Sabeel Wave of Prayer – Week of May 18, 2026
Last week, Layan Nasir was released from Damon prison in Israel and was reunited with her family and friends in Birzeit after serving a 7-and-a-half-month sentence. 25-year old Layan Nasir, a member of St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Birzeit, was first violently kidnapped and detained in 2021 for months under Israel’s administrative detention policy, which allows military authorities to hold Palestinians for an indefinite amount of time without charge or trial. She was detained on charges of belonging to a student union and organizing student activities at her university in the occupied West Bank.
Holy God, we pray for all-encompassing healing for Layan and her family as they look towards a new chapter in their lives. We pray that your peace, which transcends all understanding, will reach all who are still incarcerated and are experiencing torture and fear. Deliver us from all physical and spiritual prisons of dehumanization and violence.
Lord in your mercy…hear our prayer
On May 14, in a march to mark the occupation of East Jerusalem and annexation, Israeli right-wing extremists marched through Jerusalem chanting “death to the Arabs”, “may your villages burn” and “Gaza is a graveyard” while harassing Palestinians. The annual march known as the “flag march” has grown more extreme and violent in recent years. In protest to the hatred and racism, activist group Standing Together brought together 400 volunteers who attempted to protect Palestinian residents from violence. The activists and journalists accompanying them were met with physical harassment and threats from settlers and the Israeli police.
God of justice, as we witness hatred consuming Jerusalem, we remember that you are a righteous judge who sees all evil deeds, whether they are done in light or dark. Bring your justice and accountability to all who engage in structural sins of dehumanization. Embolden those who love peace to continue their work as agents of your justice in Jerusalem and beyond.
Lord in your mercy…hear our prayer
More than 50 ships representing 45 countries from the Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from southern Turkey in another attempt to bring humanitarian aid and break the siege on Gaza, just weeks after Israel intercepted a previous flotilla and illegally detained two activists. Despite Israel’s threats and accusations against the Global Sumud Flotilla, the United Nations has asserted that “it is not a crime to show solidarity and attempt to bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population in Gaza, who are in dire need of it” and called on Israel to halt practices that violate international human rights standards, including its illegal blockade of Gaza.
Loving God, we pray for the safety of all who are putting their bodies on the line in solidarity with the suffering. With the flotilla, illuminate to the world the illegal siege on Gaza. We pray that the actions of the flotilla, along with the actions of those around the world, may finally bring an end to blockade and a just peace for the people of Gaza and beyond.
Lord in your mercy…hear our prayer
Last week, Bishop Munib Younan and Rabbi Ruti Bidatz traveled together to Germany to the Katholikentag for a panel discussion on why working for peace is even more urgent now (after October 7). They spoke about the settler violence in the West Bank and on shrinking civic space as well as the responsibility of Western countries, specifically Germany , to support civil society projects like Sabeel’s Faithful Futures project.
Holy God, we give thanks for the efforts of Bishop Munib and Rabbi Ruti to bring the international community closer to the work of justice and peace. We pray that those who participated in the discussion may use their new knowledge creatively and in solidarity with those who are suffering.
Lord in your mercy…hear our prayer
Despite the destruction of Gaza’s cultural and literary institutions and the killing of at least 150 of Gaza’s leading cultural figures because of the genocide, people in Gaza continue to insist on life. One example is the recent launching of the Pheonix Library, a library created through crowdfunding and renovation of a surviving building. The library now houses more than 6,000 books in Arabic and English that survived the rubble, and it has become a space for people to continue education and research.
Loving God, in the midst of suffering and destruction, we are reminded of the presence of your Holy Spirit in all spaces that cultivate hope. We pray for the success of the Phoenix Library and all initiatives that uplift the oppressed. Lord, help us wherever we are to contribute to the great work of solidarity and hope by using our creativity and gifts.
Lord in your mercy…hear our prayer
We join the World Council of Churches in their prayers for the people of Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal.
Lord in your mercy…hear our prayers