1. Praise:

    The prophetic portion has a verse that sums up God's ultimate goal – which should be our goal as well. [Future prophecies in the Tanach are often stated as if they have already come to pass – because obviously from God's perspective they already have!]

    • Holy, holy, holy, is YHWH of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.Isa. 6:3b

    • Lord, we Your children rejoice that this is Your ultimate goal for this world (Num. 14:21; Psa. 72:18-19; Isa. 11:9; 40:4-5; Hab. 2:14; Mal. 1:11, 14b).

    • We thank You for showing us how this must be our goal as well – whether in prayer, in preaching, in outreach or in living a life that daily brings You glory (Psa. 115:1-3; Luke 11:2; Rom. 16:27).

    • We bless You for teaching us how to glorify You in our lives (Matt. 5:16; John 15:7-8).

    • Thank You for making Israel's restoration and salvation an integral part of the fulfillment of this prophetic word in Isaiah (Isa. 43:5-7, 21; 60:21; 61:3; Ezek. 36:21-32).

    • Lord Yeshua, we see that this is one of the reasons why You, God the Son, became a man – not only to save us, but that through You – Your Father would be glorified (John 17:1, 5; Phil. 2:5-11).

    • We praise and exalt You for the confidence and security that we have in You our God, as we realize that to You the future is already known (Isa. 42:9; 45:21; John 13:19).

    • Abba, thank You that You have both glorified – and will glorify – Your name (John 12:28).

    • Hallelujah! Although the world is being severely shaken, Your Word stands sure forever (Isa. 40:8).

    • We rest secure that in the midst of all the chaos Your Word is our guiding light (Psa. 36:9; 119:105).

    • We bless You for being our fortress and refuge, our shield and deliverer today (Psa. 144:2).

    • We are astonished, yet grateful, that You have chosen us and not us You (John 15:16; Eph. 1:3-6).

    • We glorify You for answering so many of our prayers – personally and for Israel (Psa. 50:15).

    • We confess that You are good; that Your covenant-love/faithfulness endures forever (136:1-26).

  2. Government:

    What we feared is now being manifested. The current coalition seems so set on staying in power that its right-wing members are appeasing Ra'am, the Islamic Arab party, even to the point of halting the planting of trees in the Negev. This is both dangerous and anti-biblical.

    • Lord, You said that You would plant trees in the wilderness. Please do just that (Isa. 41:19).

    • Forbid this government from bowing to Arab violence, especially from Israeli-Arabs (Eccl. 8:11).

    • Give the authorities courage to suppress all Israeli-Arab rioting wherever it may occur in Israel, which is usually egged on by Israel's extreme left and by Palestinian terror groups (Rom. 13:1-4).

    • Bring Israel to a place where it must possess its possessions, including the Negev (Obad. 1:17-20).

    • Lord, a coalition with an Arab party rooted in Muslim Brotherhood ideology is unworkable. Have mercy on Your nation and break this coalition apart as soon as possible (Psa. 109:8; Dan. 2:21).

    • Convict all of the right-wing members of the current coalition of how wrong they were to join hands with the extreme left and with the spirit of Islam (Psa. 119:176).

    • As long as the coalition does remain in office, use it to do everything You have ordained for it, while blocking it from doing anything that is against Your will at this specific time (Rom. 9:15-17).

    • Confirm to Israelis all the government's coronavirus guidelines that are from You (1 Pet. 2:13).

    • Change or quash all the government's coronavirus guidelines that are not from You (Prov. 8:15).

    • Forbid Israel from bowing down to America any longer in any way whatsoever (Isa. 31:1; Jer. 17:5).

    • [The US Biden administration just told Israel, Greece and Cyprus that it will no longer support the EastMed natural gas pipeline line from Israel to Europe in order not to get Turkey and Russia upset!]. Lord, let these nations decide to do it anyway (Job 12:12-25)!

    • Lord, You see how the US and the EU condemn Israel in anything it does to extend its sovereignty over Jerusalem, the Negev, or Judea and Samaria. We need You to intervene and shut the mouths of these hypocritical nations as well as give the courage of Jephthah to Israel's leaders (Judg. 11:12-23).

    • Guide ex-PM Bibi Netanyahu as to whether he should accept a plea bargain or not in relation to the various accusations against him (Prov. 16:1, 9; 19:21).

    • Yet if a plea bargain will hinder the uncovering of the truth – block it (Luke 12:2; John 3:21).

    • We ask You to ordain whichever way will help You to fulfill Isaiah 1:25-26.

    • As Bibi reads Shabbat's Torah portion, speak to him especially from this verse Fear not: for God is come to test you, and that His fear may be before your faces so that you will not sin. (Ex. 20:20b)

    • If Netanyahu bows out of politics, whether for a season or permanently, we ask You to be the One who establishes the next leader of his Likud party (Dan. 4:17).

  3. The IDF:

    Since the start of the year there have been two horrific accidents in which four IDF soldiers have been killed. Is God trying to tell the IDF something?

    • Lord of hosts, thank You for the infrequency of fatal accidents in the IDF recently (Psa. 121:4).

    • Please comfort the grieving families of those who died in the past few weeks (Psa. 23:4; 119:76).

    • May the lessons that need to be learned from these accidents be understood and applied (Prov. 14:8).

    • Lord, ensure that all communications between various IDF units are accurate and clear (1 Cor. 14:8).

    • Continue to bless the IDF with game-changing, cutting edge weapons systems – especially in laser, EMP and cyber-warfare weaponry – and hasten the development of each one (Prov. 8:12).

    • Protect the soldiers and security personnel in their everyday routine duties (Psa. 121:5-8).

    • Especially during this season of very wet and cold weather, be their shield and refuge (Psa. 105:39).

    • Guide the IDF's deployment of its personnel as the coronavirus infects many of the troops (Psa. 5:8).

    • Be intimately involved in the training of every Israel's reservist (Psa. 144:1).

    • Renew IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi with a fresh anointing and a supernatural discernment to hear and do Your priorities for the IDF at this time (Job 37:2; Psa. 95:7b-8; Isa. 30:30).

    • Give wisdom and plans to Israel's security forces if relations with Israel's Arab communities change for the worse, and please forbid them from being more merciful that You would be (2 Chr. 19:2).

    • Use Israel to cut off the spiritual roots of Islam, that arise from Edom, in Your land (Ezek. 25:14).

  4. Internal security:

    Most Palestinians – whether in Judea and Samaria or in Gaza – want to see Israel destroyed. And as their younger generation has been raised on a heavy diet of antisemitism and Jew-hatred, there is no chance of a real peace between Israel and the Palestinians at this time or in the foreseeable future.

    • Do not let Israelis be deceived into thinking that the Palestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria is in anyway more peaceful than Hamas in Gaza (Psa. 55:20-21).

    • Give Israel wisdom and courage to know how to defeat both the Palestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria and Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza, as they both continually incite Israeli-Arabs to riot and betray Israel (Psa. 44:5-8; Prov. 21:31).

    • Set these terrorists against one another, and pour out confusion into their midst (Psa. 35:25-26).

    • Any intelligence that Israel needs but does not yet have – please reveal it quickly (Job 12:22).

    • Hide and use all of Israel's undercover agents and collaborators among the Palestinians (Josh. 2:1-7).

    • Set circumstances – like You did before the 1967 Six Day War – so that Israel will have to extend its sovereignty over all of the land west of the Jordan River (Deut. 2:30-32; 3:3-4).

    • God, arise and block all attempts – from either inside or outside of Israel – to create a Palestinian State on the land which You swore to give to Israel (Gen. 24:7; Ex. 13:5; 32:13; Deut. 9:5; 28:11).

    • Lord, You see how the EU gives huge sums of money to help the Palestinians take over Area C which is supposed to be under total Israeli control. Drain the EU's finances accordingly (Num. 24:9b).

    • Open the eyes of EU and US officials to see the Palestinians as most Middle East Arabs see them – which is far from flattering, and often despising them for their backstabbing lies.

    • Protect all of the truth-speaking Arab journalists and give them a wide audience (Psa. 84:11).

  5. External security:

    Iran is testing ballistic missiles that can carry nuclear bombs to most of Europe. Yet the UK, France and Germany, as well as the US, continue to negotiate with Iran in Vienna as if it is a Western-thinking respecter-of-life nation. What blind arrogance!

    • If it is You blinding the West to Iran's real intentions, please keep Israel's eyes open (Ex. 4:11).

    • Give wisdom to Israel's leaders to know what to do or not do with the results of Vienna (Psa. 31:3).

    • We plead with You to bring all agreements in Vienna that are not of You to nothing (Psa. 33:10-11).

    • Confuse all communications between Iran, Russia and China as they hold joint military exercises – and show Russia and China how unreliable and dangerous an ally Iran would be (Gen. 11:6-10).

    • Lord, derail Iran's money train and dry up all of its financial sources (Jam. 5:1-6).

    • Confuse and divide the tongues of Iran's leaders and each one of its various proxies (Psa. 55:9).

    • Thank You for the mass demonstrations that have vexed Iran's regime as they expose that most Iranians want to be set free from their Islamic Shi'ite dictatorial rulers (Psa. 140:8).

    • Increase the divisions in Iran's society and continue to use various "natural" disasters to shake Iran free from its satanic leaders in such a way that You will receive all of the glory (Jer. 49:38).

    • Create miraculous growth in the Iranian Church in 2022 – numerically and spiritually (Ex. 1:12).

    • Use the Iranian church to destroy the foundations of Islam from within (Psa. 118:22; Matt. 16:18).

    • Lord, guard over Israel against Iran's and its proxies' plans to destroy Your nation (Psa. 140:1-2).

    • God, anoint all voices being raised against Hizbullah's reign of terror in Lebanon, giving them global publicity and impacting many nations to decide to cut this cancer out from that nation.

    • Set Hizbullah against Hamas which is trying to establish itself in Lebanon (2 Chr. 20:22-23).

  6. Aliyah:

    Another hostage situation in another synagogue – this time in Texas. What the world and most Jews miss is that regardless of the grievance, regardless of the cause, regardless of who the so-called oppressed people are – the Jews are increasingly being held responsible for all the world's evil.

    • Lord, as we ask You to bring Your people home (Ezek. 36:37), we also ask You to show us how to pray about the anti- Semitic attacks that have multiplied especially in the West (Jer. 16:16).

    • In mercy, destroy all false comfort zones that trap Your people in exile (Psa. 124:7).

    • Increase the number of Jews fleeing Babylon before they are destroyed along with it (Jer. 51:6-10).

    • Disabuse Western Jews from seeing Israel as a place of last resort in a crisis, and instead, let them see it as it really is – their God-given home (Psa. 137:4-6; Jer. 51:50).

    • Show Jews in exile that their enemies see them as Jews first – then as American, British, French, etc.

    • Open up a highway home to Israel for all the Jews living in non-Western nations (Isa. 43:5-7).

    • We bless You for the increase of older Jews making aliyah (Jer. 31:8-9). More, Lord!

    • Remove all stones of stumbling in Israel from the path of Your people as they return (Isa. 62:10).

  7. Salvation:

    A clear prophetic picture of Messiah Yeshua is in Shabbat's prophetic portion: For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulder; and His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end; upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of YHWH of hosts will perform this. (Isa. 9:6-7)

    • Lord Yeshua, as Your people read this over Shabbat, open their eyes to see how this points to You who are that Son whom God has given for their salvation (John 3:16).

    • Do not allow Your Word to return empty but let it bear much fruit in Jewish hearts (Isa. 55:11).

    • Romans 11:7-10 states that there is a partial blinding of the eyes of Your people. Please lift it off and quicken the time when all Israel will be saved (Zech. 12:10).

    • Bring down all Rabbinic strongholds against the name of Yeshua (2 Cor. 10:4-5).

    • Encourage all Jews who are seeking to have a personal relationship with You (Deut. 4:29).

    • Lord, save unbelieving loved ones of Messianic Jews (Josh. 6:25; John 4:50-53; Acts 16:31).

    • May Paul's burden for Israel's salvation come on many more of our gentile brothers and sisters in the Body of Messiah (Rom. 9:1-3; 10:1; 11:11).

  8. The Body of Messiah:

    In the Torah portion God declares to Moses: Behold, I come to you in a thick cloud that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever. (Ex. 19:9a)

    • Lord Yeshua, You also said that if people did not believe what Moses wrote, they could not believe in You (John 5:46-47). Please convict many of our born-again brothers and sisters what this means as far as their approach towards the Old Testament – the Tanach (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

    • As many wake up to the reality that the Tanach is still the Word of God, replace Replacement theory with the biblical position of Israel in Your plans today (Psa. 102:16; Zech. 8:1-8; Matt. 23:39; etc.).

    • Reveal to them how Replacement theory grieves the Holy Spirit and lead them to repent (Eph. 4:30).

    • Show gentile believers what they can do to repay their debt to the Jewish people (Rom. 15:27).

    • Vaccinate the Body against the anti-Semitic virus plaguing today's world (John 4:22; Rom. 1:16).

  9. Water:

    Israel is experiencing some very wet and cold weather. But the massive rainfall has revealed some serious infrastructure issues.

    • Thank You Lord, for opening up the heavens over Your land (Lev. 26:4; Deut. 11:11).

    • We bless You for all of the snow that have fallen on Mount Hermon and ask for more (Job 37:5-6).

    • We ask You to not stop until the Sea of Galilee and the underground aquifers are full (Isa. 41:17-20).

    • Help Israeli authorities see from the recent flooding what the problem areas are and how to fix them.

  10. IFI:

    We do appreciate your prayers for us. Please continue to pray for wisdom and strength, and an understanding of what God wants us to pray into each week. Also let's ask for all the financial provision IFI needs to continue until that time when the Lord says, "Well done. You can close the doors now – and please remember to turn off the lights."

Shabbat Shalom and blessings from Jerusalem

For the IFI team

P.S. Before coronavirus, this would be the week in which we would hold the annual IFI International Prayer Conference here in Jerusalem. Whether that or something like that ever happens again is in His hands, but we want you to know that we miss you who are veterans of these conferences and wish you could be with us in Jerusalem at this time. Virtual hugs from the whole IFI team to each of you.