The name “Gaza” originally comes from Canaanite/Hebrew roots and means “the strong one” or “stronghold.”
If you look at the history of Gaza, it has been a land that others conquered. It has been a land that has not had sustained peace, and those conflicts continue.
Currently, there is high population density, limited land access, and strict internal and external security controls that continue to degrade economic conditions in the Gaza Strip. The global financial downturn sparks even greater hardships in places where poverty and food shortages are common.
Border closures, attacks, rockets and mortar fire continue to fill the news. With each of these, people are dying. This land needs a Saviour who can bring lasting peace and life.
Redemptive Prayer: We beseech that when you offer your prayers to God that you ask that our Lord Jesus Christ give us true peace, so that “the wolf and the lamb can live together, the ox can graze next to the lion, and a child can put his hand in the mouth of a snake without being bitten.”
May the peace of Christ, that peace which invites us to be one body, be with you and protect you. Amen.
- Father Manuel Musallam, Priest of the Latin Church in Gaza
Key Scripture to Pray: I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. - Zechariah 9:10
Going Before the Father: Children are dying, and the innocents of Gaza have nowhere to run. Pray for justice in whatever way God brings it. Pray for the protection of the innocent no matter who they are–Muslim, Jewish or Christian.
Pray for the children and young people, asking that all their fears will be calmed. Pray for the women, asking that there be food, water and medicine to care for their families. Pray for the men to learn the power of nonviolence. Pray for those who are mourning for lost loved ones, and for God’s comfort to them.
Like Father Musallam, pray that Jesus will give true peace, so that “the wolf and the lamb can live together, the ox can graze next to the lion, and a child can put his hand in the mouth of a snake without being bitten.”