1. Praise:

    The power of intercession which is focused on God's glory and His reputation – His name – is clearly seen in Shabbat's Torah portion. Moses interceded before God to turn away His righteous anger against the children of Israel who had built and were worshipping a golden calf (Ex. 32:11-14). As the Psalmist wrote centuries later, [God] said He would destroy them, had not Moses His chosen stood before Him in the gap, to turn away His wrath… (Psa. 106:23a).

    • Thank You for all the examples of intercessors You provide in scripture – from Abraham, to Moses, and David, and many of the prophets, as well as Yeshua Himself and His disciples (1 Tim. 2:1).

    • We praise You, Lord, for hearing and answering many of our prayers (Prov. 15:8b; 1 John 5:14-15).

    • We are so thankful that we can, like Moses did, remind You of Your promises and covenants and be bold with You to fulfill them – for Your name's sake (Deut. 9:24-29; Heb. 4:16).

    • We bless You Messiah Yeshua for encouraging us to have faith and persist in prayer (Luke 18:1-8).

    • Thank You for revealing to us how the fervent prayer of the righteous is heard by You (Jam. 5:16b).

    • We are so grateful for Your intercession for us for our salvation to be perfected (Heb. 7:25).

    • Praise You for revealing Yourself in this Torah portion as a God whose essential nature is like a Father jealous over His family – which today is both Israel and the Body of Messiah (Ex. 34:14).

  2. Government & society:

    Our prayers for God to move on Israel's government to act more like the Sons of Zion (Zech. 9:13) are having an effect. PM Bibi Netanyahu and his coalition partners have taken some strong stances on issues that are vital for Israel even when their decisions have upset other nations. This is a great encouragement for us to persist in prayer.

    • Abba Father, manifest Your jealous care and concern over Your nation today (Zech. 1:14; 8:2).

    • We bless You that the coalition and most of the Knesset [Israel's Parliament] have rejected plans of many nations to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian State on Your land (1 Kin. 15:5, 11; 22:43).

    • We also praise You for the coalition approving the expansion of certain settlements as a response to last week's terror attack between Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim (Isa. 54:2-3).

    • Speak to the coalition to be strong and courageous and to possess the rest of their land (Josh. 1:3-6).

    • Continue to use Netanyahu for Your purposes until You say his time is over (Eccl. 3:1-2; Dan. 2:21).

    • Position sons of Zion and sons of Issachar to be his advisors (1 Chr. 12:32; Psa. 80:17; Prov. 12:15).

    • Stop Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot from playing political games and either turn them into Sons of Zion or turn them out of the war cabinet and emergency unity government (Job 5:13; Psa. 1:1).

    • Abba, pour out Your comfort on Israelis whose loved ones have been murdered or sexually abused by Hamas, or who are still hostages whose fate is as yet unknown (Isa. 12:1-2; 61:1-3).

    • Release Israel from being held hostage by Hamas because of the hostages they hold (Psa. 116:16).

    • Let Israel demand "proof-of-life" in any hostage deal, as no one knows how many are still alive.

    • Turn hostages' families' anger against Hamas and away from Bibi, the government or the majority of Israelis who see defeating Hamas as Israel's number one priority (Psa. 76:10; Eccl. 5:2; Jam. 1:19-20).

    • Block any spirit of division and anarchy from resurfacing in Israeli society (Ex. 23:2; Isa. 11:13-14).

    • Clothe released soldiers with grace and peace as they reunite with their families (Num. 6:24-27).

    • Lord God, continue to bless Israel's economy during this war (Gen. 26:12; Psa. 67:6-7).

    • Abba, we again ask for You to fulfill Your promise in Isaiah 1:25-27 as quickly as possible.

    • Let Elijah's question in the prophetic portion confront Israeli society today: How long will you halt between two opinions? If YHWH be God, follow Him: but if Ba'al, then follow him. (1 Kin. 18:21a)

  3. Foreign relations:

    Most unfulfilled end-time prophecies highlight Israel's relations with other nations. So it does not shock us, although it is infuriating, that nations still press Israel to divide God's land to create "Palestine". They seem unfazed that every poll taken since October 7th show support for Hamas has risen with a vast majority of Palestinians! Today Israel faces political pressure to submit to this wicked and unbiblical idea, yet as God's chosen nation continues to say no, it will likely come under massive global militarily pressure in the near future.

    • Precious Lord, lead us so that we do not pray against Your will for today (Amos 3:7; Zech. 12:2-3).

    • Messiah Yeshua, stir up Your Body to their spiritual obligation to intercede for their nations (Ezek. 22:30), especially concerning their relations with Israel today (Num. 24:9b; Isa. 60:12; Zech. 12:9).

    • Watch over Psalm 33:10-11 and overturn all anti-biblical plots the world is planning against Israel.

    • Reinforce Israel's rejection of this demonic plan that would basically reward Palestinians for raping, beheading and massacring Jews and taking hundreds of hostages (Job 21:17; 18:5-6; Eccl. 8:13).

    • Lord God, place a huge "No trespassing" sign on Your land in the spirit realm (Lev. 25:23)

    • Anoint Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz and use him for You glory (Psa. 115:1-3).

    • Declare Your truth through Israeli diplomats irrespective of its reception (Mic. 4:1-3; Gal. 4:16).

    • Block the temptation of "normalization" with Saudi Arabia which the US keeps setting before Israel from deceiving Your nation into agreeing with that which is not of You (Num. 23:23; Psa. 124:1-8).

  4. Israel's "War of Independence" is still being fought today. Modern Israel has not experienced true shalom for over 100 years. It wins each war it fights, but it loses the peace because the world has proven that while it honors the memory of dead Jews, it hates Jews who refuse to die! Is this because a strong Jewish State is more proof that God and His Word are alive and active today (Jer. 31:35-37!

    • Reinforce Your angelic hosts who protect Israel today (Josh. 10:11; 2 Chr. 32:7-8), especially as we enter the Islamic holy month of Ramadan which starts either March 10th or 11th (Psa. 34:7; 91:11).

    • Turn Ramadan into a month of terror to Islamic terrorists – both those in Israel and also worldwide (Gen. 35:5; Josh. 2:9; Psa. 73:17-19; Isa. 19:17).

    • Lord of hosts, help Israel gain a great victory in "Operations Swords of Iron" – today's phase of its War of Independence – and restore its deterrence before its enemies (Ezek. 25:15-17).

    • Stiffen Israel's pledge to see Hamas and its rule in Gaza erased (Deut. 33:29; Luke 1:70-74).

    • Let the war end when You say so, and not when any other entity says so (Psa. 31:15; Eccl. 3:1, 8).

    • Aid Israel to manufacture all of the IDF's material needs locally so that it never again has to be in the position of bowing to pressure from any other nation (2 Chr. 26:14-15; Isa. 31:1).

    • Shield all IDF warriors, especially those on the ground in Gaza, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually – and open their eyes to see You doing this (Psa. 3:1-8; 27:1-3).

    • Rock of Israel, protect Your army from friendly fire and other accidents (Psa. 20:1; 91:4).

    • We thank You for their miraculous protection up to this point, as Israel's expectations were for many more soldiers to die in battle (Deut. 20:1-8). [6,000 died in ten months of the War of Independence in 1948; less than 250 so far in more than five months of Swords of Iron!]

    • Anoint them to fight as Sons of Zion and not in a politically-correct unbiblical way (Zech. 9:13-15).

    • God, guide the IDF to find and destroy all remaining tunnels in Gaza (Job 28:11b; 34:21-22).

    • Lord, have the last word regarding Israel's invasion of Rafah, Hamas' final stronghold on the Gaza-Egypt border, and let Israel not be swayed by the fear-mongering of the nations (Prov. 21:30-31).

    • King Messiah, cast down every spiritual power over that Gaza-Egyptian border and lead the IDF to totally conquer it and to remain in complete control of that area after the war (Psa. 18:32-34).

    • Destroy all possibilities of financial gain via smuggling through that border (1 Tim. 6:10a).

    • Continue giving the IDF soldiers discernment to arrest all terrorists who try to escape by blending in with Gaza's civilians (Job 11:20; Psa. 55:23).

    • Lord God, please miraculously set free all remaining living hostages (Isa. 49:24-26; Jer. 32:17, 27), or guide the IDF where they, or their bodies, can be found (Num. 21:1-3).

    • Improve Netanyahu's plan for the "day-after" the war, making it come in line with Your will which is for Israel's to repossess Gaza – as its God-given inheritance (Josh. 15:1, 47; Judg. 1:18).

  5. Internal security:

    Israel fights daily against attempted terror attacks throughout its land. While some succeed, like yesterday's attack by a Palestinian Authority police officer that killed two Jews in Samaria, Israel's security forces stop most of them and pre-empt many others.

    • Allow the war against Hamas and against the terrorists in Judea and Samaria convince Israelis that dividing Your land brings with it only death and ruin (Num. 33:55; Joel 3:1-2).

    • We thank You for using the October 7th massacre to unify most Israelis against having a "Palestine" established in their biblical heartland (Jer. 32:41-44; Rom. 8:28).

    • Let Israel respond to the global push to create a "Palestine" in Your land by extending its sovereign rule over the rest of land – from the river to the sea (Judg. 2:1-5; Job 38:12-13; Psa. 10:16)!

    • Remind Jews again from the Torah portion that You have sworn to give them all the land (Ex. 33:1).

    • Do not let Israel be deceived by the "new" Palestinian Authority government that is still under PA President Abbas and still has not changed its anti-Semitic and anti-Israel charter (Psa. 55:21; 120:7).

    • Show Israel's intelligence services their need to seek You to help them know what is vital and what is not with all the data they collect (Deut. 29:29; Psa. 50:15; Jer. 33:3; Jam. 1:5).

    • Uncover every terrorist plot or terrorist tunnel of which Israel is unaware (Job 12:22).

    • Lord, we ask You to guard over Your Temple Mount in Jerusalem during Ramadan (Isa. 31:5).

    • Give wisdom to the IDF and police on who to let go up on the Mount during that time (Eccl. 9:18).

    • Release Your strategy on how Israel should deal with Arab riots on Your holy hill (1 Sam. 2:10).

    • Lead Israel's security forces to respond strongly to violence anywhere during Ramadan (Psa. 11:5).

    • Lord, save many Palestinians, especially during Ramadan, and turn them into Christian Zionists (Matt. 5:44; Rom. 11:11).

  6. External security:

    Iran's declared goals, "Death to Israel," and "Death to America," expose that its ultimate aim is to rule the world for Allah under Shi'ite Islamic law. Today, Iran wars against Israel by its Middle East proxies – Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, Hizbullah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and various terror groups and its own activities in Syria.

    • Continue preparing Israeli society and the IDF to fight a multi-front war (Psa. 18:34; 27:1-3 ).

    • Fight alongside the IDF to increase the effectiveness of its every attack against Hizbullah (Joel 3:4).

    • Uncover and destroy Hizbullah's widespread tunnel system, as well as its missile and munitions storage sites in Lebanon and anywhere else in the region (Amos 9:2-3).

    • Let Israel perceive that no nation is willing to stop Iran militarily, and so the job of defending itself and the world from a Shi'ite nuke falls on Israel –Your chosen weapon of war (Jer. 51:20-24).

    • Lord, of course we would rather see You deal with Iran sovereignly – and so we ask You to shake it physically, economically, politically, militarily and spiritually (Job 12:12-21; Psa.68:1, 30b)

    • Yet if Israel needs to strike Iran directly, make the results incredibly effective (Ezek. 37:10).

    • We bless You for the growing Body of Messiah in Elam [ancient Iran] (Jer. 49:38a; Matt. 16:18b).

    • Lord God, now arise and fulfill Jeremiah 49:38b and destroy Iran's evil regime (Isa. 55:11).

    • Encourage Iranian believers as they pray for their nation (1 Tim. 2:1-4), and for Israel (Psa. 122:6).

  7. Aliyah:

    The Jews' return to God's land is the necessary biblical sign assuring us that we are in the end-times. God is regathering His scattered people (Jer. 31:10) to save them so that they will be in Jerusalem to welcome the triumphant return of their King Messiah (Matt. 23:39). Yet much of the Western Church is ignorant of this connection because by denigrating the Tanach as not really God's Word today, they miss the essential link between Israel and their Lord, Yeshua!

    • Lord Yeshua, reveal to the Body the biblical connection between the Jews returning to their land and You returning to Jerusalem (Zech. 14:1-4; Matt. 23:39).

    • Abba Father, please have Israel prepared to receive and settle the many millions of Jews You are, in Your zeal, either chasing out of exile or enticing to return home (Isa. 49:17-20; Jer. 16:16; 31:3).

    • Continue tearing down those comfortable cages of the Jews in the West (Isa. 43:5-7; Jer. 51:6-10).

    • Use the huge anti-Israel demonstrations to break apart even the most secure cages (Psa. 106:47).

    • Let the mainstream media faithfully report on the demon-inspired surge of anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish attacks today – especially in the West (Neh. 6:13; Isa. 28:19).

    • Release Your angels to pull Your people out of modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:15-16).

    • Correct the naive thinking of the Jews that the explosion of Jew-hatred is only fleeting, and instead teach them that living in the nations was never meant to be permanent (Deut. 30:3-5; Isa. 49:11-12).

    • Challenge Jewish parents with the choice of having their children in colleges facing anti-Semitic hatred, or having them in IDF uniforms defending the nation of Israel (Deut. 33:29; Psa. 44:4-6).

    • Let the massive uptick of interest in aliyah lead to a definite increase in aliyah (1 Chr. 16:35).

    • Release all the Jews who live in nations which forbid them to leave (Ex. 9:1; Psa. 105:13-15).

    • Bring home the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who live outside of Israel at this time, especially those who have become Messianic believers (Isa. 35:10; 51:11).

    • Firmly root Jews who make aliyah deeply into Your land (Isa. 37:31; Amos 9:15).

    • Strengthen all voices in the Jewish community and in the Church, who see "the handwriting on the walls" and are pleading with Jews they know to make aliyah as soon as possible (Jer. 31:6-10, 15-17).

  8. Salvation:

    God's is bringing His people back home so that they can be shown who their King Messiah is – the Lord Yeshua. What is thrilling is that polls indicate that since the Hamas massacre Israelis are increasingly seeking God. His grace is truly amazing!

    • Lord, save Your people, a large remnant of Israel (Jer. 31:7b).

    • Turn those Jewish sons and daughters of Greece to see You as the King of Zion and be saved.

    • Do not allow those who are seeking You to get stuck in rabbinic Judaism – as for the most part, it has produced too many sons of Greece as opposed to sons of Zion (Psa. 36:9; Isa. 55:6-11).

    • Lord Yeshua, as Joseph did with his brothers (Gen. 45:1-4), reveal Yourself to many Jews and use them to tell their families that You are indeed alive and rule over many gentiles (Gen. 45:24-28).

    • Pour out Your Spirit, giving dreams and visions to Your people throughout the world (Joel 2:28-32).

    • Lord Yeshua, reveal Your Father to a large remnant of Jews living in Judea and Samaria; Holocaust survivors; survivors of October 7th; all living hostages and ex-hostages and their families; IDF soldiers and families; families of soldiers who died in battle; soldiers and civilians permanently handicapped; ultra-Orthodox rabbis, their families and congregations; Israeli politicians and international diplomats; Israelis still out of their homes in the Gaza periphery and the north; Jews and Israelis in exile who are now fearful for their safety; Jews who have rejected Rabbinic Judaism but not You; unsaved loved ones of Messianic Jews (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:24-32; John 14:6).

  9. The Body of Messiah:

    We have come into His kingdom for just a time like this in history (Est. 4:14b). Yet our being useful depends on us focusing on what He is focused. And as He is planting His people back in their land with all of His heart and soul (Jer. 32:41), the restoration of the Jews to the land of Israel needs to have a prominent place in our walk with the Lord.

    • Lord Yeshua, move upon Your Body and give them a love for, and trust in, the only Bible You and the apostles had – the Tanach [Old Testament] (Jer. 15:16; 2 Tim. 3:16-17).

    • Lord, impart revelation for us to see what prophecies You are fulfilling today (Psa. 119:18, 130).

    • Raise up more sons and daughters of Zion in Your Body (Zech. 9:13; Phil. 1:6).

    • Lord, expel from the Body all anti-Semitic and anti-Zionistic spirits (Luke 11:35; Rom. 11:17-18).

    • Also expel the evil doctrines of replacement and fulfillment theology (Isa. 59:19b; 1 Tim. 4:1-2).

    • King Messiah, prevent a spirit of nationalism from turning believers away from their first loyalty, which should be the Kingdom of God – and not their birth nations, or even Israel (Luke 13:28-30).

  10. Water:

    The Sea of Galilee is almost full. Please continue to pray for God's merciful gift of rain to fall on His land and be a witness and encouragement to His people (Isa. 41:17-20; Matt. 5:45b).

  11. IFI:

    We praise God for your prayers. They shield us from that cycle of hope, then despair, then hope again and then deeper despair as we hear the world believing the worst about God's nation when all Israel is doing is defending itself against Satanically-driven terrorists. Your prayers help us to press on even when depressed. Thank you and please continue.

Shabbat shalom and blessings from Jerusalem

Chuck Cohen, for the IFI team

2 Thess. 2:16-17