1. Praise:

   In Shabbat's Torah portion, Jacob calls God by various different names. In Hebraic thinking, names refer to essential nature and/or reputation. Jacob's various descriptions of his God demonstrate that his difficult life enabled him to know the Lord in a very personal and amazing way.

   • Lord God, we are blessed to hear Jacob confess You as the One who shepherded him during his sojourn on earth (Gen. 48:15), and since You do not change (Mal. 3:6), we bless You for how You have been faithful to also feed us – both physically and spiritually (Matt. 6:26).

   • Lord Yeshua, we rejoice that Jacob mentioned the Angel who redeemed me from all evil, (Gen. 48:16), and confess that You have also become our Redeemer (Luke 1:68; Gal. 3:13; Tit. 2:13-14).

   • Thank You for Jacob recognizing You as his personal God when He calls You the Mighty God of Jacob, and that he also adds that You are the Shepherd Stone of Israel (Gen. 49:24).

   • We praise You for again reading in the Torah portion of Joseph not negating his brothers sin against him, but declaring that God used it for good, to save many people (Gen. 50:19-20; Rom. 8:28).

2. Government & society:

   Our prayers for Israel's political and military leaders are having an impact as many are acting more like sons and daughters of Zion. We see this as they think more in line with God's will which is a huge encouragement for us to continue to intercede for them.

   • King Messiah, thank You for showing us to trust in You and not in Israel's leaders, yet as they lead Your nation by Your will today, also show us how to pray for them (Psa. 10:17; Prov. 15:29).

   • Almighty God, show Israel's political leaders how great their need is to seek You for guidance and wisdom and that this is received by studying Your Word (Deut. 17:18-20; Psa. 1:2; Jer. 15:16).

   • God, completely heal PM Bibi Netanyahu from his recent operation, and give him rest (Psa. 103:3).

   • Abba, while Bibi is less active, reveal to him further wisdom to lead Your nation (Dan. 2:21).

   • Remove from him the fear of delegating to others, especially as he must do this now (Ex. 18:17-24).

   • Abba Father, give him godly advisors and the ability to truly hear them (Prov. 11:14; 24:6).

   • Messiah Yeshua, impart Your "perfect peace" to all traumatized Israelis (Isa. 61:1-3; Matt. 5:4).

   • Lord God who sets the prisoners free, release Israel from the snare which Hamas has over its society because of their holding Israel's hostages captive (Psa. 124:6-7; 146:7b; Zech. 9:11-12).

   • Abba, You helped Abraham and David rescue all of their hostages, so we ask You to help the IDF to do exactly that today (Gen. 14:14-16; 1 Sam. 30:18-20).

   • God Almighty, do not allow Israel to settle for anything less in any hostage deal than a release of all of its remaining hostages – both living and dead (Gen. 14:14-16; 1 Sam. 30:18-20).

   • Turn the hostage families rage away from Bibi, and turn them to cry out to You (Psa. 86:7).

   • Let these devastated families receive what US Secretary of State Blinken just openly stated that the reason why the hostages are still in captivity is Hamas' fault and not Netanyahu's (Prov. 28:13).

   • Sovereign Lord, harden Hamas' hearts to reject any hostage deal that is bad for Israel (Ex. 7:13-14).

   • Abba Father, continue sustaining Israel's economy while it fights a multi-front war (Psa. 132:13-15).

3. Foreign relations:

   Much of the world's focus is on the inauguration of Donald Trump on Jan. 20th as the next America president. Many in Israel are looking forward to this, trusting that he will free their nation to deal more firmly with Hamas and the rest of its enemies. Yet Trump is just a man and we must look to Israel's God who is in total control over His nation – and the world (Psa. 103:19).

   • Our Father, may Your foreign policy be established on earth as it is in heaven (Luke 11:2).

   • God, may the time when Israel will be the head of the nations come quickly (Deut. 26:19; 28:13).

   • Frustrate all anti-Israel moves by US President Biden in his last days in office (Psa. 141:9-10).

   • Abba Father, surround Trump with advisors who will not be afraid to warn him against dealing with Israel as if it were just any other nation (Deut. 7:6-9; Psa. 135:4; Isa. 41:8).

   • Lord, in issues relating to Israel, let Trump see that Bibi's opinion is most likely more correct than his opinion and to accept that – especially when they are not on the same page (Prov. 29:23).

   • Put Your words in the mouths of Israeli politicians and diplomats as they speak (Jer. 1:9; 23:29).

   • Make Gideon Sa'ar, Israel's Foreign Minister, wise and fearless whenever he speaks (Luke 1:74).

   • Use Dr. Yechiel Leiter, Israel's next US Ambassador, as Your mouthpiece (Prov. 16:1; Jer. 10:23).

   • Lord God, help Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon, and America's new UN Ambassador Elise Stefanik, to develop excellent working relations and to encourage one another (Isa, 52:8).

   • Sovereign Lord, surround Israeli diplomats in the nations with Christian Zionists who will support and encourage them by speaking the truth of Your Word (Psa. 40:10; 43:3a; 86:1; 98:3; John 17:17).

   • Messiah Yeshua, use Your Body to openly warn their birth-nations that Your prophesied judgments are on many of them because of how they relate to Israel (Num. 24:9b; Joel 3:1-2; Obad. 1:15-16).

4. "Operation Swords of Iron:"

   Hamas is manipulating the ceasefire-hostage negotiations to inflict grievous mental and emotional harm to Israelis. While this needs to come to an end, yet even in the face of intense internal and external pressures, we are grateful that God has given Bibi a "stiff-neck" to wage war against Hamas and to see its rule over Gaza destroyed.

   • Lord God, refresh our burden and vision to intercede for the Gaza war in 2025 (Psa. 92:9-15).

   • Abba Father, fulfill Psalm 10:16 to Hamas and all other terrorist groups in Gaza (Job 38:13).

   • God Almighty, set Israel free of all unbiblical influences, and let it fight against its foes in a biblical manner – looking to You to lead it into battle (Psa. 18:36-40; 44:4).

   • God, download new tactics and strategies to the IDF in its war in Gaza (Psa. 18:34).

   • Remove the weariness of this war from off the IDF and the rest of Israeli society and let them be determined to see this through to a complete victory over Hamas (Psa. 44:5-8; 60:11-12; 68:35).

   • Abba, continue to guard over the IDF against Hamas attacks and traps, all kidnapping attempts, and against friendly fire and any other types of accidents (Psa. 4:8; Zech. 9:16; 10:5-8).

   • Lord God, show more Israelis, including Netanyahu, their biblical responsibility to repossess Gaza which is part of the tribe of Judah's inheritance (Josh. 15:1, 47; Judg. 1:18; Prov. 16:9).

5. Internal security:

   Our burden for 2025 is for Israel to obey God and extend its tent-pegs over more of its land (Isa. 54:2-3). Only in doing this will Israelis have more security in their land – until Messiah returns (which could be a lot sooner than most of us dare to believe).

   • Lord God of Israel, use Genesis 48:3-4 and 50:24 in the Torah reading to build up the faith of Jews – both inside and outside of Israel – that You have already deeded them the land forever.

   • Abba Father, multiply the many Israelis who are demanding that Israel extends its sovereignty over more of their God-given land west of the Jordan River (Gen. 13:15; 1:18; Psa. 105:4-11).

   • Lord Yeshua, speak to Your Body to increase their intercessions for this to happen (1 John 5:14-15).

   • Lord God, anoint Mike Huckabee, Trump's Ambassador to Israel, with insight and chutzpah to speak out on what the Bible says about God's desire for Israel's to possess its possessions (Obad. 1:17-20).

   • God of Israel, as the deaths from terrorism originating in Samaria are on the rise, let this push Israel to extend its sovereignty over more of that part of their land (Gen. 17:8; 22:17; Psa. 44:3; Jer. 32:44).

   • Abba Father, move upon Israel to restore its security checkpoints which were removed from areas that Palestinians pass through in order to make life easier for them (Psa. 121:8; Prov. 3:29).

   • Lord of hosts, send forth Your angelic armies to battle against the spiritual forces of Israel's enemies as Israel battles against them here on earth (2 Kin. 6:16-17; 2 Chr. 32:7-8; 1 Chr. 15:46).

   • Prevent Israel from being more merciful with its enemies than is Your will (Psa. 18:25-27; 97:10a).

   • God, also forbid Israel from ever thinking that the Palestinian Authority's security forces might be a help to protect Jews against other Palestinian terrorist groups (Psa. 120:7; Lam. 1:2).

   • Lord, increase the fight raging between PA security forces and Hamas in Samaria today (Hag. 2:22).

   • God, place armed civilians to be in the right place at the right time to stop any terrorist (Josh. 4:12).

6. 1. External security – Middle East [ME]:

      Iran's immediate "ring of fire" surrounding Israel has disintegrated. While the Houthis in Yemen pose a serious threat, they are not directly on the borders of Israel as Hamas, Hizbullah and as was Assad's Syrian army. The Iranian regime has lost their huge financial investments in these groups and has been openly shamed before the world and other Muslim nations. Yet this open shame makes them very dangerous as they could speed up their nuclear arms program in order to regain their honor and influence and provide them with protection.

      • Thank You for the billions of dollars Iran invested in Assad's regime and in Iran's weapons factories in Syria which have now all gone up in smoke (Psa. 144:4-6; Joel 2:30; Nah. 2:13)! More, Lord!

      • Let Russia's and China's financial dealings with Iran turn to dust (Prov. 11:21a; 16:5).

      • As Iran has built its nuclear facilities underground, Lord, watch over Nahum 1:5a against these sites.

      • Lord, sovereignly destroy Iran's nuclear facilities (Psa. 54:5; 137:8; Isa. 34:8), or if You want Israel to do it, guide the timing and tactics of any Israeli attack (Psa. 44:4; Prov. 21:31; Jer. 51:20-25).

      • Arise, Lord, against the Houthis and send forth Your Angel to war against them (Psa. 35:1-6; 68:1).

      • Watch over Jeremiah 49:38b and destroy Iran's political, military and religious leadership (Jer. 1:12).

      • We praise You that up to now all Israeli jets have returned home safely, regardless of where they went, and we ask that by Your gracious mercy this would continue (Psa. 121:4; Isa. 31:5).

      • Lord, maintain Israel's distrust towards Syria's new Sunni Muslim radical leaders and let it continue to destroy anything that could be used against it which Assad's army, or Iran, abandoned (Psa. 27:11).

      • God most wise, impart divine wisdom to Israel's intelligence services to know what the new Syrian leadership is thinking and planning concerning Israel and the Jews in general (2 Kin. 6:8-12).

      • Keep Israel in the areas it has taken in Syria, as they are all part of the Promised Land (Gen. 15:18).

      • Lord, set Sunni Turkey and Syria against Shi'ite Iran – both politically and militarily (Psa. 55:9).

      • Expose any anti-Israel plans of Turkey's anti-Christ-like leader Erdogan (Prov. 5:21; Jer. 32:19).

      • Let all of Erdogan's curses against Israel come back to haunt him (Num. 24:9b; Gal. 6:7)

      • Sovereign Lord, let multitudes of Muslims see how useless Allah is in guarding his servants from You and Your nation, and so shame them that they seek Your face (Est. 8:17; Psa. 83:16-18).

   2. External security – Lebanon:

      The IDF will likely not pull out of South Lebanon at the end of the 60 day ceasefire, sometime around Jan. 26th. Lebanon's army is supposed to cover that area and they are far from accomplishing that at this time. Hizbullah is supposed to retreat north of the Latani River, yet there are signs of it trying to reestablish itself back in the south.

      • Instead of negotiating a 30 day extension of the ceasefire, press Israel to do what it said it would do if Hizbullah did not retreat north of the Latani River, and restart the war against them (Psa. 46:6-9).

      • God, as priests (1 Pet. 2:9) we ask You to fulfill Joel 2:17-21 and remove Hizbullah far away from Israel's northern border (Mal. 1:5), and strip off all of Hizbullah's satanic protection.

      • Almighty One, continue to guide the IDF to find and destroy Hizbullah's remaining weapons stores, missile launchers, and attack tunnels in south Lebanon (2 Chr. 16:9; Isa. 54:17a; Ezek. 39:9).

      • Lord of hosts; guide Israel's "arrows" to pierce through its enemies (Num. 24:8; Psa. 45:5).

      • We thank You God that the Syrian regime's demise helped to answer our prayers to wipe out the paths through Syria which Iran had used to resupply Hizbullah's weapons (Judg. 5:20-22; Isa. 59:7).

      • As the Lebanese see Hizbullah weakened, God of all nations, cause them to rise up and release their nation from the control of this Shi'ite Islamic terrorist organization (Psa. 29:5-6; Prov. 28:15).

7. Aliyah:

   God is regathering the scattered Jews for His holy name's sake (Isa. 43:5-7; Jer. 31:10; Ezek. 36:22-24). Yet while this is clearly His will, He desires for His Body to co-labor with Him by interceding for this to be fulfilled (Ezek. 36:37; Amos 3:7).

   • We bless You Abba, for the aliyah being an open witness to the world of Your faithfulness to fulfill Your promises to Israel (Isa. 43:12; Heb. 10:23b).

   • God, thank You that 31,000 people made aliyah in 2024 (Ezek. 11:15-20). More Lord in 2025!

   • Abba Father, draw Your people home on the wings of Your mercy and grace (Isa. 54:7; Jer. 31:3).

   • Lord, use the explosive increase of Western anti-Semitism to increase the aliyah (Jer. 16:16).

   • Set all Jews free who are mentally and emotionally trapped in the exile (Psa. 107:14-16; 137:4-6).

   • Do this, Lord God, in part by giving them dreams – even nightmares – to show them it is time for them and their families to come home to Israel (Joel 2:28b; Amos 3:8; Zech. 10:8-10).

   • God Almighty, turn Jewish leaders from struggling for their "right" to live in "peace and safety" in gentile nations to battle for them and their communities to make aliyah (Jer. 51:9-10).

   • Shut all doors to other nations where Jews might go, and open wide the doors in Israel (Isa. 22:22).

   • Show Jews who want to make aliyah where to obtain or find all the needed paperwork (Psa. 23:1-3).

   • Bless You for Foreign Minister Sa'ar pushing Israel to prepare for a massive aliyah (Jer. 31:8).

   • Lord Yeshua, speak to the huge mountain which hinders aliyah for many Jews, which is the rabbinic definition of who is a Jew, and replace it with the biblical definition (Isa. 62:10; Mark 7:9, 13).

   • Lord Yeshua, reveal to Your Body that the aliyah is a main aspect of Your will being done on the earth today (Isa. 43:5-7; Jer. 32:41; Matt. 6:10).

   • God of Israel, move upon wealthy Jews and Christians to give abundantly to finance both the aliyah and the successful integration of new immigrants into Israeli society (Ezra 1:4; Isa. 60:9).

8. Salvation:

   God speaks to the watchmen of Jeremiah 31:6, and tells them (31:7) to ask Him, YHWH, save Your people, the remnant of Israel" (Jer. 31:7b). "Watchmen" [notzrim] is the Hebrew word for "Christians" today, so we can pray this with great confidence (1 John 5:14-15).

   • Messiah Yeshua, teach born-again gentiles that Romans 1:16 and 11:11 are still applicable today.

   • Turn many Jews to call out to You at this time of increased global hatred against them (Psa. 86:5).

   • King Yeshua, in Israel and in the nations, show Yourself to Your people (Isa. 45:15), and as Joseph did take off Your "Egyptian" garments and declare to them that You are their brother (Gen. 45:1-3).

   • Lord God, please fulfill Zechariah 12:10 and release Your spirit of grace on You people who are in Your land today, causing multitudes to recognize Your Son (Zech. 12:10; Acts 19:20).

   • Lord Yeshua, let the light of Your glory shine brightly through all believing Israelis at this time and use them to provoke other Israelis to jealousy (Matt. 5:14-16; Rom. 11:14).

   • God, show secret Israeli believers when and how they need to confess You openly (Matt. 10:32).

   • [Ask God which specific group or groups of Jews He desires for you to pray about at this time.]

9. Body of Messiah:

   I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse [i.e. make little of; denigrate; make despicable, treat with contempt and despise] you. (Gen. 12:3a). Believers need to know that this promise of God to Abraham and his seed still applies. "Cursing" Israel (Num. 24:9b) or the Jews brings a curse on the Body and creates a gap for deception to enter in and often be received as if it were of God – like replacement or fulfillment theology!

   • Lord Yeshua, warn believers to reject all proud or racist attitudes towards unsaved Jews and instead to bless them as Your Spirit directs (Prov. 8:13; Isa. 37:23; Rom. 11:17-18, 22).

   • Show gentile believers that it makes more sense for a Jew to receive Yeshua than for a gentile as gentiles must be cut out of their wild trees and grafted into Israel's cultivated olive tree, whereas Jews are simply grafted back into their own tree (Rom. 11:16-24)!

   • God, expose replacement theology as a demonic, anti-Christ, and Jew-hating teaching (1 Tim. 4:1).

   • Lord Yeshua, set over Your flock anointed shepherds to teach and preach from all of Your Word, and who will not shy away from declaring Your eternal love for Israel (Acts 20:27; Eph.4:11-14).

   • Abba Father, open the eyes of the Body to see that Israel's modern restoration and its salvation is essential in Your preparation of Your Son's glorious return (Zech. 12:2-10; Matt. 23:37-39; 24:30).

   • Blessed Redeemer, let Your children see You as the Lamb of God (John 1:29, 36), the Lion of Judah (Joel 3:16; Rev. 5:5), and as still that Man of War today (Ex. 15:3; Isa. 42:13).

10. Water:

    While Israel is not in a water crisis, thanks to desalination, it is experiencing a lack of rain which negatively impacts its wilderness and farmlands. Please pray for God to bring the rain to refresh the land and fill up the Sea of Galilee, and ask Him to show Israelis that this as a sign of His mercy on His people (Isa. 41:17-20; Matt. 5:45b).

11. IFI:

    As the battle over Israel intensifies, both in heaven and on earth, we need to hear our Shepherd's voice to guide us in prayer. The best way you can help is to pray for us to be able to do just that. May you also be able to hear His voice with more precision at this season.

Thank you and Shabbat shalom from Jerusalem

Chuck Cohen, for the IFI team

Num. 6:24-26