Sabeel continues to hold weekly services on Thursdays. Visitors are always welcome for a time of fellowship and to pray together the ‘Wave of Prayer’.

 

• Lord, we are so thankful for your promise that, ‘where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them,’ (Matt 18:20).  Lord we welcome you amongst us today and celebrate the gift of life that you have lavished upon each of us.  We ask that you would open our ears so that we may hear your voice. Lord, in your mercy…

 

The olive harvest has started in Palestine. Many Palestinian communities, who earn their living from this harvest, are unable to reach their olive groves due to the separation wall, or their proximity to illegal settlements, or due to the threat of military intervention.

 

• God, we lift our prayers for those Palestinian farmers who undertake great risks to harvest their produce. We give praise to you Lord God, who through the mouth of your prophet proclaimed that one day ‘..they shall sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees and no one shall make them afraid’ (Micah 4:4) Lord, in your mercy…

 

Lara Alqasem, a 22-year-old American student, accepted to study at the Hebrew University, was refused entry to Israel despite having been granted a visa by the Israeli Embassy in America. The Tel Aviv District Court refused her appeal; however, she has now placed an appeal with the Supreme Court and awaits a decision. The refusal was based on the grounds that she is a supporter of the Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions, (BDS), movement.

 

• O Lord we pray that those wishing to visit, study, or work in Palestine and Israel should have equal opportunity to do so. We pray that Israeli lawmakers may rule that those students who support Palestine do not necessarily pose a threat to thestate of Israel. Lord, in your mercy …

Aisha Muhammad Talal al-Rabi,a mother of eight children, from the Bidya village near Salfit in the northern occupied West Bank, was killed and her husband was injured, after Israeli settlers hurled rocks at their vehicle near the Zaatara checkpoint in Nablus.

 

• Lord, we pray for the protection of all people from the violent and racist attacks of illegal Israeli settlers. We ask for your spirit to guide us towards a path of liberation from the evil occupation which fosters hatred and conflict. Lord, in your mercy…

Ahed Tamimi has been on a tour of Europe and Turkey over the past few weeks. Palestine is full of prophetic voices who need an opportunity to be heard.

 

• Lord, teach us to speak prophetic words when our world is out of balance; when the needs of the poor are shunned and the cares of the voiceless go unheard. Teach us to speak prophetic words when hope is in short supply; when our best efforts still fail; when events occur, which seem senseless and without meaning. Lord, in your mercy…

 

This Friday the ‘Great March of Return’ continued through its 29th Friday with at least 252 legitimate protestors (including fifty children) injured and seven killed, including two teenage boys, by live fire from Israeli occupying forces. The protestors continue to demand their right to return to their homeland, which they were forced to leave seventy years ago and the brutal siege of Gaza.

 

• Good shepherd, no refugee is a stranger to you and no one is ever far from your loving care. We pray that you would watch over the legitimate protestors as they continue in their efforts to return home. We pray for healing of the hearts of refugees who have endured unimaginable tragedy and trauma. Lord, in your mercy…hear our prayer.

Sabeel is conducting a Bible study training course this weekend to help thirty-five people become Bible study facilitators. The participants come from 23 parishes in Palestine. They will be led in their studies by theologians to enable them to go back and teach new contextual Bible study programmes in their local communities.

 

• Lord, we are so thankful that there is a hunger for your Word in the faith communities served by Sabeel. We pray that your Spirit would lead and guide this training and that it would glorify you and bless those taking part. Lord, in your mercy…

While we focus on the suffering in Palestine we also remember the plight of all those caught up in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami in Sulawesi, Indonesia.

 

• Lord, the earth belongs to You, all that is in it and all who live in it are Yours’(Psalm 24:1). We pray for those impacted by disasters, both natural and man-made, wherever they are in the world. Grant swift comfort and relief to the survivors. Lord, in your mercy…

 

 

This week Sabeel announces the ‘Kumi Now’ advocacy initiative. It is a project, in partnership with dozens of organisations, aimed at allowing people all over the world to rise up in support of Palestinians through simple, effective actions.

 

• We pray for the ‘Kumi Now’ initiative as it is announced this week. We give thanks for the Sabeel staff, volunteers, and the organisations involved in this initiative. Lord, in your mercy…

The Israeli Mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, announced on Thursday, the 4th of October, that he plans to remove the services of the United Nations› agency for Palestinian refugees, (UNRWA) from occupied East Jerusalem. He has accused UNRWA of ‘operating illegally and promoting incitement against Israel’. Following the announcement, the Jerusalem Municipality confirmed that UN schools, which serve about 1,800 students, would be closed by the end of the current school year.

 

• Lord of the oppressed, open the minds of the Israeli authorities to realize that UNRWA is a United Nation Agency and cannot be closed as long as the Palestinian refugee problem persists. Grant them the conscience to see that they cannot ignore international law or the plight of refugees. Lord, in your mercy…