One year ago, on October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel’s border and brutally murdered 1,200 innocent Israelis and kidnapped more than 250 hostages. About 97 hostages remain in captivity in Gaza, with at least 34 no longer living.1 This tragedy marked the worst massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust.
Over the past year, terrorists from Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, Syria, and Yemen have launched more than 26,000 rockets into Israel, displacing at least 60,000 Israelis from their homes in northern Israel and causing Israelis to run to bomb shelters almost daily.2 Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed, including Hamas militants, and close to two million have been displaced during the Israel-Hamas war.3
Partly as a result of the war, antisemitism has increased dramatically worldwide. In the United States alone, antisemitic incidents have increased more than 200 percent since the previous year.4
As believers in Messiah, we stand with Israel and Jewish people during this difficult time and continue to pray for peace in the region. Here are seven ways we can pray for Israel and her Arab neighbors amid the current war.
1. Pray for the hostages to return home safely.
Lord, You know every hostage who remains in captivity in Gaza. We ask You to send Your angels to guard and protect them from harm. Please give them peace and hope amid the chaos around them. Most importantly, we ask You to bring them safely and swiftly back home to their families. We ask that they may “see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13). May Hamas surrender and return the hostages, or may the Israeli forces find them and bring them home alive. We also ask that, upon their return home, You provide physical, mental, and spiritual healing. Please comfort the hostages’ families as they await their return. Amen.
2. Pray for the safety of Israeli citizens from rocket attacks.
Heavenly Father, we ask for Your supernatural protection of Israel at this time. You say in Your Word, “Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4). We know You are not asleep and You are Israel’s keeper and protector. Please protect the Israeli people from enemy rockets. Thank You for the Iron Dome missile defense system, safe rooms, and Israel’s ability to intercept these rockets. We pray You would continue to allow these technologies to work as designed, for Israelis to make it to bomb shelters in time, and for the end of these enemy rockets altogether. Amen.
3. Pray for the defeat of Israel’s enemies.
God of Israel, we know Your Word predicts that Israel’s surrounding nations will hate her and try to destroy her, but we also know You promise to intervene on Israel’s behalf and destroy those nations set on destroying her (Zechariah 12). We know You always keep Your Word (Psalm 105:8; Proverbs 30:5–6). As we wait for your return, please help Israel to defeat her enemies, namely Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as the Iranian regime, Israel’s most dangerous foe. Let Your enemies be scattered (Psalm 68:1). We also know You have the power to change hearts, so we ask that members of Hamas, Hezbollah, and all of Israel’s enemies repent and turn from their wicked ways. Amen.
4. Pray for the safety of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
God of heaven’s armies, we pray for the safety of Israeli soldiers, especially those fighting in Gaza and in Lebanon. Please supernaturally protect them so they can return home to their loved ones. We ask that while they are fighting, You “train [their] hands for war” and their “fingers for battle” (Psalm 144:1). Provide them with wisdom and strategies to defeat their enemies while preserving their lives. Be their stronghold, deliverer, and shield in whom they take refuge (v. 2). Amen.
5. Pray for the church to stand with Israel and Jewish people.
Lord, our hearts are burdened for the church to understand Israel’s role in Your plan. We know that in Your Word, You promised Israel would remain a nation before You forever (Jeremiah 31:36–40), and You gave the land of Israel to Jewish people as an eternal possession (Psalm 105:7–11). We know You also predicted the Gentile nations would rage against Jewish people and Israel (Zechariah 12; Luke 21:24). But we grieve when we see Your people, the church, doing the same. Please open believers’ eyes to see the importance of Israel in Your plan of redemption (Romans 9–11) and move your church in compassion to desire the salvation of Jewish people as the apostle Paul did (Romans 9:1–4). We also ask that believers would stand against the growing tide of antisemitism. Amen.
6. Pray for the safety of innocent Palestinians.
Dear Lord, we pray for the safety of innocent Palestinians during this ongoing war. We know the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have made every effort to protect Palestinian civilians during this war, and we also know that Hamas has made every attempt to put these same civilians in harm’s way. Please hear the cries of these innocent people and come to their aid. Please protect these civilians during the IDF’s targeted attacks on Hamas, and please protect them from Hamas’ fire as well. Please continue to help the IDF in their effort to target only terrorists and protect Palestinian civilians. Also protect Lebanese civilians during the war with Hezbollah. Amen.
7. Pray for the salvation of those in the Middle East.
Prince of Peace, we know You tell us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6), and we know You are the true source of peace. So, in praying for peace in the region, we pray for Jewish people and Arabs to come to know You as Messiah and Savior. We look forward to the day when the inhabitants of Jerusalem proclaim, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matthew 23:39). We know it is Your desire that none perish but all come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), so we ask You to draw Jewish and Arab peoples in the Land and in the broader Middle East to Yourself (John 6:44) so they might be saved and know Your great love for them. In Yeshua’s name, amen.
by Jennifer Miles
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1 “Emanuel Fabian, Six Slain Hostages Were Likely Sinwar’s Shields,” The Times of Israel, October 20, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/six-slain-hostages-were-likely-sinwars-shields-lived-for-months-on-energy-bars/.
2 “A Year of War: IDF Data Shows 728 Troops Killed, Over 26,000 Rockets Fired at Israel.” The Times of Israel, October 7, 2024, https://www.timesofisrael.com/a-year-of-war-idf-data-shows-726-troops-killed-over-26000-rockets-fired-at-israel/.
3 Wafaa Shurafa and Lee Keath, “A Year of Fleeing Across Gaza,” AP News, October 6, 2024, https://apnews.com/a-year-of-fleeing-across-gaza-000001925701d383a5925f8f807f0000.
4 “Over 10,000 Antisemitic Incidents Recorded in the U.S. Since Oct. 7, 2023, According to ADL Preliminary Data,” ADL, October 6, 2024, https://www.adl.org/resources/press-release/over-10000-antisemitic-incidents-recorded-us-oct-7-2023-according-adl.