9/5/13 - English

God, we come to you this week with both our joy and pain, with both thanksgiving and cries for healing on our lips. Among our joys, Lord, is the Church of Scotland’s recently-issued theological report challenging the exclusiveness of many interpretations of the Bible and expressing that neither the Jews nor any other people possess exclusive, God-given rights to the land. While the report still awaits the review and approval of the Church of Scotland’s General Assembly, we thank you for the faithful Biblical interpretation of this initiative, which is an encouragement and example for other church bodies around the world. Lord, we hope for the acceptance of the report. We give thanks also for increasing recognition of the state of Palestine by political bodies, companies, and institutions around the world. This week, we are happy that Google has officially changed the terminology on their website and pray for continued recognition by other groups in ways such as these. Lord, in your mercy...

God, the pain of this week is also great as we see injustice and racism persist in both institutional and personal forms. We cry out against the unjust laws that fall along racial lines, such as those against the Bedouin citizens of Israel. We grieve the Israeli government’s approval on Monday of a draft law of a plan for the Negev that will cause the displacement and forced eviction of nearly 40,000 Bedouins, grabbing very large stretches of their land. Lord, please bring people together to resist this injustice; prevent this theft of the Bedouins’ land and the destruction of their way of life. Lord, in your mercy...

We pray also concerning the recent Israeli attacks on Syria, mourning the use of violence and praying against any aggression that might spread the Syrian civil war into the rest of the region. We continue to pray for all the victims of violence in Syria and for an end to the war. Lord, in your mercy...

Here at Sabeel, we pray for this Friday’s meeting for the Clergy and their wives as they enjoy an ecumenical Easter gathering. Lord, we also thank you for the new documentary “The Stones Cry Out” which tells the story of Palestinian Christians. Please bless the upcoming film-launch to be held on the evening of Friday, May 17, with a good turnout and fruitful discussion. Lord, in your mercy...

Finally, we pray alongside the World Council of Churches in solidarity with the peoples of Sudan, South Sudan, and Uganda. Lord, in your mercy...