Prayer for the Middle East
The following suggestions come from The Venerable Mones Farah, an archdeacon in St David’s diocese, who grew up in Nazareth.
Tearfund has also set up an emergency appeal to help local churches provide vital aid to those impacted by the humanitarian crisis; click on the image (right) to find out more.
Pray for yourself
When you come to prayer, pray first for yourself. Pray that your heart won’t separate Israel and Palestine, Palestine and Israel, so that you enter before God totally wanting God’s love and goodness to be released in the situation.
Pray against fear and blame
This conflict has been going on for the last 76 years. Pray that people will begin to see one another as fellow human beings and will not fear or blame each other. Pray against the spirit of fear and blame.
Pray for the families
Pray for the families and loved ones of those who have been taken hostage and those who have lost their lives or been injured, on both sides. Pray for those who are worried, anxious and grieving.
Pray for an end to the conflict
Pray for an immediate end to the hostility. Pray for people to stop using words of hatred, which undermine each other and make the other side seem less than human. The end of hostility is not just about stopping the firing of bullets, rockets and army incursion – it starts first with the heart and then the mind and the way we speak about each other.
Pray for the peace-makers
Pray for all those who are working for peace, on both sides. Pray that they will take their call to be peacemakers very seriously. Within that, pray for the local churches, Jewish and Arabic. Pray for faithful Muslims and for Jewish leaders who will talk the conversation of peace and of justice. This conflict needs to come to an end and you need peacemakers to begin to have that conversation.
Pray for those under siege
Pray that the siege in Gaza will be short, especially in relation to food, water, essential amenities and utilities. Gaza has suffered for so long and cannot sustain further suffering. Pray too for the Israeli populations, especially around Gaza, that they will not continue to live in fear, staying in protected areas of their buildings and bomb shelters, but they will be able to move in freedom.
Pray for the children
Remember always the youngsters, the children, who cannot articulate what is going on. Pray for those being held hostage and those living with great fear of bombardment on both sides.
Pray for clarity
This is a complex and difficult conflict. But the complexity can be dealt with if we stop saying it is complex and just begin to say it is difficult because when we say ‘complex’ we cannot deal with it. So pray for clarity for how to move forward for both sides.
Copyright © 2007-2023 The Representative Body of the Church in Wales. All Rights Reserved.
The following suggestions come from The Venerable Mones Farah, an archdeacon in St David’s diocese, who grew up in Nazareth.
Tearfund has also set up an emergency appeal to help local churches provide vital aid to those impacted by the humanitarian crisis; click on the image (right) to find out more.
Pray for yourself
When you come to prayer, pray first for yourself. Pray that your heart won’t separate Israel and Palestine, Palestine and Israel, so that you enter before God totally wanting God’s love and goodness to be released in the situation.
Pray against fear and blame
This conflict has been going on for the last 76 years. Pray that people will begin to see one another as fellow human beings and will not fear or blame each other. Pray against the spirit of fear and blame.
Pray for the families
Pray for the families and loved ones of those who have been taken hostage and those who have lost their lives or been injured, on both sides. Pray for those who are worried, anxious and grieving.
Pray for an end to the conflict
Pray for an immediate end to the hostility. Pray for people to stop using words of hatred, which undermine each other and make the other side seem less than human. The end of hostility is not just about stopping the firing of bullets, rockets and army incursion – it starts first with the heart and then the mind and the way we speak about each other.
Pray for the peace-makers
Pray for all those who are working for peace, on both sides. Pray that they will take their call to be peacemakers very seriously. Within that, pray for the local churches, Jewish and Arabic. Pray for faithful Muslims and for Jewish leaders who will talk the conversation of peace and of justice. This conflict needs to come to an end and you need peacemakers to begin to have that conversation.
Pray for those under siege
Pray that the siege in Gaza will be short, especially in relation to food, water, essential amenities and utilities. Gaza has suffered for so long and cannot sustain further suffering. Pray too for the Israeli populations, especially around Gaza, that they will not continue to live in fear, staying in protected areas of their buildings and bomb shelters, but they will be able to move in freedom.
Pray for the children
Remember always the youngsters, the children, who cannot articulate what is going on. Pray for those being held hostage and those living with great fear of bombardment on both sides.
Pray for clarity
This is a complex and difficult conflict. But the complexity can be dealt with if we stop saying it is complex and just begin to say it is difficult because when we say ‘complex’ we cannot deal with it. So pray for clarity for how to move forward for both sides.
Copyright © 2007-2023 The Representative Body of the Church in Wales. All Rights Reserved.