Pray with Israel/Palestine Sunday, May 15, 2022

Lectionary Selection: Revelations 21:1-6

Prayers for Israel/Palestine

O God of every nation, you hold the whole world in your hand. Today, we lift up before you the people of Palestine. You know how they long for freedom and peace. In your mercy, grant them release from the bondage of occupation. Grant them grace to live in dignity with their Israeli neighbors. Help us to accompany them in their quest for justice and liberation.

In the name of Christ, the Prince of Peace.

Mission Stewardship Moment from Israel/Palestine

The past (almost) year and a half has truly been a period of testing our faith, a time of “trial by fire.” We have alternated between living on the edge of despair, and a season of experiencing the healing power of Almighty God, our loving, caring heavenly Father. It has been a time of “walking through the valley of the shadow of death,” and a season of experiencing the comforting presence of our Lord and the support of loving, devoted, and prayerful friends.

It was most fitting to receive, as though prepared personally and sent for us, the reassuring word of the Scripture for the day found in Revelation 21:5

… Write this down, for the words are
trustworthy and true … It is done!
I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the beginning and the end.

And so, it is signed, sealed, and delivered!

Like Job in the drama between faith and floundering, between trust and trembling, between dependence on a reliable God and defeat when feeling overwhelmed by life’s crushing weight, do we trust in a faithful God who has already triumphed even over death itself? Do we swing between faith and doubt when God has already given us the sure promise of life and all that makes it livable?

In our moments of doubt, there is always the ever-present haunting voice challenging us from within to “throw in the towel,” not so different really from that of Job’s unnamed wife’s words, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!”

The dialogue affirms that faith triumphs over doubt. Will our faith have the last word? May it be so.

Prayer and Mission Moment by Sara Makari

Mission Partners in the Israel/Palestine

More about the Israel/Palestine

Global Mission Co-Worker in Israel/Palestine
Sara Makari serves with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with the Diyar Consortium of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land. Her appointment is made possible by your gifts to Disciples Mission Fund, Our Church’s Wider Mission, and your special gifts.