1. Praise:

   In Shabbat's Torah reading Jacob testifies that the God of his fathers was with him in all of his trials and wanderings: …I will build [in Bethel] an altar unto God who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way in which I went. (Gen. 35:3b)

   • Like Jacob, we praise You for showing us to see Your faithfulness to us in the past so that we can move forward with great confidence in You, because You do not change (Mal. 3:6; 2 Tim. 2:13).

   • We bless You for never leaving us or forsaking us – regardless of whether we sense Your presence with us or not (Psa. 46:7, 11; 77:19; Isa. 41:10; Matt. 28:20b; Heb. 13:5b-6).

   • We thank You that as we trust on You and do not lean on our own understanding, You promise to direct our paths (Prov. 3:5-6).

   • We rejoice that You are our hiding place and surround us with songs of deliverance (Psa.32:7).

   • We praise and thank You for all that You are and all that You do for us (Psa. 103:1-2).

   • We declare the despite the world's current insanity – You still reign (Psa. 96:10; 99:1; 103:19).

   • You are the God of the impossible, as nothing is too hard for You (Jer. 32:17, 27; Luke 1:37; 18:27).

2. "Operation Swords of Iron," Israel's war against Hamas, began on October 7th after Hamas massacred about 1200 people and took over 200 hostages from Israel's side of the Gaza security fence. Just this morning, after a brief pause to exchange Palestinian terrorists in Israeli jails for some of these hostages, Hamas broke the "ceasefire" and Israel relaunched its war against them. Yet once again this past week, the US administration warned Israel that it must see Gaza's civilian population, whom Hamas uses as human shields, as more important to protect than its own soldiers or civilians. This is madness – and from Israel's so-called best friend! In reality, for Israel to truly defeat Hamas, the war will last at least for several more months, and if Israel rejects America's manipulations and it's not-so-subtle threats, then we could suddenly find ourselves face-to-face with more of the prophecies than need to happen before the Lord returns, being fulfilled. So how should we pray?

   • Lord, by Your Spirit lead us in prayer for Israel today (Psa. 10:17; Prov. 16:1; Rom. 8:26).

   • You do know the future (Isa. 42:9), so You knew about the Hamas massacre and Israel's war against it, therefore we ask You to bring about a mighty victory against the forces of evil (Psa. 44:4) – using Israel as Your weapon of war (Jer. 51:20-24).

   • Bring good out of this horrific situation (Rom. 8:28) and receive the glory from it (Psa. 115:1-3).

   • Break this snare that Israel finds itself in to where protecting Gaza's civilians is more important than defeating Hamas and protecting Israeli civilians – once and for all (Psa. 124:1-8).

   • As per the prophetic portion, let Hamas' pride deceive them (Obad. 1:3a), and also deceive all of their strategists so that their plans turn out to be absolutely useless (Obad. 1:8).

   • Let Hamas be completely ensnared by their own traps (Est. 7:10; Psa. 35:4-8; 57:6).

   • Turn Hamas' curses against Israel back on their own heads (Deut. 23:5; Psa.11:5).

   • Use the wisdom that You downloaded to the IDF during the pause to make its war against Hamas more efficient, effective and victorious (Psa. 44:4-8; Prov. 21:30-31).

   • God, release Your angelic hosts to fight alongside the IDF today (2 Kin. 6:15-17; 2 Chr. 32:7-8).

   • Protect the soldiers who are battling in Gaza's dangerous urban warfare scenario (Jer. 50:29-32).

   • God, strike fear into Hamas by supernaturally rescuing all the remaining hostages (2 Chr. 2:29).

   • Alternatively, help the IDF to find and free each one still in captivity (Num. 21:1-3; Isa. 49:24-26).

   • Lord God, help Israel's military industries to increase their production of armaments and weapons so that Israel need not depend on other nations for their resupply (Psa. 146:3-10; Isa. 31:1).

   • Guide the IDF and the Mossad to capture or assassinate all Hamas leaders whether they are in Gaza or living outside (Josh. 10:24-25; 1 Kin. 22:34; Psa. 68:20-21; Hab. 3:13).

   • Input wisdom unto Israel's intelligence services to correctly decipher the data collected from Gaza, Judea and Samaria and to uncover every terrorist plot (Job 12:22; 28:11b; Isa. 29:15; Luke 12:2).

   • Prevent Israel from handing Gaza over to the Palestinian Authority, regardless of what US President Biden wants (Isa. 8:9-10), and instead let Israel repossess Gaza which is a part of Judah's God-given inheritance (Josh. 15:1, 47; Judg. 1:18; Zeph. 2:6-7).

3. Government & society:

   God has brought some good out of this horrible situation (Rom. 8:28). More Israelis now openly reject any type of "land for peace" deal with the Palestinians. This need to be clearly stated by Israel's political leaders and that is one of the goals of the first prayer below.

   • Lord God, again we ask You to raise up many more Sons of Zion, and either change or replace every Son of Greece, in Israel's current and its future governments (Psa. 118:8-9; Zech. 9:13).

   • In fact Abba, raise up more Sons of Zion throughout Israeli society (Prov. 29:18; Isa. 1:25-27).

   • Strengthen PM Bibi Netanyahu to resist the world's pressure as to what Israel must do both during, and after, the war against Hamas (Prov. 8:15-16; 21:1), and to seek You instead (Job 5:8; Hos. 3:5).

   • If he has acted like a Son of Greece in bowing to the pressure from anyone, either inside or outside of Israel, please turn him back to Your Word, or turn him out of office (Psa. 80:3, 7, 17-19).

   • Almighty God, comfort Your people who have lost loved ones, who will lose loved ones in the near future, whose loved ones remain hostages or their fate is still unknown (Psa. 34:18; 38:8; 147:3).

   • Cause Israel's economy to grow during this time, and use this financial miracle to turn many Israelis to You (Psa. 35:27; 118:25; 122:7; Jer. 33:9; Zech. 1:17).

   • Let the Hamas attack convince all Israelis that dividing Your land results in war, death and ruin, and turn them once-and-for-all away from this anti-biblical mindset (Joel 3:1-2).

   • Also use this attack to obliterate the "two-state-solution" golden calf and strengthen Israel to resist the pressure of most of the world who sees that as the final solution (Lev. 25:23; Num. 23:23-24).

   • We thank You for Israel's improved public relations during this war, and pray for You to continue to anoint Israel's spokespersons, even putting Your words in their mouths (Psa. 81:10; Matt. 10:18-19).

   • Yet let Israel add to this the exposure to the world of the support of the Palestinian Authority and of most Palestinians in Judea and Samaria for the October 7th Hamas atrocities (Job 15:17; Isa. 21:6).

   • Continue using Israel's UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan to rebuke the lies spoken there (Gal. 4:16).

   • Show Israel how to respond to any "allies" who have become open enemies as a result of the Jewish nation defending itself – like Turkey, Jordan, South Africa, and Russia (Job 19:14; Isa. 40:17).

4. Internal security:

   Israel's security forces are battling Hamas and other terrorists in Judea and Samaria with great success. Still, most of the terrorists freed in that exchange deal were allowed to return to their homes in these areas instead of being deported to Gaza.

   • Abba, we grieve over the terror attack in Jerusalem which killed four Israelis this past week, yet as Israel stops approximately three terrorist attempts daily, it reminds us of how faithful and protective You are in the face of Israel's ruthless enemies (Psa. 121:4).

   • Thank You Lord for how You protect Israel through the IDF (Isa. 41:10-16; Ezek. 37:10).

   • Lord God of hosts, let more Sons of Zion permeate all areas of Israel's military (Psa. 118:6-14).

   • Maintain Israel's internal battle against Arab terrorists until all Hamas members, and other terrorists residing there, are either captured or killed (Obad. 1:18; Zech. 12:6).

   • Render harmless every terrorist who is being freed from Israeli prisons at this time (Ex. 15:3-5).

   • As in the Torah portion, let Your terror rest on all of Israel's foes in Judea and Samaria (Gen. 35:5).

   • Protect Israel's spies and collaborators, both inside and outside of Your land (Gen. 27:29; Psa. 17:8).

   • Spread Your protection over all Israelis living in Your land (Psa. 33:18-19; 50:3; Joel 3:16).

   • Send forth divine protection on Israel's roads against both terror attacks and accidents (Psa. 121:8).

   • Let the war convince Israel to extend its sovereignty over more of Your land (Isa. 49:19-20; 54:2-3).

   • As it states in the prophetic portion, let Israel be bold to possess its possessions (Obad. 1:17b).

5. External security:

   Iran fights against Israel today through its various proxies surrounding it: Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza, Hizbullah in Lebanon, and those in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

   • Guide Israel in its response to the numerous attacks from Hizbullah and Hamas in Lebanon against its northern communities (Ezek. 25:14; Jer. 51:20-24).

   • Use our prayers as arrows striking the floor and remove off of the IDF any ungodly restraints, like those from America, against striking Hizbullah, and instead let them do Your will (2 Kin. 13:15-17).

   • Send out spirits of confusion and paranoia into Hizbullah's leaders minds (Job 5:12-14; Isa. 19:14a)

   • Lord, lure Hizbullah into Your trap and then release the IDF to destroy them (Mic. 4:11-13).

   • We praise You Lord Yeshua, for building Your throne in Elam [ancient Iran] through the notable growth of the Iranian Body of believers (Jer. 49:38a; Matt. 16:18b).

   • Arise now and fulfill the other part of Jeremiah 49:38 and remove Iran's current leadership.

   • Protect and mature the Iranian Body, and use them as salt and light (Psa. 121:3; Matt.5:13-16).

   • Encourage them to pray for their nation (1 Tim. 2:1-4), and for Israel (Gen. 12:3a; Psa. 122:6).

   • Let the overwhelming pride and demonic hatred towards Israel and the Jews of both Iran's and their proxies' leaders hasten their total destruction (Obad. 1:3-4 in the prophetic portion).

   • Lord swallow up every one of Iran's nuclear facilities (Isa. 24:19-21; Nah. 1:5).

   • Lord, let this warning against Israel's foes from Shabbat's prophetic portion be declared by Your Body to their nations: For the day of YHWH is near upon all the nations: as you have done, so shall it be done to you: your reward shall return upon your own head. (Obad. 1:15)

6. Aliyah:

   God is regathering His people for His holy name's sake (Ezek. 36:22-24; Luke 11:2). If believers are unaware of this then there is a huge black hole in their understanding of end-time events.

   • Lord, make the Jewish Agency chairman's expectations that one million new Jewish immigrants will return as a direct result of the dramatic rise of antisemitism come true (Isa. 43:5-7; Rom. 8:28).

   • Let Israel take this scenario seriously and get ready today for tomorrow's huge influx (Deut. 30:3-5).

   • Help Israel to extend her tent pegs in the Negev, the Galilee and the Golan (Isa. 54:3-4).

   • Use the current precarious rise of Jew-hatred and vicious anti-Zionist actions in the nations to turn Jewish hearts and minds back to Jerusalem (Psa. 137:4-6; Zech. 8:7-8).

   • Remove the false hope from many who think that their comfortable life in exile will return to what it once was, reminding them of the many German Jews who harbored that same false hope (Isa. 52:2).

   • Shame Jews in exile who are looking to the gentiles to protect them (Ezra 8:22), yet they can return home and be protected in a Jewish State by its exceedingly great army (Ezek. 37:10).

   • Encourage them to come today while they can still bring their finances (Isa. 60:9).

   • Instead of building in exile, bring many home to help You to build up Your nation (Psa. 147:2).

   • Raise up more believers who perceive that this is the time to carry Your people home (Isa. 49:22).

   • Encourage believers' to encourage and help their Jewish friends and acquaintances to return to Israel as soon as possible (Psa. 126:1-3; Isa. 60:3-11; Rom. 15:25-27).

   • Fulfill Hosea 11:10-11 in the prophetic portion and roar so loudly that Your children in the West return and find that You have already prepared houses in which they can settle.

   • May some of the houses be from the EU's illegal building for Palestinians in Area C (Deut. 6:10-11).

7. Salvation:

   When "all Israel" is saved, God receives all the glory (Psa. 79:10; 85:9; Isa. 46:13)! Of course, for that to happen, "all Israel" needs to be alive, and so Israel's salvation is one of our main goals whenever we pray for its security.

   • YHWH, save Your people, the remnant of Israel (Jer. 31:7). We specifically ask You Lord, to save all of Hamas' remaining hostages, Jewish and gentile; the hostages who have already been set free and have gone through hell while being in captivity; hostages' families and friends, especially those who are not sure if their loved one is still alive; IDF soldiers and officers of every rank in every division; Israeli politicians who are making life and death decisions daily; Israel's diplomats in the nations; Jews displaced from their homes in Israel; Jews in exile among the nations who are now very anxious about their safety; Holocaust survivors, especially those in exile who see that what happened in Germany in the 1930s is basically repeating itself in the world today.

   • Lord Yeshua, reveal Yourself to all survivors of the Hamas pogroms and pour forth into their minds and hearts Your healing and peace (Psa. 3:5; 23:4; Isaiah 30:26; 61:2b-3).

   • Anoint believing soldiers to provoke others to jealousy by their love for You (Rom. 11:11, 14).

   • Let this war be a death blow against the spirit of Islam (Psa. 68:20-21), and may one of the glorious results of an Israeli victory be the salvation of multitudes of Muslims (Psa. 83:16-18; Matt. 5:44).

8. Body of Messiah:

   It is important for the Body to take its place on the walls of Jerusalem at this time, with a sword in one hand and a building tool in the other (Neh. 4:17).

   • Gift Your Body, with more Sons of Zion and replace all Sons of Greece (Zech. 9:13; Eph. 4:8).

   • Show believers that hating evil is part of how we express our love for, and fear of, You (Psa. 97:10a; 139:21-24; Prov. 8:13; Amos 5:15a; Rom. 12:9b).

   • Give us wisdom to know what You call evil and what You see as good (Psa. 38:20; Isa. 5:20).

   • Wake up more believers to understand how vital it is for them to stand in the gap in intercession for their nation's relationship with Israel's today (Isa. 60:12; Ezek. 22:30-31; Zech. 12:9).

   • Use Israel's war to draw believers to study the Tanach in order to get some idea of what You are doing to fulfill Your prophetic word in our day (Isa. 8:20; Jer. 8:7-9; Zech. 12:2-3; 2 Pet. 1:19).

   • Teach us to use Your Word to judge what they read in the media (Psa. 119:144; John 17:17).

   • Help us to see that we do not need to defend You, but to simply declare who You are (Acts 4:23-31).

   • King Yeshua, rid Your Body of any anti-Semitic and anti-Zionistic tendencies (Eph. 5:27).

9. Water:

   There has been more rain over Israel this past week. Hallelujah!

   • As You control the weather, we ask You to use it for Your purposes today (Ex. 9:18; Job 38:22-23).

   • Father, give Israel all the water it needs – especially at this time (Deut. 11:11-12; Matt. 5:35).

10. IFI:

    Thank you for lifting us up in prayer as this war is a constant stress on our minds and hearts. Pray for us not to be discouraged or exhausted, but to keep our eyes on Yeshua who has already overcome the world (John 16:33).

Shabbat shalom and blessings from Jerusalem

Chuck Cohen, for the IFI team

Isa. 12:1-6