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5 Ways to Pray for Israel in Church
On the morning of October 7, 2023, Meirav Gonen spent four hours on the phone with her daughter, 23-year-old Romi, who was at the Nova music festival in southern Israel. Meirav tried to calm Romi as rockets from Gaza struck the festival. She stayed on the phone while Romi hid with her friend, Galli, in some bushes; while a man tried to rescue Romi and Galli by driving them away from the festival; and while bullets hammered into the car, killing everyone inside except for Romi. As Hamas terrorists dragged Romi out of the car to take her hostage, all Meirav could do was say over and over again into the phone, “We love you; you are strong. We love you; you are strong.”
Romi has been held as a hostage ever since.
Romi was one of more than 250 hostages taken by Hamas on October 7. Galli was one of more than 1,300 people killed. Hamas’s surprise attack plunged Israel into a period of traumatized grief. Sometimes termed “Israel’s 9/11,” October 7 was the worst day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. As we come up on the one-year anniversary of this event, here are five ways we can pray together.
1. Pray for God to comfort the grieving.
This Sunday, October 6, is the day before the anniversary of last year’s massacre. In the conflict that followed, tens of thousands of Palestinians have also been killed. We’re commanded to weep alongside those who weep (Rom. 12:15), and praying in church for God to comfort them is one way to fulfill that command.
Father, please comfort Israelis who lost loved ones in such harrowing circumstances on October 7 last year. Please restore the hostages to their families. Please would you also comfort Palestinians and Israelis who have lost family and friends in the ensuing conflict. We pray that they would know your loving presence near to them (Acts 17:27).
2. Ask God to give Israel and its neighbors lasting peace.
Since last October, Israel has conducted military operations against Hamas in Gaza. In recent weeks, Israel has also conducted an extensive operation against Hezbollah, a terrorist organization based in Lebanon that has launched near-daily rocket attacks against Israel since October 7. On Tuesday this week, Iran opened up a third front when it launched some 200 ballistic missiles at Israel.
October 7 was the worst day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.
When leading prayers in church, it’s important to pray in such a way that all present will be able to say “Amen” in their hearts. Some church members will likely believe that Israel’s actions are justified on the basis of self-defense. Others may believe that Israel’s actions have been overly aggressive. Congregational prayer is a time when, ideally, all God’s people should agree with the petitions brought before the Lord.
Lord God, all power in heaven and on earth is in your hands. We commit to you the current conflicts in the Middle East. Under your oversight, would these conflicts be resolved in a way that allows Israelis, Palestinians, Lebanese, and Iranians to live in lasting peace. Please protect civilians from harm. In your mercy, would you shorten this time of suffering in the Middle East.
3. Pray for Christian unity between Arab Christians and Messianic Jews.
Sermons on Christian unity often feature encouraging stories of longtime enemies brought into loving fellowship by their shared faith in Christ. The past decade, however, has seen some Palestinian Christians and Messianic Jews (the preferred term for Jewish Christians) moving from unity to disunity. There are three main areas of controversy.
First, many Palestinian Christians believe Israel should be condemned for gaining additional territory through the wars of 1947–49 and 1967. Messianic Jews, however, are usually unwilling to condemn their country for the outcome of wars they regard as justified.
Generally speaking, Palestinian Christians also take the view that Israel should be condemned for the way in which it controls the Palestinian Territories and for the nature of its current war on Hamas. Messianic Jews, on the other hand, typically think Israel’s actions are justified on security grounds.
A third area of controversy is violence against Palestinians by ultranationalist Jewish settlers in the Palestinian Territories. In this case, many Messianic Jews would agree with Palestinian Christians that the actions of the ultranationalists are indefensible.
Father, you say in your Word that “Christ Jesus . . . himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility” (Eph. 2:13–14). We believe that all Jesus’s followers are already united in the body of Christ. Please would that spiritual unity become an outward reality for Palestinian Christians and Messianic Jews. Show us once again that what is impossible for humans isn’t impossible for you (Matt. 19:26).
4. Ask God to overcome misinformation about Israel and Palestine.
Few regional conflicts have had their past and present discussed as extensively and heatedly as the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Sadly, that discussion has often been marred by misinformation. In the social media age, false claims can spread instantly, and later clarifications rarely reach the original audience. Both sides are served best when provocative rhetoric is avoided and the highest standards of truth-telling and factual accuracy are observed.
Heavenly Father, you warn us in your Word that the tongue can act as a fire. We pray that the international debate about Israel and Palestine would be based on facts rather than misinformation. Please would truth prevail over falsehood.
5. Pray for Israelis and Palestinians to be saved.
The Jews, Israeli Arabs, and Palestinians who live in Israel and Palestine desperately need to hear the good news about Jesus. According to the missions app Operation World, 2 percent of Israel’s 9.3 million people are Christians; only 0.4 percent are evangelicals. (Out of those Israeli Christians, a minority are Messianic Jews; most are Arab Christians.) Of the 5.5 million Palestinians in the Palestinian Territories, 1.6 percent are Christians; only 0.1 percent are evangelicals.
Living in a war zone makes questions of life and death much harder to avoid, which can create openness to the gospel.
Living in a war zone makes questions of life and death much harder to avoid, which can create openness to the gospel. This is a time for us to pray earnestly for many to gain the sure hope of eternal life with Christ in the new heavens and the new earth, where there will no longer be any war (Isa. 2:4).
Lord God, we pray that the message about Jesus would spread rapidly in Israel and Palestine and be received with saving faith (2 Thess. 3:1). Please send out your workers into this harvest field (Matt. 9:38). Give your people many opportunities to share the gospel and boldness to make the most of them.
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