English 3 January- 2019

Sabeel Wave of Prayer

3^rd January 2019

The Great March of Return continued on Friday the 30th of December. According to UN figures more than 25,000 Palestinians have been injured in protests along the border between Gaza and Israel and more than 190 Palestinians have been killed since the protest began on the 30th of March. The majority of those who have been killed were young men, aged 29 or younger. The latest victim, Karam Fayyad, was killed east of the Gaza city of Khan Younis and eight others were wounded.

•     Lord we pray for the family of Karam as they grieve their loss. We pray for a breakthrough in the peace talks and an end to the crippling siege of Gaza. Lord, in your mercy...hear our prayers.

Israeli forces detained two Palestinian students from Beituniya village in the occupied West Bank district of Ramallah. The mayor of the village, Ribhi Dawleh has stated that Israeli forces are deliberately targeting students in the village with frequent raids and detentions.

•     Lord, we pray for the young students in the occupied West Bank who suffer checks and delays as they travel to their schools and colleges. We pray that they remain determined to complete their studies. Lord, in your mercy...hear our prayers.

The war continues in Syria.

·         Lord, we pray for the people of Syria and the Golan Heights who have lived with destructive warfare and unrest over the past few years. We pray for peace in this country and the resettlement of those who have had to flee their homes. Lord, in your mercy....hear our prayers.

There has been plentiful rainfall in Palestine and Israel this year which will soften and refresh the land ready for the farmers to plant their crops. We remember the poor who suffer in the cold and wet conditions of winter.

•     Teach us, Lord, to be thankful at all times, to encourage one another and to seek to do good to one another, knowing that this is your will for us. Lord, in your mercy...hear our prayers.

The United Nations’ World Food Program, (WFP), has warned that a severe funding shortfall in Palestine is expected to affect 193,000 of the poorest people in Gaza and the West Bank in January. Assistance from the WFP goes to the most impoverished and ‘food insecure’ communities.

•     Lord, we pray for those who struggle to feed their families in Gaza and the Occupied Territories. We pray for the support of those in need. Lord, in your mercy...hear our prayers.

After a ruling taken by the Palestinian Constitutional Court, President Mahmoud Abbas has announced the dissolution of the Palestinian Legislative Council. Legislative elections should now take place within six months.

•     Lord, we pray that the Palestinian people will hold free and fair elections to the  Legislative Council. Lord, in your mercy... hear our prayers.

This week the Kumi Now non-violent initiative is focusing on the work of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, (ELCJHL). The Kumi Now action requests that Christians around the world heed the cry of Palestinian Christians for justice. It asks them to offer, to speak or pray about Palestine and Israel in their local churches.

   •    Lord, we pray for the work and witness of ELCJHL in this land of the Holy One. Bless the Kumi Now initiative and all those who use it as a pathway to a just peace in this land. Lord, in your mercy... hear our prayers.

·         We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers for the countries of  Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine