[Last night, a ceasefire was agreed on between Israel and the Hamas terrorists who rule in Gaza. How long this will last is questionable. Much of this alert contains prayers from this past week when the Operation Guardian of the Walls was still in full attack-mode. While we have tried to bring the alert it up-to-date, please bear with us as this alert must get to our translators this morning so there is not enough time to rewrite this. May God guide us all in prayer day-by-day as we expect events to continue to speed up as we draw closer to our Lord's return.]

  1. Praise: Shabbat's Torah portion ends with a verse of the God of Israel speaking to His servant Moses from the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies. Each of us who are God's children in Messiah Yeshua have the privilege of hearing His voice wherever we may be. Often it comes in circumstances, at times through a fellow believer, very often by reading His Word, and occasionally we hear His voice audibly or in our spirit, and we know that the One who spoke to Moses is speaking to us.

    • When Moses went into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with Him, he heard the voice of One speaking to him from the midst of the mercy seat that was on the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubim.Num. 7:89

    • Thank You Lord Yeshua for the biblical truth that Your sheep hear Your voice (John 10:4, 27).

    • Bless You for the Holy Spirit who speaks in us that which You speak to us (Rev. 2:7a, 11a, etc.)

    • What a privilege and blessing it is to be able to come boldly into Your presence (Heb. 10:19).

    • We praise You for the revelation that You chose and appointed us specifically so that our prayers would bear fruit (John 15:16)! Thank You Lord.

    • We bless You for the daily nudges of protection and guidance that keep us on Your path (Isa. 30:21).

    • We are so grateful for the two way relationship that we have with You – that You hear us and we can also hear Your voice (Psa. 10:17; 50:15).

    • It is a comfort and an encouragement to know that intercession begins with You – You sharing Your will with us – so that we can then pray Your will back to You (Isa. 62:13, 56-7; Luke 11:2).

    • What an amazing revelation and a joy to read that our prayers bring You delight (Prov. 15:8b).

    • Thank You for teaching us to always prayer and not to give up (Like 18:1).

    • Lord, while the spiritual tension is great, we do thank You for being alive at this time as we watch You fulfill so much of Your end-time prophetic counsel (Num. 23:19; Jer. 1:12).

    • Praise You that You are totally sovereign in heaven and on earth (Psa. 103:17; Matt. 11:25a; 28:18).

  2. Operation Guardian of the Walls: The IDF allowed a report of a ground incursion to spread in the media. While they had no intention of entering Gaza – at least at that time, this terrified Hamas' leadership and members and many of them fled to underground tunnels. Then, knowing where they were, since the IDF had already mapped out Hamas' "secret" tunnels, the Air Force loosed fire from on high, dropping hundreds of bombs in a very short time span for several nights in a row.

    • Thank You for this very specific answer to our prayers that You would give to the IDF Your strategy and tactics to defeat Hamas (1 Chr. 14:11-16).

    • Even in the face of the ceasefire, we pray that the final result of this war by Israel has fulfilled Your purposes for this time (Mic. 4:11-13).

    • Despite the forced rejoicing in the streets after the ceasefire, and the false cries of victory by Hamas, may more Gazans see that their terrorist leaders are their enemy – and not the Jews (Ex. 18:10-11).

    • Lord, for all those who are calling Israel's response "disproportionate" – remind them that it is the thought that counts and if it were not for the Iron Dome – hundreds or more Israelis would be dead – which is Hamas' and Palestinian Islamic Jihad's [PIJ] goal from the beginning (Isa. 59:18).

    • Lord, watch over Psalm 55:9 and 129:5 in relation to Hamas and PIJ.

    • Continue to anoint, use and protect all of Israel's pilots, soldiers, sailors, reservists and all others in the IDF who have physically, emotionally and mentally fought in this war (Ezek. 37:10).

    • Protect all of Israel's spies and collaborators among the Palestinians – both in Gaza and in Judea and Samaria – and bring to them actionable accurate intelligence to pass on to Israel (Dan. 2:22).

    • Let Israel's leadership be in total unity concerning a response if Hamas and PIJ break the ceasefire in any way whatsoever (Psa. 133:1-3).

    • May the goal of all strategic decisions be made for the good of Israel, and not out of any political or legal considerations (Ex. 10:29; 18:9).

    • Abba, thank You for how PM Bibi Netanyahu continues to resist and rebuff the world's criticism of Israel's righteous war against terrorism (Rom. 13:1-4).

    • Israel still lacks effective public relations. Abba, show Israelis how to fix this (Zech. 8:3).

    • Let the next Israeli government create a unified PR ministry to get Israel's message out to the world.

    • Yet if this weakness is one way to keep Israel separate from all the other nations (Num. 23:9b), and to eventually draw all the nations in battle against Jerusalem (Zech. 12:2-3; 14:1-2), as well as increase the anti-Semitism in the world, driving Your people home from exile (Jer. 16:16), then use this weak area to accomplish Your overriding sovereign purposes (Deut. 32:36).

    • Yet Lord, we ask that You would hold the media – both in Israel and in the world – accountable for all its anti-Israel slanted headlines and stories (Jer. 30:20).

    • We praise You for helping Israel to defend all its other borders this week as well (Mal. 1:5).

    • Thank You for the open support from many American politicians, including President Biden, from Austria, the Czech Republic and many other nations who stated that Israel has a right to defend itself. Bless them, Lord (Num. 24:9b).

    • Yet as Biden now appears to be speaking out of both sides of his mouth, please strengthen PM Bibi Netanyahu to stand against all ungodly pressure tactics (Psa. 80:17).

    • Lord, help believers in the nations to filter through the media's anti-Israel distortion of facts and to instead see what is happening in Israel through the filter of Your Word (Psa. 119:98-100; Heb. 4:12).

  3. Iran's behind the scenes guiding of the timing and the attacks on Israel by its terrorist proxies in Gaza becomes more evident daily. The Iranian leadership openly encouraged the Hamas and PIJ leaders and told them to continue attacking. Yet this has not stopped the P5+1 nations [five permanent members nations of the UN Security Council plus Germany] from pushing to remove all of former US President Trump's sanctions on this evil Iranian regime and to re-sign Obama's wicked nuclear deal. Is it blindness, or stupidity, or arrogance, or anti-Semitism – or is it God Himself deceiving them?

    • …because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved [+preserved; protected], so for this God shall send them strong delusion, that they will believe a lie.2 Thess. 2:10-11

    • God of Israel, as PIJ had openly thanked Iran for its support in finances and weapons, use Israel to humble Iran and shame it for waging this proxy-war against Your nation (Psa. 83:1-4, 16-18).

    • Also, as Iran spends so much money to destroy Israel, destroy Iran's finances (Prov. 10:2).

    • Cause deep despair and hopeless to fall on Iranian leaders as they see the total loss of their huge financial investment in Hamas' under-Gaza tunnel system (Prov. 13:11).

    • Let the Iranian people be furious at this waste of money and effort by their leaders (1 Kin. 12:12-17).

    • Wake up all Palestinian leaders who actually care about their people to see how Iran is using them and their people's deaths for its insidious purposes (1 Kin. 22:30-31).

    • Send a heavy dose of Your knee-knocking fear into the minds of Hizbullah's leaders in Lebanon, preventing them from attacking Israel at this time (2 Chr. 17:10).

    • Open the eyes of the P5+1 national leaders to the demonic plots of the current Iranian leaders (Luke 6:45), and let it cause them to back away from resurrecting this nuclear deal.

  4. Internal violence between Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs which has brought anarchy to some places in Israel – has grieved us and many Israelis in many ways more than the expected Hamas hatred and war-crimes against this nation.

    • What the enemy has meant for evil, O Lord, turn it into a blessing through Your love (Deut. 23:5).

    • Wake up Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs who want to live in peace with each other to the spirit of anti-Semitism that permeates so much of the Muslim mindset (Psa. 35:22-28).

    • Move on many ex-Muslim Israeli believers to speak out about how they were set free from this anti-Semitic spirit through Messiah Yeshua (Rom. 11:11).

    • Let the believing Israeli Arab community stand with Israel – at least in prayer (1 Thess. 5:25).

    • Lord Yeshua, You are the ultimate answer to the needs of the Israeli Arabs. Please send laborers into the harvest field during this time of shaking (Luke 10:2).

    • Speak to Israeli Arabs, and to Palestinians, through Your laborers and by Yourself (John 4:39-42).

    • Give Your strategy to the security establishment on how to stop these riots so that Israel Jews will not see synagogues set on fire or Jews being lynched in their nation (Prov. 20:18; Eccl. 8:11).

    • Move on Israeli Arab leaders to stand up and to speak against this violence and unrest (Prov. 20:5).

    • Let all Muslim-Zionists take a strong stance against what their co-religionists are preaching (2 Chr. 2:11-12; Psa. 117:1-2).

    • Protect both of the above Arab groups, as they will be targeted by Muslim fanatics (Psa. 120:1-7).

    • Guard all of Israel's mixed Jewish-Arab cities from outside infiltrators (Song 2:15).

    • Shield Israeli Arabs from the spiritual influence of all radical Palestinian groups (Deut. 33:29).

    • We bring to You the fast-spreading accusations that Israel is an "apartheid" nations and we condemn this lie in Your name (Isa. 54:17). 

  5. New government negotiations: There was another answer to prayer as Naftali Bennett said that with the violence in Israel's streets and on its borders, he could not join with Yair Lapid in a left-leaning, anti-Bibi, government. Yet his stance since then has been very wishy-washy.

    • Thank You that You seem to have used this war against Hamas to prevent the formation of a left-wing government – which is an answer to our prayers (Prov. 15:29b; 1 John 5:14-15).

    • While we do not know what You are doing in precise detail, we see You using the circumstances to bring about Your will, and so we rest in Your overriding sovereign will (Est. 6:1; Psa. 96:10).

    • Lord God of Israel, we still look for, and ask for, that "new thing" that You told us to pray for as we approached the last elections in Israel (Isa. 42:9; 43:19).

    • Lord, help Bennett to stand for Your land and people in line with Your Word (Psa. 31:24).

    • Use this war to uncover the heart of many of Israel's politicians so if we go to another election, the people will have had a demonstration of what is really in their hearts and minds (Jer. 17:9-10).

    • Use this crisis to continue sifting out the dross, and lifting up leaders of Your choice (Isa. 1:25-26).

    • As negotiations continue away from the microscope of media scrutiny due to the national crisis, may You be present in every meeting, bringing about Your perfect will (Job 5:12; Luke 1:51).

    • Reveal anything in these negotiations that we should specifically pray into (Luke 12:2-3; Heb. 4:13).

    • Lord, continue to use Netanyahu until Your time for him to vacate that position arrives (Psa. 80:17).

    • Precious God, only You can heal the offenses between Bibi and the other right-wing leaders so that a strong conservative government would be created to lead Israel at this time (Prov. 18:19).

    • Work in all the new leaders who You are preparing to lead Israel in the near future, and let Your fire burn up anything that will hinder them from being a blessing to Israel and its people (Mal. 3:3-4).

    • Raise up leaders with the same kind of audacity that Nehemiah had (Neh. 2:20).

    • Please show us if it is Your will for a 5th election to be held in Israel in the fall (Amos 3:7).

  6. Salvation: Israel's Ultra-orthodox [Haredi] community has been severely shaken over the last year, as there were many deaths of leading rabbis due to the coronavirus. Then there was the disastrous loss of life on Mt. Meron last month and now another tragedy this past week as bleachers in a synagogue collapsed, resulting in two deaths and the injury of over 100.

    • Abba, we again hold Romans 8:28 before You, asking You to bring good out of these disasters.

    • Also, may You receive the glory as You deal with the Haredi (Psa. 115:1-3; Hab. 3:17-18).

    • Show their rabbis to seek You for answers – and not to seek other men (Jer. 29:12-13).

    • Guide the Haredi in their soul-searching, that they do not turn to stronger rules of observance, or look to their man-made traditions, but that they turn to You (Deut. 4:29; Rom. 10:1-4).

    • Show them how often by their traditions they actually overturn the Word of God (Mark 7:13).

    • Wake up many of the younger men to start questioning what they are being taught (Jer. 29:8-9).

    • As in these events, only men died, let the women cry out to You for mercy (1 Sam. 1:15-17)).

    • Comfort the grieving orphans, widows and parents, revealing Messiah to them (2 Cor. 1:3-4).

    • Thank You that more Haredi are becoming a part of Israeli society. May they be able to provoke others in their community to do the same (1 Cor. 12:14).

    • Lord, draw more Haredi and all the other Orthodox groups to read Your Word more consistently – especially the rest of the Tanach [Old Testament] and not just Torah (Jer. 15:16).

    • Lord, may now be the time that all the closet Messianic believers in every section of Israeli society, come out and proclaim that Yeshua is Lord, Messiah and Israel's King (Matt. 10:32)!

The Aaronic benediction is part of Shabbat's Torah portion. This was given to Moses with the promise that God would place His name on His people as it was proclaimed over them by the priests. Since we are a kingdom of priests in Messiah Yeshua, we proclaimed this over Israel daily this past week. Please consider doing the same so that this blessing is declared on Israel – during this time of confusion, war, and fear – from all over the globe:

YHWH bless you, and keep you; YHWH make His face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; YHWH lift up His countenance upon thee, and give you peace.Num. 6:24-26

Shabbat shalom and shalom on all Israel

For the IFI team