Sabeel Wave of Prayer: Tensions and Violence
Weekly prayers from Sabeel in #Jerusalem
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.
Lord, we pray fervently that violence on both sides will not continue to escalate in Israel and the West Bank, including Jerusalem. This week a West Bank Palestinian from a refugee camp stabbed and killed an Israeli soldier in Tel Aviv and another Palestinian stabbed several people near the Alon Shvut settlement in the West Bank, killing one. God of peace, we pray that the root causes of violence of occupation and oppression will not increase extremist actions on both sides and that peace will come soon to this wounded land. Lord in your mercy…
Lord, tensions in the Galilee reached new heights last week when a Palestinian man from the town of Kafr Kana in northern Israel was shot and killed by police in an obviously non-life-threatening attack. This excessive force is an example of the discrimination experienced by Palestinians living in Israel as second-class citizens. God of justice, we pray that Palestinian citizens of Israel and Jewish citizens will be treated as equals under the law. Lord in your mercy…
Lord, the Israeli Ministerial Committee on Legislation this week approved a bill that would apply Israeli law to illegal Jewish settlers in the West Bank. This bill is sponsored by Knesset members who want to annex the settlements on Palestinian lands. The bill, if passed, would not apply to the majority population in the West Bank, the occupied Palestinians, who live under strict and oppressive military law. God, we pray for a stop to any step towards Israel’s unjust land grab and an end to Israel’s unequal treatment of two peoples. Lord in your mercy…
Thank you, Lord, for your continuous blessings on Sabeel and its programs, its hard-working staff and volunteers, and its loyal community. We also extend our gratitude for the peace and justice work happening abroad. In the Netherlands this week there will be a film launch of “The Stones Cry Out” about Palestinian Christians. Lord in your mercy…
We pray alongside the World Council of Churches for the countries of the Republic of Congo, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe. Lord in your mercy…