As the conflict between Israel and Gaza continues many Christians may be thinking, “What should Christians be praying?” Sheila Hendley, trustee of the World Prayer Centre and founder of the Academy for Life shares some thoughts.
As peace-loving people our emotional response is to ‘pray for peace’. We see pictures of babies, children being killed and injured, families torn apart and we just want it to stop. But, what is really going on?
We know from the fulfilment of so many scriptures that we are living in the end-times and that God will fulfil all His promises before His Son returns. So, what is happening in Gaza from God’s point of view?
I believe He is fulfilling a command that He gave to the Jews 3000 years ago when He told Joshua to take out all the inhabitants of the land that He had promised to the Israelites and their strongholds. We are told in Joshua 11:22 that Joshua did as the Lord commanded except in 3 places:
‘None of the Anakim were left in the land of the children of Israel, they remained only in Gaza in Gath and in Ashdod’
What is significant is that subsequently Gath and Ashdod have been destroyed so only Gaza remained unconquered.
Later on, in Judges we hear of Gaza again as a centre for the Philistines – Judges 16:21: Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza:
We must be very careful that we do not pray against God’s will.
So, how should we pray?
- For God’s will to be done.
- For Jesus to continue to reveal Himself to the Arab population and Hamas.
- For Jesus to continue to reveal Himself as their Messiah, Both to the Secular – Jews and to the Orthodox Jews.
- For the eyes of Hamas to be opened to realise that they are not fighting against Israel but against God and when you fight against God you always lose.
- For people to have the discernment to see beyond the bias of the media.
Overall, we give God thanks that in the midst of human misery many are coming to a saving knowledge of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!
