Sabeel Wave of Prayer: Week of Jan. 16, 2017
Wave of Prayer: This prayer ministry enables local and international friends of Sabeel to pray over regional concerns on a weekly basis. Sent to Sabeel’s network of supporters, the prayer is used in services around the world and during Sabeel’s Thursday Communion service; as each community in its respective time zone lifts these concerns in prayer at noon every Thursday, this “wave of prayer” washes over the world.
Pope Francis and the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas met Saturday to open a Palestinian embassy in Vatican City. Issa Kassissieh, the Palestinian ambassador to the Holy See, called the move “a significant achievement for the Palestinian people,…”.
Lord, we thank you for the world leaders who recognize our country and acknowledge our rights even though we are under military occupation. We pray for more steps of courage to be taken by the decision makers of the world that lead to our independence. Our freedom is inevitable and we are sure of this. Lord in your mercy…
The Synod of The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) elected the Rev. Ibrahim Azar, pastor of The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem, as bishop-elect of the church. The ELCJHL is one of the Lutheran World Federation member churches, serving approximately 3,000 local members.
Lord, we give thanks for the ministry of Bishop Dr. Munib A. Younan, and his long service of the Evangelical Church in particular and for the entire Palestinian people in general. We also hold the new bishop elect, Rev. Ibrahim Azar in our prayers as he takes on the new position in your service. May your spirit, Lord, empower him to remain the humble, loving and honest good shepherd we know. Lord in your mercy…
Thousands of Arab citizens inside Israel turned out Friday in Kalansuwa, an Arab Town inside Israel, to protest last Wednesday’s destruction of 11 homes by Israeli government bulldozers, and 11 families were thrown out in the bitter cold. Last week’s demolition is one of the largest demolition operations in the Israeli Arab towns in recent years.
Lord, we join in prayer in solidarity with the demonstrators. We pray for Israel to become a democratic state, a state for all its citizens, a state that grants all its citizens building permits regardless of their ethnicity or religion, a state where no one needs to build their home without a building permit. Lord in your mercy…
On Sunday Israeli forces attacked, with an artillery missile, and opened a barrage of gunfire towards a location east of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. The Israeli military claimed that the bombing came after Israeli infantry troops came under fire from the Palestinian side near the border fence with Gaza.
God of justice and mercy, we pray fervently that the Gaza-Israel cease-fire will hold, and bloodshed will be prevented. We remember the people in Gaza and especially the little children. We pray for the end of the ten-year-old blockade of Gaza and the evil military occupation. Lord in your mercy…
We join the World Council of Churches in praying for the countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Lord in your mercy…