Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.
… because of the grace God gave me to be a minister to the Gentiles.
Surely we should be praying for the situation in Israel and Gaza. But how?
The Jewish people must be in our prayers. They are connected to all Christians by spiritual ancestry. Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus, was born Jewish, in a Jewish family. Our Old Testament contains the same 39 books as the Hebrew Bible; indeed, as far as I can see, the entire Bible has Jewish authors. Gentile Christians are, to use Paul’s picture, like wild olive trees grafted on to the Jewish root (Romans 11:17-21). This should humble those of us who are Gentiles, and of course means there can be no antisemitism in the Christian heart.
We should pray for the safety of Jewish people. Those in the land of Israel understandably feel threatened after the cold-blooded massacres of 6th October and the abduction of many hostages. World-wide, Jewish people have had to endure the proclamation of a “Day of Rage” against them.
We should also be praying for their salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ – their Messiah. It seems that the Apostle Paul, although appointed by God as missionary to the Gentiles, was deeply concerned for this. The book of Acts reports that when he arrived in a city to preach Christ, he’d typically start at the Synagogue. I remember with joy how, when I was a teacher, a Jewish sixth-former came to trust in Jesus (he’s now in Christian ministry). At a Bible study group, he said, “It all makes sense”, as he thought about how the Lord Jesus fulfils the Old Testament. May God would somehow bring across our path more Jewish friends, with whom we can share the true Hope of Israel!
But let’s pray for the Palestinian people in Gaza, too. Their situation is obviously desperate. Since 2007 they have been controlled by the Hamas party – whose name is an acronym for “Islamic Resistance Movement”. The extreme poverty of Gaza is both consequence and cause of this regime. Hamas have spent years firing missiles into Israel, thus meaning that Israel has prevented much access in and out of that territory (though some have had passage for farm work). And yet the very blockades that have been imposed risk radicalising more in the population, and bringing a deeper level of hatred against Israel. We should pray that somehow this vicious circle can be broken, and that Hamas’ horrific rule be brought to an end.
Christian witness in both communities is relatively small – 2% of the Israeli population and 1.6% of Palestine’s, according to Operation World. We could pray specifically for Gaza Baptist Church, the only Protestant church in a territory of 2 million, which has suffered much. How will Gazans hear about their Saviour? Let us pray for their salvation, too!
