Let us join in prayer as conflict escalates, human suffering deepens, and the grieved and traumatized cry out for comfort:
Prayer of Lament and Intercession for Palestine and Israel
By Palestine-Israel Network
Since the October 7 Hamas attack near the Gaza Strip and Israel’s crushing military reaction, violence and destruction have escalated in the land we often call “Holy.” As we lament the carnage among Israelis and Palestinians, let us also pray for those working for a future that ends the deep and longstanding injustices that lie at the root of the crisis.
Prayer of lament and intercession for Palestine and Israel
God of love and justice, our hearts are perplexed, paralyzed and broken at the recent carnage in Palestine and Israel. We lament the loss of life and the suffering of so many innocent people on both sides. We are shocked at the inhumanity of soldiers and militants, especially when they act in the name of God.
We lament that our prayers for peace seem to go unanswered. We wish you would intervene. We cling to your promise of a different world, but we see so few signs of its fulfillment. Why?
In our feeble faith, we declare your desire for life and for peace.
Holy Spirit, strengthen our resolve to advocate for peace, justice, equality, and compassion for all. Don’t let us turn our face away.
Comfort all who are overwhelmed with loss—loss of life, loss of homes, loss of safety and security.
God of the vulnerable and the oppressed, neutralize the power of tyrants in their thirst for domination and control. Renew the strength and resolve of leaders committed to nonviolent resistance and change.
Remember the Christian communities in the land where Jesus walked ad where the church was born. May their witness to your love remain bright among their Muslim and Jewish neighbours. May they recognize your hand in their lives, even amidst the suffering.
God of all nations, guide our own government in responding in ways that support the legitimate rights of all, especially those who are most vulnerable, those who continue to suffer after decades of occupation, dispossession, and denial of basic human rights.
May your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Yours is the kingdom, the power, the glory, now and forever. Amen