FROM THE PASTOR’S HEART
OP / ED BY DR. ROBERT KENNEDY
My list is long. It is headed by a call to pray for peace for Israel and the innocent Palestinians caught up in the crossfires of the declared war following the most brutal event ever to take place in the land of Israel since its establishment 75 years ago.
Except you are in the Land of Never, Never, you must have heard by now that more than 1000 Israelis, including Americans, have been killed in the attack from Hamas, and more than 100 have been taken as captives/refugees. In response to the attack, nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been killed thus far. The fallout from the attack is sending tremors worldwide as efforts are being made to ensure security around Jewish places of assembly, etc.
In his speech to the American nation, President Biden made it clear that Americans stand with Israel and will do all that is necessary for Aid to ensure the protection of Israel. The attack has brought to the minds of people in Israel and Jews worldwide the shadows of the Holocaust and, to Americans, the shade of 9/11. If the provocation of Israel continues and Israel is forced to fight for self-preservation, things could get out of hand. The Middle East could become embroiled in a conflict that leads the world into Armageddon.
A clear understanding of the above should call us to pray for peace between Israelis and the Palestinians. Such prayer must ask the Lord God to take notice of the dire situation and stop Hamas and its collaborators from the atrocities they are engaged in, paralleling the havoc ISIL/ISIS wreaked in Syria and Iraq, bringing destruction to thousands of lives. Yes, a prayer needs to be prayed that the hand of wickedness might turn back against itself. As someone said, “Now is a time when we must respond in prayer. Because prayer is stronger than hate and louder than missiles.”
I am thinking about how the Jews fasted and prayed in the days of Queen Esther and Mordecai when Haman had set a trap to kill all Jews. Haman had gotten King Ahasuerus to issue a decree that on a specific date, all Jews should be killed. But by God’s miraculous power, the decree was stopped by another decree from the king.
Instead of the Persians killing the Jews, the Jews were given the authority to kill all who came out to attack them. According to the record, 75,000 Persians were killed by the Jews. Following the event, a letter was sent out to all the provinces of Persia by Esther and Mordecai, instituting the annual commemoration of the Jewish people’s redemption. This is the holiday we know as Purim (lots) (See Esther 9 for the full story).
My referencing the story above is not to laud the killing that resulted from the response to any provocation from Hamas or any other terroristic group that goes after Jews or any other individual, people or nation faced with the threat of extermination. But it is to invite us to pray for peace and the other connected issues that are faced due to war.
When I think of the connected issues that must be included on a prayer list, I think of the following:
- Those who are suffering grief because of the loss of their loved ones
- The parents and children that have been take as hostages
- Those persons who have to live without necessary resources as a result of the war
- Those persons in war areas who are living without food and water
- Those who have to live in the neighborhoods where they are not sure who is their enemy
- Those who are very anxious because they do not know where their family members are
- Those civic and national leaders here in America and the Middle East who are being called upon to make critical decisions at this time
- The many youths who are caught up in this tragic situation
- All who are seeking safety and protection.
Yes, we need to pray for them, like the apostle Paul says, “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16). Or like Jesus Christ instructed, “Men (people) are always to pray and not to faint” (Luke 18:1).
While we need to pray personally and within our families (assuming we still have family prayers), I think this call needs to extend to the multiple groups within our church communities and synagogues. And we need to see it as a national issue. When we engage in prayer, we should think outside the confines of our personal, family, or community needs and lift those around the world that we’ll never meet this side of Heaven.
We must pray with passion, persistence, and perseverance for the issues we bring before God. And we must walk away from the altar of God with the assurance that He hears us and will answer. Sometimes, the answers will not come as quickly as we would like, but God never turns his back on a sincere heart. So let us “pray for one another.” (James 5:15)
