1. Praise:

   Messiah Yeshua told us that as His return draws near, things would become much more chaotic and dangerous. This is what we are seeing just about everywhere – and now with Israel back in the land and Jerusalem drawing the attention of most of the world, it is possible that His return is a lot sooner than many of us expect. Whether this is true or not, His return is our hope!

   • When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads for your redemption draws near. (Luke 21:28); Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Yeshua the Messiah; (Tit. 2:13; cp. 1 Pet. 1:13; 1 John 3:1-3)

   • We are blessed that You have forewarned us of these things so that we need not fear (Isa. 44:8)!

   • We rejoice in the reality of Your overriding sovereignty in these chaotic days (Psa. 103:19).

   • You are a promise-keeping God and all Your promises are yes and amen in Messiah (2 Cor. 1:20).

   • We praise You that what You have said is settled – whether we believe it or not (Psa. 119:89).

   • Thank You for Your still, small voice guiding us through the noise of this world (1 Kin. 19:12)

   • We are Your witnesses that You are fulfilling so many end-time prophecies in our days (Isa. 42:8-9).

   • We praise You for all the signs of Your return that we see today, such as Psalm 102:16: When YHWH shall build up Zion, He shall appear in His glory.

   • Lord, Your faithfulness to a pre-believing Israel gives us great confidence that all You have said to us who believe will also come to pass (Phil. 1:6; 1 Thess. 1:3-4).

   • Messiah Yeshua, in the face of the storms of life, our hope in You is our anchor (Heb. 6:18-19).

2. Government:

   The government is, as expected, shackled by Ra'am, the Israeli-Arab party, in that it cannot act as strongly against the Temple Mount riots and other terrorism as it should. Of course, the left and center wing parties are a hindrance in this as well. Yesterday, Israel observed Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, and many Israeli leaders said "never again".

   • Abba, we ask that all those who said "never again" will actually "walk their talk".

   • God, if it is time for new elections – or a new coalition being formed within the Knesset without going to new elections – we welcome either one and ask You to lead us in prayer (1 Tim. 2:1-4).

   • Show this and the next Israeli government that their main priority must be security (Rom. 13:1-4).

   • Since You have allowed this coalition to rule at this time, please fulfill all of Your will with it while blocking it from doing all that is not in Your will (Psa. 75:5-7; Prov. 16:9).

   • Touch PM N. Bennett's heart; humble him and turn him back to his Zionistic roots (Prov. 21:1).

   • Overrule Defense Minister B. Gantz and Foreign Minister Y. Lapid from doing anything that does not line up with Your will for Israel at this time in history (Prov. 16:1).

   • Guide Opposition leader Bibi Netanyahu to do what is best for the nation (2 Sam. 23:1-4).

   • Thank You that every poll shows Israelis are getting wiser and leaning more towards a right-wing path – which is much more biblical (Eccl. 10:2).

   • Continue to use Israel's UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan to speak truth to world powers (Prov. 8:7).

   • Anoint others to represent Israel in as a bold and truthful way as Erdan does (Acts 26:25).

   • God, wean Israel away from looking to America and instead let them look to You (Psa. 121:1-2).

3. Internal security:

   Several rockets were fired from Gaza and the anti-Israel rhetoric of the terror groups running Gaza has increased. Yet Israel's Operation Stop the Wave in areas under the Palestinian Authority seems to be working to halt any further terrorist attacks.

   • We thank You for Israel's aggressive response to these recent terror attacks (Eccl. 8:11; Isa. 26:10).

   • Show Israel's security forces to maintain an aggressive stance in their hunt for terrorists (Psa. 9:6).

   • Expose all terrorists and their plans so that Israel can pre-empt each one (Psa. 139:12; Luke 8:17).

   • Release the Angel of the Lord to war along with Israel against Your enemies (Psa. 35:4-6; 83:1-4).

   • As Ramadan is not over until the middle of next week, guard over Israel against all fundamentalist Muslims who because they truly believe the Quran, seek to destroy it and all Jews (Psa. 7:9-10).

   • Dampen any further riots on the Temple Mount during the remainder of Ramadan and beyond.

   • Let Israel openly reject Jordan's demand for more control over the Temple Mount (Judg. 11:21-24).

   • Bless all Israelis who live within the Gaza periphery with peace, protection, prosperity, growth and salvation (Num. 6:24-26).

   • If Israel needs to change its strategy in dealing with Hamas in Gaza, reveal it to them (Josh. 6:2-5).

   • Continue to protect Israelis from any successful kidnapping attempts (Psa. 121:3-4).

   • Lord God, teach Israel's security forces how to deal with any rioting and disruptions within Israel's mixed Jewish-Arab cities before the next major conflict breaks out (Psa. 7:11-13; 35:1-8).

   • Deafen Israel to all condemnation from the world as it defends itself (Psa. 94:21; Prov. 17:15).

4. External security:

   With most eyes on Ukraine, Iran sits in the background posing a greater threat to the world than Putin. Iran is a very real and present danger under its current radical Shi'ite leaders to the "Big Satan" America, and the "Little Satan" Israel, as well as to all Sunni Arab nations in the Persian Gulf region and beyond.

   • We take great comfort that regardless of the threat, You have declared that Israel will remain as a nation before You – at least until the new heavens and new earth (Jer. 31:35-37).

   • Thank You for the IDF's "Iran Command" which focuses exclusively on how to defend Israel from Iran and/or how to attack Iran and its various proxies (Psa. 34:1; Eph. 5:20).

   • Yet God, You are Israel's ultimate shield and we trust in Your promise of protection (Jer. 31:10).

   • Shine Your light on all strategies and tactics the IDF is developing that are from You – and blow away any that are not (Psa. 18:28; Dan. 2:22).

   • Raise up "the sons of Issachar" to be influential inside the IDF's Iran Command (1 Chr. 12:32).

   • Guide those developing Israel's laser weaponry and bring it on line quickly (Ex. 14:19-20).

   • We ask for a supernatural advancement in cyberwarfare to be downloaded to Israel (Prov. 2:6).

   • Lord, work in such a supernatural way to disrupt Iran's military plans so that the fear of Israel's God falls upon them (Josh. 2:9-11).

   • Protect and hide all of Israel's collaborators and spies dealing with Iran and its proxies (Psa. 61:3).

   • We bless You for setting Your throne in Elam as You build the Iranian Church (Jer. 49:38a).

   • Please fulfill the next part of that verse and destroy Iran's wicked regime (Jer. 49:38b).

   • Give Iranian believers a love for the truth of Your Word, including about Israel (1 John 3:18), and then sanctify them in that truth so that they bless Israel and not curse it (Num. 24:9b; John 17:17).

   • Teach them how to pray in line with Your Word for their government (Luke 11:1).

   • Cut off all relationships between Iran and every one of its proxies (Ex. 23:23).

   • Shatter the developing relations between Iran and Russia and China (Psa. 129:5; Prov. 21:1).

   • God, it looks like the Iranian nuclear deal in Vienna will not be signed, and for that we bless You and thank You (Psa. 33:10-11). Yet regardless, please show Israel what its next steps should be.

   • As America's Biden administration has shown itself to be so untrustworthy that if they are actually planning to go ahead with approving a new deal, expose this to Israel and its other Middle East allies.

   • We thank You for success the IDF has had in stopping the smuggling of weapons and drugs into Israel, and ask You to continue to seal Israel's borders against all evil (Isa. 60:18).

   • Lord, let the missile that was fired from Lebanon into Israel this week stir up the animosity between Hamas' attempts to establish itself there, and Hezbollah (Psa. 35:26).

   • Thank You that Israel still has the freedom to attack Iranian sites in Syria (Psa. 44:4-5).

   • As we see how Israel is surrounded by Iran's proxies, we ask You to watch over Micah 4:11-13.

5. Aliyah:

   The return of many millions of Jews over the past 135 plus years is one of the most important, and visible, signs that our Lord's return draws near. Besides Psalm 102:16 quoted above, two other signs are that Jews will be in Jerusalem (Matt. 23:39), and that Jerusalem will be under assault by the nations (Zech. 12:2-3). While today this assault is mainly political, Islam is in the process of turning this into a very intense military assault (Zech. 14:1-4a).

   • Thank You Lord for the massive increase in aliyah as we were amazed to read that 40,000 new immigrants have arrived in Israel since Passover 2021 (Jer. 16:14-15).

   • We are awed and in fear of You as we see how You have used the coronavirus, the increase in antisemitism and the Russian invasion of Ukraine to shake many Jews out of exile (Jer. 16:16).

   • Let all Jews in exile who said "Next year in Jerusalem" at the end of the Passover Seder be reminded and convicted of what they have said (Matt. 5:33-37; Jam. 5:12).

   • Let the light of Your Word reveal to Your people that in these days, there really is no place safer than in the land You swore to give to their forefathers (Psa. 119:105, 130; Jer. 23:3; 31:10; 32:37).

   • Continue to bring many Jews back from the north – from Russia, Ukraine, and from all eastern and western European nations (Isa. 43:5-7; Jer. 31:8-9).

   • Lord, drain the exile of all remaining Holocaust survivors and their families (Ezek. 37:11-14).

   • Break open the gates in nations that are trapping Your people – like Iran and China (Ex 7:14; 8:1).

   • Abba, continue to use Israel's current government to keep its gates open to all Jews and their families who want to, or are being forced to, come home (Isa. 62:10).

   • Protect and use the Minister of Aliyah and Integration – Pnina Tamano-Shata – so that through her incredible efforts multitudes of Jews can return, get settled and bring You glory (Psa. 115:1-3).

   • Pour out Your blessings on her, and reward her with a revelation of Yeshua (Acts 8:30-35).

   • Thank You for answering our prayers for housing being available for the new immigrants, as we have just read that of the 15,000 who arrived since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, only 3,000 have not yet found permanent housing.(1 John 5:14-15).

   • Quickly and mercifully, reunite families in Your land as many of the men were forced to remain in Ukraine and fight (Jer. 3:18).

   • Settle as many of the new immigrants as possible in Judea, Samaria, the Golan Heights, the Jordan Valley and in the Negev (Jer. 32:41-44).

   • With Your will clearly laid out in scripture, Lord change the thinking of Messianic Jews in exile so that their default position is "I will make aliyah, unless God tells me to remain in exile," as opposed to them waiting to hear You nudge them to come home (Isa. 35:10; 51:11; Ezek. 36:22-24).

   • Anoint all efforts, and supply all needs, of every Jewish and Christian NGO whose aim is to aid the aliyah and the settling of the new immigrants in Your land (Isa. 49:22; Amos 9:14-15).

6. Salvation:

   We prayed for Muslims to be set free by Messiah Yeshua during Ramadan. Also, we used this Shabbat's Torah portion which includes Leviticus 16, the instructions for Yom Kippur, to pray for many Jews to see their need of a High Priest/mediator.

   • Lord, by Your Word convict many Jews that blood is still needed for atonement, as You say in the Torah portion: For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul. (Lev. 17:11)

   • Save many of the 161,400 Holocaust survivors still alive in Israel (Ezek. 39:25-29).

   • Anoint ex-Muslim believers to be provokers to jealousy for the Jews (Rom. 11:11).

   • By Your Spirit, convict both Jew and Muslim of their need to believe in Yeshua (John 16:8-9).

   • Use Your Word in the hearts of Jews in Israel and exile who read it on Shabbat (Isa. 55:11).

   • Use the verses in the Quran that speak so highly of Yeshua to cause Muslims to want to know more about Him who, according to their holy book, was born of a virgin, never sinned and did miracles!

7. Body of Messiah:

   Without having Israel in its central place in God's plans in these days, how can any believer truly see what God is doing to wrap up this age?

   • Messiah, You who opened the eyes of the blind and cured the deaf as You walked in Your land, we ask that You would do the same with those in Your Body who are deaf and blind to the prophetic significance of today's aliyah and of Israel's restoration (Jer. 32:41; Zech. 8:1-8; 2 Tim. 3:15-17).

   • Remove the curse of that anti-biblical replacement theory (1 Tim. 4:1) and instead let Your Word reign supreme in Your Body (John 17:17; 2 Tim. 2:15; 3:16-17).

   • Thank You Lord for building Your worldwide church (Matt. 16:18).

   • We trust You to complete that which You started – by and through Your amazing grace (Heb. 12:2).

   • We praise You for the living, growing and maturing Body of Messiah in Israel (Mic. 4:2).

   • Renew a hunger and thirst for the truth of Your Word, rather than man's opinions (Jer. 15:16).

   • Lord Yeshua, in line with Your teaching in Luke 18:1, increase intercession in Your Body.

   • Provide accurate translations of Your Word to all languages and nations (Prov. 22:21; Acts 26:25).

   • Lord Yeshua, by Your Spirit, bring us all back to our first love – You and only You (Rev. 2:4).

   • Expel from Your Body the spirit of fear of sharing Yeshua with all who need Him – especially with Jews and Muslims (2 Kin. 7:8-9; 1 John 4:18).

8. IFI:

   We treasure your prayers for us. They encourage us to run the race God has set before this ministry when we get discouraged, exhausted and are not sure how effective we truly are. Yet your prayers and notes and financial gifts help to lift up our arms and to enable us to continue until He says "Enough!"

Shabbat shalom and blessings abundantly from Zion

For the IFI team

2 John 1:3