Jesus of
Nazareth, you once cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” As
violence increases day by day in Palestine & Israel, especially within
Gaza, we cry the same. You yourself experienced this kind of darkness; walk
with us in our grief. Lord, turn your face towards the forsaken people of Gaza
to shelter them from violence, fear, hunger, and cold. May Israel’s policy of
siege and blockade against Gaza end, so that its leaders might speak truthfully
about self-defense. Lord, teach us to sow hope and not despair as we lament all
the lives lost. May the current chaos cease, and may just reconciliation be
advanced soon by courageous peacemakers who would address the root problems of
the situation instead of merely managing the conflict. Lord, in your mercy...
As
Palestine prepares for the November 29th UN bid for permanent observer state
status, we continue to pray for a favorable outcome. May recent turmoil not
distract from the legitimacy of the request in the eyes of the international
community, and may the Palestinian people be granted proper rights and just
representation. Lord, in your mercy...
Lord, as
we experience protests in Palestine, we pray for a stop to the use of violent
force against non-violent protesters across the region. At home, we mourn the
loss of several people in protests about Gaza, especially remembering our
friend Manal Tamimi who lost her cousin Rushdi al-Tamimi on Monday because of
protest injuries. In light of recent protests in Jordan concerning fuel prices,
we pray for relief in the form of a stabilized situation and a stabilized
economy. Lord, in your mercy...
Prince of
Peace, who blesses us with the task of embodying peace in the world, we ask a
blessing on Sabeel’s on-going ministry. May we speak truth prophetically, may
we live justly, may we love our neighbors readily. We thank you for multiple
successful Witness Visits within the last month and for advocacy events already
being hosted by recently returned Sabeel visitors in the U.S. We are grateful
for the opportunity to come together with Christians and Muslims to pray
Tuesday for the situation in Gaza, and we ask for on-going encouragement from
this. Lord, in your mercy...
Finally,
we pray alongside the World Council of Churches for the countries of Cameroon, Central African Republic, and Equatorial
Guinea. Lord, in your mercy...
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