October 20, 2023 | www.barbarawilliams-skinner.com
Almighty God, we bow before you as sovereign Lord of heaven and earth. We come to your throne of grace and mercy, seeking peace amid war in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas militants. Our hearts break, and we have no words for the atrocities inflicted on Israel by brutal killings and kidnappings by Hamas targeting Israeli babies, children, young people, women, and even Holocaust survivors, many still held hostage. We pray for their immediate release. We pray for the Israeli people struggling between sheer survival against those seeking Israel’s destruction and their pending counter-offensive against Hamas that will unintentionally kill untold numbers of innocent Palestinian civilians in densely populated Gaza. As people of faith and part of the human family, we grieve for every Israeli and Palestinian life lost. Loving God, we pray, as well, for millions of desperate Palestinians in Gaza, totally unrelated to Hamas, who have long suffered unbelievable human rights violations, deserving, now, more than ever, of self-determination and self-governance.
O God, the Maker of all lives, made worthy as your holy creation, we plead for your peacemakers to show up now! Your word reminds us, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). Your promise of peace that passes all human logic and understanding is what we need in this hour. So, we pray for your hedge of protection over the Gaza region, your supernatural protection over every innocent life, and for a day when Israelis and Palestinians can live side-by-side in peace. In your mighty and matchless name, we pray, Lord God. AMEN!
