Sabeel Wave of Prayer: Week of Dec. 12, 2022
Sabeel will be hosting the launch of Don Wagner’s new book during next week’s Kumi Now session on Tuesday, the 13th of December. His book is entitled, ‘Glory to God in the Lowest. Journey to an Unholy Land’.
• Lord, we give thanks for Don Wagner’s lifelong commitment to non-violent activism working for justice and peace for Palestinians. We pray that his book of memoirs will inspire many others to come and see for themselves how Palestinians are forced to live under Israeli occupation. Lord, in your mercy..
Last week Israeli soldiers broke into the Al Lubban Secondary Girls’ School in the early hours of the morning. They tore down the Palestinian flag and replaced it with an Israeli flag. Apparently this was not the first time they had torn down the Palestinian flag, however it was the first time they had hoisted an Israeli flag.
• Merciful Lord, we cry out to you as we see more frequent acts of harassment and violence inflicted on Palestinian communities by Israeli soldiers and settlers. We pray for an end to the Israeli occupation. Lord, in your mercy..
• Lord, we pray for the preparations for the Sabeel Christmas Dinner to be held on Friday, the 16th of December. We pray that old and new friends of Sabeel will be blessed by taking part in this joyous occasion. Lord, in your mercy..
The third Annual Conference on Gender Justice took place in Ramallah on Wednesday, the 7th of December. The conference is one of the many events over a period of sixteen days sponsored by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land.The various events seek to promote gender justice and equality by developing strategies for ways to promote women’s rights. It also aims to encourage women to lead and participate in decision-making processes.
• Lord, we thank you for the conference and the series of events held in Ramallah. We pray that women in Palestine may grow in confidence and dignity as they find their voice and engage more fully with their communities. Lord, in your mercy..
The Israeli authorities have withheld entry visas for United Nations staff. There are twenty international employees in the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs,(OCHA), who monitor Israeli human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories. Fifteen staff had to leave in 2020 and since then requests for visas or visa renewals have gone unanswered. A UN spokesman has warned that the blocking of visas is already impacting OCHA’s work in planning the humanitarian response for 2023.
• Lord, we pray that the visa applications for the UN Human Rights’ staff will be granted by the Israeli authorities and that the UN will bring pressure to bear for any further acts of non-compliance by the Israeli authorities. Lord, in your mercy..
About two hundred Palestinian Christians living in Gaza have been denied permits to worship at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem this Christmas. There are more than a thousand Christians in Gaza, most of whom are Greek Orthodox and some are Roman Catholic. When Christian families apply for travel permits the Israeli authorities do not always grant them to all family members, so they cannot worship and celebrate together.
• Lord, we pray for an end to the Israeli blockade of Gaza. We long for a time when Palestinians can once again move around their country and worship freely with their family and friends. Lord, in your mercy…
• We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers for the countries of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Lord, in your mercy..