1. Praise:

   God saves us so that He can dwell among us and in us. We can see this from a verse in Shabbat's Torah portion about the tabernacle in the wilderness: There will I meet with the children of Israel, and [they or God Himself] shall be sanctified by My glory…I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God, and they shall know that I am YHWH their God who brought them out of Egypt so that I may dwell among them. I am YHWH their God. (Ex. 29:43, 45-46)

   • Hallelujah! Now we realize why Moses wrote that You are our eternal dwelling place (Psa. 90:1-2).

   • We bless You that one of the huge benefits of the New Covenant is that through Your forgiveness of our sins, we can have a personal relationship with You (Jer. 31:34; cp. Isa. 59:1-2).

   • Messiah Yeshua, You are Emmanuel; You are God with us (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:23; John 14:8-9)!

   • Thank You that You always remain faithful – even when we struggle to be so (2 Tim. 2:12-13).

   • We are greatly comforted and encouraged reading in Shabbat's prophetic portion how You are once again declared as a God who does not lie or change His mind (1 Sam. 15:29).

   • We praise You who are the Unshakeable Shaker (Hag. 2:6; Heb. 12:26-27) and the Unchangeable Changer (Mal. 3:6; 2 Cor. 5:17).

   • We are so very encouraged to know that nothing ever takes You by surprise (Isa. 42:9; John 6:6).

   • Your thoughts are higher than ours (Isa. 55:8-9), so we rest in Your sovereign control (Psa. 103:19).

   • We praise You for giving us all the strength and power we need to serve You (Psa. 68:35).

   • Thank You for making us living stones in Your temple which You are building today (1 Pet. 2:5).

2. Government and society:

   Amazingly, PM Bibi Netanyahu's new coalition is moving forward with many of its campaign promises. Some of these moves upset nations and Jews who are more interested in "individual freedom" than their covenant-responsibility to God, yet we rejoice over this.

   • Use the judicial reforms which the media focuses on to distract "anti-Bibites" from other changes that this government is making which are in line with Your will (Prov. 8:14-16).

   • Continue to give courage to those who are pressing forward with this much needed judicial reform so that our intercessions for judges to rule righteously will be manifest quickly (Isa. 1:26).

   • Use the reforms to also purge away the dross from Israel's political and judicial arenas (Isa. 1:25).

   • Lord, oversee all changes that should be made in what is being proposed in this area (Prov. 16:1).

   • Yet do not allow the reforms to be so watered down that they end up being useless (Prov. 20:24).

   • Hedge in the inciting rhetoric of the opposition and most of Israel's media (Psa. 63:11a; 109:1-3).

   • Expose and destroy the outright lies of what the government is actually trying to do (Prov. 6:16-19).

   • Send forth a blanket from heaven and quench the flames of the demonstrations (Num. 11:2).

   • Expose the forces – whether Israeli or international – that are organizing and financing these anti-government demonstrations (Psa. 139:12; Luke 12:2).

   • We rejoice over all of the support from various sectors in Israeli society for the reforms and thank You that some of Israel's media is finally reporting about this (Job 29:14; Psa. 35:24).

   • Prepare the government for the day after the reforms are passed and approved (Isa. 46:9-10).

   • In the natural, it seems that Israel is far from being united, yet You promised to make it one nation on Your mountains and since they are now back there, do this quickly and be glorified (Ezek. 37:22).

   • Since You are the One who raises up leaders (Dan. 2:21; 4:25b), we pray that You would use Israel's current leaders for Your holy name's sake (Psa. 115:1-3).

   • God, focus Bibi Netanyahu on those things You want him to focus on and not to be distracted by anything else, but to understand how to delegate (Psa. 23:3b; Prov. 21:1).

   • Rule over Ben-Gvir and Smotrich and use them to move Israel closer to Your will (Luke 11:2).

   • Lord God, we bless You for helping the coalition to pass another two year budget (Jer. 32:17, 27).

   • For YHWH is our judge, YHWH is our lawgiver, YHWH is our king; He will save us.Isa. 33:22

3. Internal security:

   The prophetic portion exposes God's hatred toward Amalek (1 Sam. 15:2-3; cp. Ex. 17:15-16) who attacked Israel's weakest people in its least protected areas. This is very similar to Arab terror attacks against Israeli civilians in synagogues and on the roads, or just sitting in their cars as happened to two brothers this past week.

   • Lord, wake up Israel to see that they are in a war against the various Islamic terrorist forces in Your land and that they need to start treating this as a war – and to win it (2 Sam. 23:12; Psa. 44:4-6)!

   • Use the recent increase of terror to force Israel to extend its sovereignty over more of its land west of the Jordan River – and to not bow down to the US, EU, UN or anyone else except You (Obad. 1:17).

   • Lord, use the demonstration by Jews living in Samaria (which was hugely exaggerated by both Israel and international media who reported it as a riot or a "pogrom") in the Arab village Huwara where two Jewish brothers were in reality executed to wake up Israel's political and military leadership to the frustration and anger of Israeli civilians who are being mercilessly murdered (Rom. 8:28; 13:1-4).

   • Thank You that already the IDF has reinforced its forces in Judea and Samaria (Isa. 28:6b).

   • Anoint Israel's security forces to drive terrorism out of Your land (Num. 33:52; Deut. 9:3).

   • Increase the accurate actionable intelligence that Israel obtains at this time (Prov. 15:3; Jer. 11:18).

   • Let the reinstituting of the death penalty for terrorists pass and then be used wisely (Gen. 9:6).

   • Lord of hosts, please increase angelic protection over Your nation during this season (Psa. 35:1-8).

   • Confront all people and nations who condemn Israel's actions against terrorism and compare its attempts to protect civilians with terrorists' attempts to kill as many Jews as possible (Isa. 5:20, 23).

   • Arise Lord, and harshly judge all who brainwash Palestinian children and the organizations and nations who finance the Palestinians so that they can continue to do this (Psa. 9:19-20; Luke 17:2).

   • Yet save as many Palestinians as possible, including terrorists and their leaders (Matt. 5:44).

   • Greatly comfort the Israeli families who have lost loved ones over this past month (2 Cor. 1:3-4).

   • Protect Your nation over the celebration of Purim next week (Psa. 121:4; Isa. 31:5).

4. External security:

   Iran's leaders are puffed up with pride as their relations with Russia and China grow. Yet the UN's IAEA is very concerned at how close they are to having weapons capable enriched uranium. We are grateful that Israel is consistent in its warnings about this grave danger.

   • Destroy the relationship between Iran and Russia (Psa. 55:9) – unless this is part of the preparation for Gog and Magog as per Ezekiel 38:4-6, and if so, guide us as we pray (Psa. 36:9; Amos 3:7).

   • Thank You that Netanyahu still sees the existential danger of Iranian Shi'ite nuclear weapons as his main burden to carry as Israel's leader (Jam.1:8).

   • Let Israel's leaders truly see that no other nation will stand with them against Iran and so they need to face this threat by looking to and trusting in You alone (Psa. 20:7; Isa. 31:1).

   • Abba, again we ask for Your supernatural intervention against Iran's nuclear program in such a way that would bring You all the glory (Ex. 15:1-8, 21; Psa. 99:1).

   • Yet if Israel needs to attack, provide angelic and other divine aid (Josh. 10:11; 2 Kin. 6:16-17).

   • Impart Your wisdom and timing to Israel's leaders and forces who will be directing an all-out attack against Iran's nuclear facilities (Psa. 18:34; 144:1; Eccl. 9:18a).

   • Do not let Israel warn any other nation of a pre-emptive attack – including America (Prov. 20:19).

   • Prepare Israel militarily and diplomatically for the day after it attacks Iran (1 Chr. 12:32; Psa. 23:5).

   • Let Your fear fall on all of Iran's proxies – especially Hizbullah and those in Gaza (2 Chr. 17:10),

   • Derail the money train that is keeping the Iranian regime in power (Jer. 22:13).

   • Protect Israel from EMP and cyberattacks, but give it success in the offensive use of these weapons, plus in its development of laser weaponry and the very careful use of artificial intelligence.

   • Continue to build up the Iranian Body of believers and use their prayers in conjunction with ours to bring down Iran's wicked regime which spreads terror throughout the earth (Ezek. 32:24).

5. Aliyah:

   How is it that Western Jews do not see that their exile is over, their "safe-havens" are crumbling, and that it is time to return to Zion?

   • Lord, use the huge increase of Western anti-Semitism to chase the Jews home (Jer. 16:16).

   • If Jews are unaware of this, let the reports of its growth spread throughout Jewish communities.

   • Reveal to them to come home now with their silver and gold – before they end up coming home like so many Ukrainians with just one suitcase and the clothes on their backs (Isa. 60:9).

   • For their children's sake show parents how the West is now the land of the enemy (Jer. 31:16-17).

   • Override all fears as You call Jews to return to Israel (Psa. 56:4; 118:6; 2 Tim. 1:7).

   • Allow the fear of staying in exile grow bigger than the fear of coming home (Jer. 50:4-5; 51:8-10).

   • Supernaturally open the doors of nations that hold Jews back from making aliyah (Acts 5:19; 16:26).

   • Release the Iranian Jewish community to be able to make aliyah all together (Psa. 107:3).

   • Show the Jews in Turkey it is past time to come home (Jer. 31:8-9),

   • Remove every roadblock in Israel that either hinders or slows down the return (Isa. 57:14; 62:10).

   • Use the current government to settle Your people throughout Your land (Jer. 32:41-44; 33:10-14).

   • Plant all new immigrants so deeply into Your land that they do not even consider returning to their various "Egypts" (Num. 11:5; Amos 9:14-15).

   • Lord, help the government to solve the current housing crisis in Israel (Mic. 4:4).

   • Place the burden You carry for aliyah upon Your Body throughout the world (Jer. 32:41), and then lead them to persistently ask You to do this (Luke 18:1).

   • Thank You for the 75,000 new immigrants in 2022 and we ask for more in 2023 (Eph. 3:20-21).

   • As aliyah is for Your glory, we plead with You to bring it to completion quickly (Isa. 43:5-7).

6. Salvation:

   Yeshua said Jerusalem will not see Him again until the people cried out, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord [YHWH – Psa. 118:26a] (Matt. 23:39). Jews will not do this unless they are saved so I [Chuck] believe that all Israel will be saved before Messiah Yeshua's return. Yet whether you agree or not, Israel's salvation is a vital part of God's end-time scenario. So we continue to ask Him, with great confidence, to do exactly this (1 John 5:14-15).

   • Lord, show Your people out of the Torah reading, that the High Priest was their representative and advocate before You and that You never did away with the need of a mediator (Ex. 28:12, 29-30).

   • Let all Israel see that they always needed a mediator between them and God and not as the rabbis teach that a mediator is no longer required as there is no Temple today (Num. 16:46-48; Job 9:33).

   • Challenge Jews with needing to make the choice between trusting in the rabbis or in Your Word in relation to the need for a High Priest, a blood sacrifice, and with Yeshua (Psa. 119:99-100, 130).

   • Remove that partial blindness You placed on the Jews (Rom. 11:25), and let them see that there is a High Priest today – Israel's King, Messiah Yeshua, who literally bore the iniquity of Israel upon Him so that they can now be accepted in Your presence (Ex. 28:36-38; 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 8:6; 12:24).

   • In Your grace and mercy, save many Israelis: in the IDF and its other security forces; doctors and nurses; teachers in all levels of Israeli education; politicians and their advisors; rabbis of every sect; their wives and many in their synagogues; settlers in Judea and Samaria; survivors of terror attacks and family members of terrorist victims; Israeli sex traffickers, drug users and dealers; criminals in and out of jail; many in the gay community; Jews seeking for the truth; the very wealthy and the very poor; many Russian and Ukrainian new olim; unsaved loved one of Messianic Jews (Zech. 12:10; Rom. 11:26). [Please add any groups or specific Jews whom the Lord lays on your heart.]

   • Lord, please prod any secret Israeli believers out of their closets (Mark 8:38; Rom. 1:16)?

   • During next week's Purim celebration, Lord strip off the foreign costume that the Church has placed on You and reveal Yourself as Israel's Divine Big Brother (Gen. 45:1-5).

   • Lord Yeshua, burden Your Body to pray and work for the salvation of all Israel (Rom. 9:1-3; 10:1).

7. Body of Messiah:

   Without understanding what the Torah commands about sacrifices and the priesthood, it is impossible to fully understand why Yeshua had to die for us and what the full benefits of that are. Also, the Body is supposed to be a kingdom of priests, which is portrayed in many ways by the Levitical priesthood which was ordained by God through Moses to Israel.

   • Lord, thank You for a very clear picture of what it means to eat the Lord's Supper that is found in the Torah portion: [The priests] shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat of them because they are holy. (Ex. 29:33)

   • Restore the Tanach foundations of all New Testament doctrines to Your Body (2 Tim. 3:15-17).

   • Messiah Yeshua, confront that part of Your Body which refuses to interpret prophecy the way You did – in its plain literal sense (Luke 24:44; John 15:25; 19:28).

   • May this year see You pour out a burden on Your Body to read all of Your Word (Jer. 15:16).

8. Water:

   Israel needs more rain.

   • In Your mercy, send more rain over Your land (Matt. 5:45b).

   • Let the rain fall in the right places to prepare the land for the long dry summer season (Isa. 30:23).

9. IFI:

   This is a tense time in Israel and that puts extra pressure on us to try and perceive the Lord's burden for prayer, and not to confuse that with our own thoughts. Thank you for your prayers for us which do help us to hear His voice and so to pray in line with His will. Thank you for all of the other ways you support us as well.

Shabbat shalom and blessings from Jerusalem

For the IFI team

Rev. 22:21