Sabeel Wave of Prayer: Week of June 27, 2016

Wave of Prayer: This prayer ministry enables local and international friends of Sabeel to pray over regional concerns on a weekly basis. Sent to Sabeel’s network of supporters, the prayer is used in services around the world and during Sabeel’s Thursday Communion service; as each community in its respective time zone lifts these concerns in prayer at noon every Thursday, this “wave of prayer” washes over the world.

Forty seven church-run Arab schools in Israel, who serve about 33,000 Christian Muslim and Druze children are in danger of financial collapse. These schools launched a strike in protest of the Israeli Education Ministry’s diminished funding of their institutions last year; the strike ended with Israeli promises that never materialized.

God, you have given us a mind to think and a desire to learn. We pray that Israel’s discriminatory policy against these schools will end so that all children can enjoy their natural right to education equally. Lord in your mercy.

Yusra Mardini and her sister Sarah fled their home in Syria with 20 others, by boat. Thirty minutes into their journey, the motor stopped and the boat almost capsized. Yusra, Sarah and another woman got into the water, pushing and pulling the dinghy until they reached the shore in Greece. This August, 18-year-old Yusra will be one of 43 swimming athletes across the world who will be vying for the chance to compete in the Rio Olympics.

Thank you lord for the inspiring story of Yusra and Sarah as they start a new life in Germany. O God, be with all the refugees who are fleeing the Herods of today, hunger, war, persecution and drought. Lord be also with the people who remain in their countries, unable or refusing to leave, as they see their land continue to lose its amazing human gifts, now called refugees. Lord in your mercy.

The month of Ramadan has witnessed beautiful stories of Christian-Muslim fellowship in Palestine. Fr. Manawel Mussalam from BirZeit, hosted freed Palestinian prisoners who were held under administrative detention, at his home, for breaking-the-fast meal. Christian Young adults in Nablus, Ramallah, Nazareth and Bethlehem, distributed food and water to Muslim brothers and sisters stuck at checkpoints or in road traffic at the time for breaking the fast. Also a Palestinian Christian in Akka volunteers to go around the city at dawn to wake up Muslims for a meal before their 16-hour fast.

Lord, we thank you for all the people who refuse to surrender to fear and isolation. We are grateful for the witness of your church members who stubbornly remain faithful to you and build bridges in the community of your children. Lord in your mercy.

Fr Pierbattista Pizzaballa OFM has been elevated to the position of Archbishop and appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem upon the retirement of Patriarch Fouad Twal.

God, we give thanks for the work of your church and the ministry of Patriarch Fouad Twal. Continue, dear Lord, to be with the Church and with Fr Pierbattista Pizzaballa at this time of transition. Lord in your mercy.

We pray alongside the World Council of Churches for the countries of Botswana and Zimbabwe. Lord, in your mercy…