1. Praise:

    The Gregorian year may be new, but God's essential nature remains the same. He is always merciful and gracious, and while He demands righteousness, justice and holiness. He is always ready to forgive our sin and help us to be more like His Son. What a mighty God we serve!

    • For I am YHWH, I change not; therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed.Mal. 3:6

    • Lord, You have revealed Yourself as a God of love throughout Your Word – and we are so grateful for that most wonderful facet of Your essential nature (Deut. 7:6-8; John 3:16; 1 John 4:7-10).

    • You have also revealed Yourself as a God of judgment throughout the Word – and while that side of Your nature at times frightens us, yet we rejoice in knowing that in You justice and righteousness will ultimately prevail (Ex. 12:12; Psa. 89:13-18; Rom. 1:32; 2:2-5; 11:33; Rev. 14:7; 16:7).

    • We see Your faithfulness in Your covenant promises to Israel and we praise and thank You for being alive today to watch so many of these promises come to pass (Deut. 7:9; Isa. 25:1; 1 Pet. 4:19).

    • Precious Lord, as You state so clearly in Shabbat's prophetic portion, we thank You for being our King – whose name is YHWH of hosts – and who is also the God of Israel (Jer. 46:18, 25).

    • We bless You that what You began in us, You are bringing to completion (Phil. 1:6; Heb. 7:25).

    • What a joy and comfort to know that Your goodness and mercy not only follow us all the days of our lives, but – as Psalm 23:6 states in the Hebrew – they run after and pursue us.

    • We rejoice in the truth that You will never leave nor forsake us, as You are always with us, even if we do not sense Your presence (Psa. 77:19; Matt. 28:20; Heb. 13:5).

    • We praise You God that as You abide in eternity You already know what will happen at the end of time from the very beginning (Isa. 48:5-7).

    • Thank You for not just being the Creator of the universe, but of still being intimately involved in every aspect of it – especially in the lives of Your people (Luke 12:6-7).

  2. Government:

    The anti-biblical and humanistic leanings of Israel's current coalition become more evident daily. We do not want to think of what they might do if we stopped praying for God to hedge them in when they veer out of His will. Thank you for joining us in this huge prayer battle.

    • Lord, anoint your intercessors to be like sons of Issachar today (1 Chr. 12:32).

    • Lord, as Israel's King and Judge, we trust You to rule over this nation today (Isa. 33:22).

    • Show us when it will be time to ask You to bring down this very frightening coalition (Jer. 1:10).

    • Turn the hearts of the many "kings" that make up Israel's coalition towards Your will (Prov. 21:1).

    • Use the coalition's confusion and lack of unity to turn many Israelis unto You (Psa. 17:5-6).

    • Watch over Psalm 33:10-11 in relation to Israel's government during 2022.

    • Have mercy on both Israel and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and do not allow him to become prime minister in August 2023 (Psa. 75:6-7).

    • Turn PM Naftali Bennett back to Your will – or turn him out of office (Deut. 4:29; Dan. 2:21).

    • Show the coalition how to loosen the stranglehold that the ultra-Orthodox have on so many aspects of Israel's society – yet without ignoring Your laws and decrees (Mark 7:9).

    • Give wisdom to Bibi Netanyahu and the rest of the opposition to know what to do when they see the current coalition passing dangerous decrees (Psa. 105:22; Prov. 2:6: Isa. 5:20).

    • You know what Israel should do to deal with the latest coronavirus variations, and we ask You to send Your directives into the minds of all those who are responsible for this situation (Prov. 8:15-16).

    • Protect Israel from this corona plague just like You did with their ancestors in Goshen (Ex. 8:21-24).

    • As expectations are that multitudes will be infected, we plead with You to watch over Your nation against anything that its enemies would try to do at this time (Psa. 121:4; Jer. 31:10).

    • Encourage and strengthen all the healthcare professionals and bolster all hospitals.

    • [While only two Israelis were murdered in terrorist attacks in 2021, 361 died in car accidents!] Lord, anoint a politician who will take this issue of road safety as his/her burden and will have wisdom to know how to defeat this terrible loss of life (2 Kin. 9:20; Prov. 11:14).

  3. Internal security:

    We continue to believe that only by extending its sovereignty over all of the land that God had Israel conquer in the '67 Six-Day War will His nation be able to live in peace and security. While this would bring the world against Israel – even more than it already is – it would give Israel a divine safety-net as this is what God wants from His nation at this time.

    • From Shabbat's Torah portion: …when YHWH shall bring you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore unto you and to your fathers, and shall give it you, (Ex. 13:11).

    • Thank You for planting Your people back in Your land with all of Your heart and soul (Jer. 32:41)!

    • Lord, Israel seems to be taking the land little by little (Deut. 7:22). Now we ask that 2022 would see a large portion of the Promised Land come back under its wings (Judg. 2:1-5; Obad. 1:17).

    • Let the slap in the face Defense Minister Benny Gantz received from Palestinian Authority President Abbas wake him up to the truth that Abbas only wants to see Israel wiped out (Psa. 120:7).

    • May Gantz rescind all commitments he made to Abbas a few days before Abbas cursed Israel and the Jewish people – accusing them of ethnic cleansing and so much more (Psa. 55:21).

    • Stop Gantz from paving the way for a Palestinian state on Your land (Lev. 25:23; Prov. 22:28).

    • Wake him up to the dangerous situation he is unwittingly setting for Israel (Psa. 73:21-22).

    • God, the rightwing politicians in the coalition see the danger, yet they remain silent. Strip them of their lust for power which prevents them from doing the right thing (Psa. 37:30; Isa. 33:14-15).

    • Lord, anoint Likud's Yuli Edelstein as he endeavors to rebuild the four communities in Samaria that were destroyed under that anti-biblical disengagement plan by ex-PM Ariel Sharon (Jer. 24:6).

    • As there was a huge increase in terrorism in Judea & Samaria in 2021, please give Israel's security forces accurate intelligence and wisdom to know how to defeat this in 2022 (Psa. 35:2; Obad. 1:6).

    • Protect all the IDF soldiers serving in Judea, Samaria, the Jordan Valley and along the Gaza security fence, as well as the Israeli residents of these areas (Psa. 28:7-9).

    • Raise up in every division of Israel's armed forces mighty men of war like David had (2 Sam. 23:8).

    • Widen the divisions among the Palestinians to confound them and to protect Israel (Psa. 55:9).

    • Deal severely with those who are teaching Palestinian children to hate the Jews (Luke 17:1-2).

    • As per Jeremiah 12:14-17, save many Palestinians and cast the rest out of Your land (Psa. 10:16).

    • Let the true Church among the Palestinians grow and thrive in 2022 (Zech. 9:7; Matt. 16:18).

  4. External security:

    The Torah portion reminds us that God's judgment on Egypt was not only on the nation, but also on the spiritual forces controlling Pharaoh and the Egyptians. This is how we are praying concerning the Iranian threat against Israel – that God would destroy the false god of Islam and set multitudes of Iranians, and other Muslims, free.

    • For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all of Egypt's firstborn, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will also execute judgment! I am YHWH.Ex. 12:12

    • Lord Yeshua, we praise You for weakening the worldwide Islamic principality by saving multitudes of Muslims and bringing them into Your kingdom at this specific time (Col. 1:13).

    • Now Lord, put to shame the false god of Islam through supernatural events or by an overwhelming military victory of Israel against Iran, Hizbullah and all Iran's other proxies (Psa. 83:16-18).

    • Abba, we do not trust in the negotiations taking place in Vienna to resurrect the evil Iranian nuclear deal, yet we trust in You and ask for Your will to be done (Psa. 103;19; Prov. 19:21).

    • Lord, watch over Your word against Elam – ancient Iran – that You will break its bow which today most likely means it will not be able to launch any nuclear missiles (Jer. 49:35).

    • As You continue to establish Your throne in Iran through the building up of Your Church – please accelerate the downfall of its king and princes (Jer. 49:38).

    • Encourage, strengthen and unify the Iranian Body of believers (Eph. 1:15-21).

    • Remove all hints of anti-Semitism and Replacement Theology from the Iranian Church (Num. 24:9).

    • Lord Yeshua, raise up prophetic voices in Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Gaza to encourage believers to pray for their national leaders who continually curse Israel (Num. 24:9b; Ezek. 22:30-31).

    • Release a wave of signs and wonders to impact the outreach to Muslims everywhere (Acts 4:30).

    • Thank You for the reports of great distress and anger of the Lebanese people as they finally see how Hizbullah, Iran's proxy, has totally ruined their nation.

    • Use this to chase Hizbullah completely out of Israel's northern neighbor (Num. 10:35; Psa. 68:1).

    • We ask You who have scattered and are now gathering Your people back to Israel, to be their shield and to guard them as their Good Shepherd (Deut. 33:29; Jer. 31:10; Ezek. 28:25-26).

    • May "victory" be the aim of the IDF and government, and not just striving for quiet (Psa. 44:1-5).

    • Prepare the IDF with all the funds and weapons needed to be able to fulfill all Your plans in dealing with Iran (Josh. 5:13-15).

    • Guide the placement of all of Israel's offensive and defensive weapons (Prov. 21:31).

    • Guide the IDF's military planners to develop out-of-the-box thinking to destroy Iran's nuclear threat.

    • If Israel attacks Iran's nuclear facilities, we ask for You to attack it as well (Josh. 10:11).

    • As the UN has declared an open-ended investigation into Israel's "war-crimes," protect Your nation from the evil intent of so many of the world's nations today (Psa. 3:6-7; Zech. 12:2-3).

  5. Aliyah:

    2021 was a good year for aliyah – better than 27,000 Jews returned home – despite the corona restrictions both in Israel and worldwide. We are praying for 2022 to be much better.

    • From Shabbat's prophetic portion: But fear not, Jacob My servant, and Israel, be not dismayed, for, behold, I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid. (Jer. 46:27).

    • Lord, we bless You for fulfilling in part the first part of this verse (Jer. 1:12).

    • We trust You to also fulfill the second part soon and provide total security to Israel (Jer. 31:10).

    • Many Western Jews are trapped in captivity, thinking it is freedom. Change their thinking and show them, including Messianic Jews, that they are in Your sight still living in exile (Jer. 30:3; 33:7-14).

    • Bless all Jews who made aliyah last year, and root them deeply in Your land (2 Kin. 19:30).

    • With today's explosion of anti-Semitic attacks – both verbal and physical – show Jewish parents that for their children's sake they need to, if necessary, forsake their lifestyles and return home as soon as possible to save their and their children's lives (Jer. 31:12-13, 17).

    • Remove Jewish pride in saying that the anti-Semites will not scare them away – and replace it with a recognition that it is You who are both chasing them out and drawing them home (Jer. 16:16; 31:3).

    • We again ask You to provide less expensive housing for new immigrants in Israel (Jer. 32:42-44).

    • Bring all of the rest of the Ethiopians-Jews and their families home (Isa. 43:5-7).

    • Use the frustration of the various coronavirus travel restrictions to cause Jews in exile to make a decision to move to Israel permanently (Jer. 50:4-5).

    • May the agencies that provide assistance for aliyah give that support with enthusiasm (Deut. 15:10).

  6. Salvation:

    Shabbat's Torah portion includes God's instructions to Moses on how to protect the Jews in Egypt from His judgments on the final night (Exodus 12). And it was all focused on the blood of the Passover lamb. On that night, the lamb itself was God's Passover (Ex. 12:11, 21, 27).

    • Lord Yeshua, thank You for showing us it is the blood of the lamb, a foreshadow of Your sacrifice, which protects us from God's righteous judgements: For YHWH will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel, and on the two side posts, YHWH will pass over the door, and will not let the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. (Ex. 12:23)

    • Open the eyes of Jews who are reading the Torah portion this week to see that the initial Passover was the lamb, and then help make the connection with Messiah Yeshua (John 1:29, 36).

    • Draw by Your eternal love many new immigrants from 2021 into Your kingdom (Col. 1:13).

    • By Your Spirit root and ground all new believers in their Messiah Yeshua (Ephesians 3:17-21).

  7. Water:

    Israel has had some rain and is moving into the part of its rainy season where we can expect much more.

    • Thank You Lord, for the mostly light rains that You have blessed Israel with so far (Psa. 65:10).

    • Now grant the latter rains and provide all the water that the nation needs (Deut. 11:14).

    • We ask You that by the end of the rainy season, the Sea of Galilee and all of Israel's underground aquifers would be totally full (Isa. 41:18; Jer. 14:22).

    • Lord, enable Israelis to see Your hand in this and give You all the praise and glory (Isa. 41:18-20).

  8. IFI:

    Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for us for encouragement, health and strength, as well as for IFI's financial needs. If God wants this ministry to continue after the current leadership is no longer able to carry the burden, please ask Him to raise up the next leaders soon.

Shabbat shalom and blessings from Zion

For the IFI team