English 04/05/2017

Sabeel Wave of Prayer
May 4^th  2017

On May 3^rd, U.S. President Donald Trump and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet at the White House. The two leaders will discuss ways to revive the peace process.

·         Lord, we pray for courage as Mahmoud Abbas speaks truth to power at the white house this week. We pray that the Oval Office acts in favour of justice and peace and stops being an obstacle to our liberation.
Leader: Lord in your mercy
People:  Hear our prayers

Palestinian political prisoners enter the third week of their hunger strike. The hunger strike is against torture, ill treatment, and medical neglect of Palestinian political prisoners at the hands of the Israeli authorities, as well as Israel’s widespread use of administrative detention, which is only permitted under international law in extremely limited circumstances.

·         Lord, we continue to pray for the Palestinian prisoners. May your words on the Mount of Beatitudes “God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied” bring comfort to our Palestinian political prisoners.
Lord in your mercy…

Last week, in the Negev region of southern Israel, Israeli forces demolished the Bedouin village of al-Araqib for the 112th time since 2010. This is the fourth time this year the village is destroyed.

·         Lord, bless the people of the village with courage and patience to continue to rebuild their tents and remain steadfast on their land. Lord, we pray that the Israeli decision makers stop this insanity. We long to be in a world where cruelty and madness comes to an end.
Lord in your Mercy…

The Palestinian Authority has declared that it will no longer pay for the electricity Israel supplies to Gaza. Decision to halt payments could lead to a complete power shutdown in Gaza. The decision comes as the World Bank warns of power outages deepening a humanitarian crisis. The World Bank said that power outages were "affecting vital services such as hospitals, clinics, water supplies, and household daily lives."

·         We pray for an end to the political divisions among Palestinians. Lord, help the people of good will to reconcile the Palestinian political leadership in both the West Bank and Gaza. May this year be the year that Palestinians stand fully united as they demand their rights and their liberation.
Lord in your mercy…

Today, Thursday the 4^th of May, Sabeel will hold an ecumenical prayer service for Palestinian prisoners at the Little Sisters of Jesus Convent.  Also, many Churches throughout the West Bank and Israel continue to hold ecumenical services to lift up prayers in support of the just demands of the Palestinian prisoners’ strike.   

·         Lord, comfort the community as it comes together in prayer. We continue to pray for the rights of Palestinian prisoners to communicate with their families, the right for prisoners to continue their education behind bars, and for the right to have access to proper medical treatment. 
Lord in your mercy…

·         We join the World Council of Churches in praying for the countries of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Lord in your mercy…