Sabeel Wave of Prayer: Week of May 27, 2019

During the weekly ‘Great March of Return’ protests in Gaza, sixteen Palestinians were hurt in clashes with the Israeli forces, including a volunteer paramedic and a photojournalist. Israeli soldiers have killed 307 Palestinians, including children, medics and journalists, and injured more than 29,000, since the protests started in the Gaza Strip, on Palestinian land Day, March 30th, 2018.

Lord, we pray for those who were injured in the protests on the Gaza border. We pray for the right of return for Palestinian refugees and for an end to the siege of Gaza. We also pray for the international support to replenish food and medical supplies which are running dangerously low, with the UN repeating its warning that by next year Gaza will be uninhabitable. Lord in your mercy…hear our prayer.

This week we are encouraged to engage with the second Kumi Care week, thinking about caring for the mental health of those engaged in activism. This care involves taking a break from challenges and calls to action. It is good to take the occasional break and relax, taking part in a restful activity to unwind.

Lord, remind us that we are not made to work all the time and we have more energy and enthusiasm when we take sufficient rest. We pray that those involved in activism do not drive themselves too hard, but instead take care of their health. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayer.

On Wednesday the 22nd of May dozens of Palestinians protested in Ramallah over the adoption of a German bill, which aims to criminalize the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement, (BDS). The bill presents the BDS movement as anti-Semitic. The protestors have written to the German government pointing out that such a law would violate the Human Rights Charter over freedom of expression. It would also contradict EU foreign policy, which holds that the BDS movement falls within the framework of freedom of expression.

Oh Lord, we pray for your guidance and ask that we may learn ‘your way and walk in your truth’ (Psalm 86:11). Help us to speak out when we witness the silencing of peaceful protest and the criminalizing of those standing against injustice. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayer.

The Noor Jericho Solar Park is Palestine’s first solar power station and it is due to open in June. The power generated here will be distributed by a Jerusalem-based Palestinian electricity company to Jerusalem, Ramallah, Bethlehem and Jericho. This project is part of a wider plan to invest in renewable energy in Palestine and to reduce Palestinian dependence on Israeli power.

Dear Lord, we thank you for the warmth and the light of the sun and how scientists have learned to convert solar energy into a renewable source of power. We thank you for the new solar park in Jericho and we pray that the plans to install solar panels throughout Palestine will be realized. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayer.

On Tuesday Sabeel held an Ecumenical Bible Study in Jerusalem for Women. Sabeel conducts a number of contextual bible studies in different parts of the country to deepen the faith of the Christian community and to connect our faith to the realities on the ground. 

Lord, we are so thankful that there is a hunger for your Word in the faith communities served by Sabeel. We pray that your Spirit would lead and guide this time of fellowship and that it would glorify you and bless those taking part. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayer.

Many international groups continue to visit Palestine and Israel with a focus on connecting with the Palestinian people on the ground and showing solidarity with the Palestinian people living under occupation.

Lord, we are so thankful for the warmth and the hospitality of the Palestinian people. Even in their suffering they open their homes to strangers to come and meet them and find out what their lives are like. We pray that those who take alternative trips go back to their families and friends and tell them about the difficulties experienced by Palestinians forced to live under Israeli occupation. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayer.

The US is set to hold a two-day economic workshop in the Bahraini capital of Manama at the end of June. The Palestinian leadership have now officially stated they will not be attending the event, stating that there needs to be an end to the Israeli occupation,  restrictions on the movement of goods and people should be lifted, and international law and UN resolutions should be implemented before consideration can be given to economic support.

Lord, we pray for the people of Palestine and the stifling conditions of occupation they suffer. We pray that international powers would speak out against this injustice, demand political change and the full implementation of international law in Palestine. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayer.

We join with the World Council of Churches in their prayers for the countries of Angola and Mozambique. Lord in your mercy…hear our prayer.