In the busyness of life, many of us find our attention is often taken up with distractions. In times of distress and war in Israel, it is hard for us to focus on what we should do and how we should pray. Every conflict has two sides, but we should pray that truth prevails. Without truth and God’s interventions, bias, hidden agendas, power struggles and inappropriate blame go unchallenged. These often play out on our TV screens, radios and through social media. Our prayers matter and do make a difference.
A major survey by a US university found that for every word or narrative laying blame in a Tweet on social media (X), there was a 20% increase in retweeting rates.
- Recall God’s faithfulness in Psalm 105. He sees everything and will always fulfill his promises.
- Although we need to pray for justice, pray also that bias, lies, bad journalism and vendettas are exposed by the Holy Spirit and don’t overrule a lasting hope of good outcomes for Israelis and Arabs suffering now.
- Pray for Israel as it continues to struggle with the consequences of October 7th. Each family is impacted by the horrors, the ongoing hostage crisis, and the effects of the war – whether in grief or trauma or economic downturn through lack of tourism and the expense of the war. Pray that trauma and grief are surrendered to God and ask for his supernatural healing, his presence and his peace to bring divine restoration.
- Pray that hate is melted by God supernaturally, and for Arabs who are manipulated by their authorities or caught up in the effects of crime and corruption, where the people of Gaza don’t feel cared for, listened to or represented.
- Ask that the hijacking of humanitarian aid by terrorist groups, and selling it at exorbitant prices, will be revealed through global media channels and action taken to stop it.
- Pray for God’s help for the innocent, and for an awesome fear of God to fall upon all who cheat and use terror to control their people.
- Pray for Israel’s government and security forces. Many want to see elections or blame laid on leaders, but Israel needs unity and focus while resisting deadly threats from Hamas against her people, land and future. Pray for mercy on all Israelis who are consumed with fear, grief, the need to see justice served and the situation turned for good.
- Pray that demonstrations in Israel are handled well and with integrity. Pray that leaders can understand the insurmountable fears, especially for the hostage families.
- Social media can be toxic, often blaming Israel without proper evidence. Pray for media channels to use true facts about Israel’s actions, and the need for the world to rid itself of terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, for the good of everyone.
- Pray for individual journalists and editors to have a real thirst for truth and report it without bias.
- Pray for righteousness in the work of the International Criminal Court, which is gaining much support from nations that hate Israel. Pray for the churches in these nations to rise up in support of Israel in prayer.
- Pray on behalf of all who pray and intercede before our mighty God. Ask for his light to be seen in these dark days (Genesis 1:2-3, John 1:1-3).
God merely spoke and the Heavens were created (see Psalm 33:9).
Let us choose never to stand against the things of God or his purposes.
He can do immeasurably more in our world than we can imagine.
(Ephesians 3:20)
Julia Soakell
June 2024
