Pray for peace in the Middle East

How can we pray for what is happening in Israel and Gaza at the moment? Mones Farah, who grew up in Nazareth, and is now an Archdeacon in St Davids Diocese, shares his reflections.

What we are witnessing today in the hostilities between Israel and Hamas is the worst since the conflict began and is devastating. Thousands have already died and been injured, hostages are being held, homes destroyed, communities flattened.

As we watch on with horror, we want to respond with prayer but perhaps are unsure about what we should be praying for in this difficult situation. As someone from the region I offer the following suggestions which I hope will help guide you.

When you come to prayer, pray first for yourself. Pray that your heart won’t separate Israel and Palestine, Palestine and Israel, so that you enter before God totally wanting God’s love and goodness to be released in the situation.

This conflict has been going on for the last 76 years. Pray that people will begin to see one another as fellow human beings and will not fear or blame each other. Pray against the spirit of fear and blame.

Pray for the families and loved ones of those who have been taken hostage and those who have lost their lives or been injured, on both sides. Pray for those who are worried, anxious and grieving.

Pray for an immediate end to the hostility. Pray for people to stop using words of hatred, which undermine each other and make the other side seem less than human. The end of hostility is not just about stopping the firing of bullets, rockets and army incursion – it starts first with the heart and then the mind and the way we speak about each other.

Pray for all those who are working for peace, on both sides. Pray that they will take their call to be peacemakers very seriously. Within that, pray for the local churches, Jewish and Arabic. Pray for faithful Muslims and for Jewish leaders who will talk the conversation of peace and of justice. This conflict needs to come to an end and you need peacemakers to begin to have that conversation.

Pray that the siege in Gaza will be short, especially in relation to food, water, essential amenities and utilities. Gaza has suffered for so long and cannot sustain further suffering. Pray too for the Israeli populations, especially around Gaza, that they will not continue to live in fear, staying in protected areas of their buildings and bomb shelters, but they will be able to move in freedom.

Remember always the youngsters, the children, who cannot articulate what is going on. Pray for those being held hostage and those living with great fear of bombardment on both sides.

This is a complex and difficult conflict. But the complexity can be dealt with if we stop saying it is complex and just begin to say it is difficult because when we say ‘complex’ we cannot deal with it. So pray for clarity for how to move forward for both sides.

• For more prayer resources, visit the Embrace the Middle East website.
• The Anglican Communion statement and emergency appeal