1. Praise:

    This verse in Shabbat's prophetic portion sums up both Israel's and our relationship with God wonderfully. For your Creator is your husband; YHWH of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall he be called. (Isa. 54:5)

    • We rejoice in the reality that as You are the Creator, nothing is too hard for You (Jer. 32:17, 27).

    • Lord, we thank You that in Your relationship with Israel, and with us, You do not change (Mal. 3:6).

    • What a privilege to converse with You, and bring You pleasure, through our prayers (Prov. 15:8b)

    • Yeshua, we praise You as Lord of all – as all authority on the earth is already Yours (Matt. 28:18).

    • Bless You Lord Yeshua for the incarnation, when You, God the Son, became the Son of Man, which enabled You to become both our High Priest and our Redeemer (Heb. 2:14-18).

    • We also thank You for interceding for us right now so that we can be perfectly saved (Heb. 7:25).

    • We rejoice in knowing that even when we feel like the disciples on the road to Emmaus – confused, depressed and blind to Your presence – yet You are never far from us (Luke 24:15-16).

    • Thank You for bringing us into Your kingdom at this time when we often need to trust You whether we know what You are doing or not (Est. 4:14; Prov. 3:5).

    • Yet we do see in very clear ways how You are setting the stage for Your Son's return. Hallelujah!

    • We take comfort knowing that the coronavirus, the current world leaders, the rise in hatred towards the Jews, Israel and the Church, and more – none of it has taken You by surprise (Isa. 42:9).

  2. Government:

    Israel's current coalition seems to become more unbiblical in its outlook daily, making our intercessory burden heavier – and more vital. Its top leaders are weaker than Israel's previous leaders in dealing with Iran, the Palestinians and a US government that is not Israel-friendly. Internally, much of what is done is molded by a fear of new elections and a desire not to be seen as following in Netanyahu's steps – as opposed to doing what is needed for Israel. Of course, as most of the coalition is composed of left-wing and Muslim parties, we really did not expect anything different. Most distressing is that Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, left-wing, anti-religious and very humanistic in his ideology, will replace PM Naftali Bennett as the next prime minister on August 27, 2023. We believe God has asked us to ask Him to prevent that from happening.

    • Lord, forbid this government, which You have permitted to rule in Israel for a time, from legislating anything that is not in line with Your will (Jer. 10:23).

    • Do not allow them to rule any longer than Your past-due date for them (Eccl. 3:1; Dan. 2:21).

    • In Your timing, use their overweening pride to bring incurable division (Prov. 13:10; 29:23).

    • Also use their clashing ideologies to end the government in Your perfect time (Amos 3:3).

    • Give courage to the few right-wing politicians to make biblically correct decisions (Deut. 4:6-8).

    • Help them to discern "compromise" from "appeasement" and to not cross that line (Ezek. 22:26).

    • Remind PM Naftali Bennet of what he has on his head – his kippah – and that it is supposed to remind Jews to live in the fear and reverence of God at all times (Deut. 8:6; 10:12; Rom. 10:13).

    • If today's Israeli government is not able to protect Your nation – bring it down (Rom. 13:1-4).

    • If today's Israeli government is not able to support the growth and expansion of the communities in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley – bring it down (Isa. 54:2-3).

    • Lord, show us how to pray so that Lapid does not become Israel's next prime minister (2 Chr. 19:2).

    • Since You are the One who raises up and pulls down leaders, prevent Lapid's rise (Dan. 4:17b, 26b)

    • The Israeli-Arab Ra'am party is threatening to bring the government down over several issues. If this is one way to prevent Lapid from becoming prime minister, then let Ra'am do it (Prov. 20:24).

    • One of these issues is the budget. Lord, in mercy, overrule all budgetary decisions (Prov. 21:1).

    • Abba, intervene to bring down the skyrocketing housing costs in Israel (Luke 6:24; 1 Tim. 6:9).

    • Hedge in former PM Netanyahu from providing the kind of provocation that will further bind the coalition together in their determination to keep him out at all cost (Job 13:5; Amos 5:13).

    • Lord God, grant Israel's authorities wisdom to know how to walk through this coronavirus crisis so that there is a biblical balance between freedom and overall protection for a society (Psa. 23:3b-4).

    • Help put the finishing touches on the Israel-produced vaccine, making it very effective (Gen. 12:2).

  3. Western nations:

    There is no Western government today who deals with Israel in a biblical manner. Most say they are "friends of Israel" and hold "Israel's security" sacred, yet they push Israel to divide God's land to create a "Palestine," which would be one more Islamic terrorist state. Their pressure on Israel makes them a greater danger than those who want to destroy Israel and express that openly. While Israel would never listen to Iranian or Hizbullah demands, it struggles when responding to the unbiblical demands of the West, especially from America, the UK and the EU. Also, this is the main biblical reason as to why Western nations are seeing God's end-time judgments intensify.

    • For, behold, in those days…when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem [this is what we are seeing today], I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat [YHWH is Judge], and will plead with them there for My people and for My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and they have divided My land.Joel 3:1-2

    • Anoint believer's to be able to see the world through the filter of the Word (Psa. 36:9: 119:105, 130).

    • Whatever else has their attention, let them not be blind to, or distracted from, this biblical principle – that You still bless or curse according to how a nation treats Your nation (Num. 24:9b; Isa. 60:12).

    • Enable Your Body to stand in the gap for their nations, asking for mercy specifically in relation to how their nations are pushing Israel in an unbiblical and ungodly direction (Ezek. 22:30-31).

    • Lord, show all believers that this is the existential issue for their nation (Isa. 34:8).

    • Let those in Your Body who struggle with the resurrection of a Jewish nation and the Jews biblical right to all the land of Israel see that this is in line with Your end-time purposes (Isa. 43:5-7; Jer. 32:41-44; Ezek. 36:22-28; Joel 3:1-2; Amos 9:14-15; Obad. 1:17-20; Zeph. 3:20; Zech. 8:1-8, etc.).

    • Give courage and strength to those who do see this biblical truth and who speak it out (1 Cor. 2:5).

    • Gift Your Body with an ever increasing hunger to "eat" Your whole Word (Jer. 15:16).

    • Help believers to accept that as You have grafted them into Your Body their destiny is now aligned with Israel's (Isa. 49:6; 55:5; Luke 2:32) and their life must be laid down for Your glory (Gal. 2:20).

  4. Security – external:

    The increase in anti-Israel threats coming from Iranian leaders is very noticeable. It is linked to the rise of Iran's new radical President Raisi, and is expressed by politicians, religious and military leaders, as all of them threaten Israel's destruction. While this will never happen (see for example Jer. 31:35-37), history has taught Jews to believe in the threats of their enemies more than to trust in the promises of their friends!

    • God, You hear these threats from Iran's leaders to destroy Israel. Arise and answer in such a way that they, and the rest of the world, will know that Israel's God is God (2 Chr. 20:29; Psa. 83:16-18).

    • Send a deep spirit of division and paranoia into all of Iran's top leaders relationships (Psa. 55:9)

    • Stir up that 1400 year old hatred between the radical Sunni Taliban who rule in Afghanistan and the radical Shi'ite Ayatollahs ruling in Iran, and let it confuse all of Iran's anti-Israel plots (Psa. 129:5).

    • Use the 596 mile border between Iran and Afghanistan draw Iran's attention eastward (Isa. 37:6-7).

    • Confound all of Iran's intelligence sources so that they end up believing a lie (Psa. 40:14; 129:5).

    • Break up all existing financial arrangements between Iran and its proxies and Iran and its allies like China and Russia, and dry up Iran's money train (Prov. 10:2a; 13:11a; 21:6).

    • God, cause all of Iran's proxies, who are in truth Your enemies, to implode: Hizbullah in Lebanon, Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen, and its Syrian proxies (Psa. 68:30).

    • Stop America from rejoining that wicked and stupid Iranian nuclear deal (Isa. 7:7; 28:18).

    • Provide the IDF will all the correct actionable intelligence it needs to foil all Iran's plans (Jer. 17:18).

    • Give the IDF's Iran Command Your strategy and Your tactics to deal with this threat (1 Chr. 14:15).

    • Enable the IDF to keep striking Iranian bases throughout the region (2 Kin. 13:18-19).

    • Destroy Iran's nuclear weapons program – supernaturally or through the IDF (Jer. 51:20-24).

    • Protect under Your covering all of Israel's spies and collaborators in the Middle East (Psa. 3:5-7).

    • Strengthen and advance Israel's cyberwarfare's defensive and offensive capabilities (Ezek. 37:10).

    • Create unity between Israel's government and the IDF on dealing with Iran (Psa. 133:1; Eccl. 4:12).

    • We agree with the head of IDF's Military Intelligence that the Iranian regime must fall. Lord, in line with Jeremiah 49:38 destroy Iran's king and princes. [Elam/Persia = biblical names for today's Iran.]

    • Lord God, prepare the next Iranian leaders to want to join hands with Israel in peace (1 Kin. 5:12)

    • Continue to use the growing Iranian Church to destroy this regime from the inside – as it gains more victories over the spirit of Islam (Matt. 16:18b).

    • Let many Iranians know that the natural disasters plaguing their nation are from You and then pour out Your fear on them, causing them to cry out to You and to be saved (Ex. 7:3-5; 9:14; Psa. 59:13).

  5. Security – internal:

    We continue to intercede for Israel to extend its sovereignty over all the land deeded to them by God – which today is at least all of the land west of the Jordan River. Israel also needs to deal with the Palestinians, and their deep Jew-hatred, in strength and courage until the Lord cleanses His land of all His enemies (Psa. 10:16).

    • Lord, as Israelis also read in Shabbat's prophetic portion Your command to enlarge their tents (Isa. 54:2-3), use this word to stir up many hearts – especially Israel's leaders, both political and military.

    • Show Israelis that every time it has given away any part of God's-ordained inheritance, the vacuum has always been filled with Islamic terrorists and the danger always increases (Num. 33:55).

    • As both biblically and historically Israel always gains more of its inheritance through wars, we ask for mercy on Israelis and courage for Israel's leaders to follow You into battle (Deut. 20:1-4).

    • We bless You for the growth of the Jewish communities in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley, even in the face of terrorist threats and attacks (Jer. 31:3-5; 33:13; Ezek. 36:8).

    • Arrange circumstances so that Israel has no choice but to possess more of its land (Prov. 16:4, 9).

    • Protect all of the IDF units operating in Judea and Samaria (Psa. 140:7).

    • Forbid recent American pressure from hindering Israel from possessing its possessions (Obad. 1:17).

    • Let the E1 corridor between the eastern side of Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adum'im be built.

    • As Israelis move there, use it as another obstacle against the division of Jerusalem (Zech. 12:2-3).

    • Stop America from its demands on Israel to allow it to reopen a US Consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem that was closed under Trump. This would in essence divide Jerusalem again (Neh. 2:20).

    • Palestinian Authority [PA] President Abbas always lies about Israel. As this is part of what it means to curse God's people (Gen. 12:3a), Lord, may all of his devious plans be cursed instead (Prov. 26:2).

    • We do bless Israel's terrorist enemies with a total falling apart of each of their plans, leading them to perceive that the God of Israel is greater than Allah (Luke 6:28; Ex. 15:24-25; Psa. 83:16-18).

    • Guard over the Israel/Hamas prisoner exchange negotiations that Egypt is mediating on, and prevent any type of unbalanced agreement like Israel has submitted to in the past.

    • God, in Jeremiah 12:14-17 You give the Palestinians a choice – salvation or destruction. Lord God, please move in power and save many Palestinians at this season (Zech. 9:7).

    • Strip all Palestinian believers from anti-Semitism and use them for Your glory (1 Cor. 1:27-31).

  6. Aliyah:

    Since the start of the Coronavirus plague, about 40,000 Jews have returned home to Israel. Considering the hardships, the quarantines, and the balagan [Hebrew word for total chaos] associated with this virus, that number returning to Israel is an answer to prayer. Yet millions of Jews who still live in exile need to return as God proclaims that there is a day coming when not one of His people will remain outside of the borders of Israel (Ezek. 39:28-29).

    • Abba, plant deeply and prosper richly every Jew who has recently returned to Israel so that they will never be uprooted from Your land again (2 Kin. 19:30; Isa. 27:6).

    • Expand the influence of all Israeli government ministers who have a heart for the aliyah and a heart to see the successful settling of new immigrants into Israeli society (Psa. 75:6-7).

    • Stir up the Jews, especially in the West, with a desire to come home (Jer. 50:4-5).

    • Remove from them all fear of change and replace it with a love for adventure and an understanding of being able to partake in the fulfillment of prophetic history (Isa. 43:5-7, 21).

    • Make Israelis living in exile extremely homesick (Psa. 137:1-6).

    • As the anti-Semitic hunters become more abundant (Jer. 16:16), do not allow the Jews to ignore or misinterpret the signs of the times (Matt. 16:3).

    • Lord, wake up Your Body to help with the aliyah – by prayer (Jer. 31:7-9), finances (Isa. 60:3-9) and for some, to literally carry Your people home (Isa. 49:22) and to help build up Zion (Isa. 60:10).

  7. Water:

    It is the season to pray for Israel to receive the blessing of rain from heaven. God has been so gracious to answer our prayers about this in recent years that we are encouraged to press on asking Him to do it again so that all Israel will recognize His hand and bless His holy name.

    • Fulfill Isaiah 41:18-20 and when the water comes may many Israelis see, and know, consider, and understand together, that the hand of YHWH has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it.

    • Open the heavens and refresh Your land after a long, hot, and arson-plagued summer (Psa. 68:9).

    • Lord, let it rain on the lakes, the aquifers, the farms and gardens. (Deut. 11:11; 28:12; Psa. 147:8).

    • You are in charge of the climate, so we ask You to change it so that, in line with Your Word, Israel becomes like the Garden of Eden, and You are then glorified among many gentiles (Ezek. 36:34-36).

Shabbat shalom and blessings from Zion

For the IFI team