. 91:4).

    • Protect all roads and public transit from all terrorism (Deut. 28:6).

    • In all of these situations, do not allow Israel to act more merciful that You when it comes to dealing with murderers and those who want to destroy Your people (Eccl. 8:11).

    • Lord, we ask for the greatest security advantage Israel can possess at this time, which is for the next government to extend Israel's sovereignty over Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley (Obad. 1:17-20).

  6. Aliyah & salvation: Even during the restrictions in travel, over 20,000 Jews returned home in the last year – and for that we praise God.

    • Give thanks to YHWH, for He is good, for His covenant-faithfulness lasts forever.Psa. 118:1

    • Thank You for the over 20,000 new immigrants who arrived last year (Isa. 43:5-7).

    • Use this season between Passover and Shavuot (Pentecost), which is another pilgrim feast, to stir up Your people to return home (Ex. 23:14-17).

    • Do not allow Your people to be trapped in exile as happened in Babylon and in Europe when the doors of Israel were opened but most Jews chose to remain in exile (Jer. 51:8-9).

    • As many Jews were not able to come up to Jerusalem last year, please use the international Covid-19 travel restrictions to scare the exile out of them (Rom. 8:28).

    • Stir up all Jews who considered and prepared for aliyah during 2020 to see that they need to follow up quickly before the gates close in the nations (Jer. 42:19-22).

    • With Israeli skies opening up again to travel, let priority be given to new immigrants (Isa. 60:8).

    • Anoint all official Israeli representatives in the nations to be successful fishers (Jer. 16:16).

    • Clear the way of all obstacles that make coming home harder than it needs to be (Mic. 2:12-13).

    • Bring back those Israelis who left and are stuck in the nations (Psa. 137:4-6).

    • Pour out a spirit of discontent on Jews who are too comfortable in exile (Luke 6:24; Jam. 5:1-3).

    • Remove the taste and smell for the "leeks and onions" of exile from Your people (Num. 11:15).

    • Abba, provide miraculously for all of the new immigrants' needs (Psa. 50:10-11; Hag. 2:8).

    • Grant housing, jobs, an ability to adapt and a need to shift priorities to enable a smooth transition.

    • Greatly enlarge the useable land area for building in Israel (Isa. 54:2-3).

    • As the return of Your people is for Your holy name's sake, we ask that the next Israeli government would have a real vision for aliyah and absorption (Jer. 32:41-44; Ezek. 36:23-24).

    • We bless You for all the Christian Zionists who are doing everything they can to support the return of Your people from exile to Israel (Isa. 49:22).

    • For Your holy name's sake, we ask that You would raise up many more Christian Zionists in the nations (Psa. 126:1-5; John 4:22; Rom. 11:11-12; 15:27).

    • Let many of them, especially those with abundant finances – monetarily support the bringing home and the settling of Jewish families into Israel (Isa. 60:3-11).

    • Open the eyes of those who have a burden for Jews to be saved to see that according to Your Word, all Israel is saved when they are back in the land, and give them a burden for the aliyah as well as for the salvation of Israel (Jer. 32:36-44; Ezek. 36:23-28; Zech. 12:2-10).

This Shabbat's Torah portion includes the second most important command in all of Scripture:

…you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am YHWH. (Lev. 19:18b) May God grant us grace to do that in the Body today so that the world may know that we are Yeshua's disciples (John 13:34-35).

Shabbat shalom and blessings from Israel

For the IFI team