As we head into this week of prayer for the Middle East, pray for sustained peace across the region. Let’s not grow weary of praying for wisdom for those in charge, that they would be advocates for justice and humanity during this time of uncertainty and fear.
Sunday 5 September
The chronic shortage of essential medications in Gaza is causing untold suffering for millions of displaced families. ‘The suffering was beyond words,’ says Amina, mother of three. ‘We endured so much – psychological scars, displacement, poverty, hunger.’ Lord, we pray for families like Amina’s. May they find your hope in the darkness. Amen.
Monday 6 October
Amina’s six-year-old son desperately needed treatment for an acute fever. Praise God that she was able to access a medical clinic run by Tearfund’s partners and received the free medicine her son needed. ‘I’m deeply thankful to everyone who supports this clinic – it means the world to families like mine,’ says Amina.
Tuesday 7 October
‘My family and I endured unimaginable suffering during the war,’ Shamaila says. ‘Our home was reduced to rubble.’ Shamaila and her family were forced to leave Gaza and then flee again when further fighting broke out. Father God, we lift to you families like Shamaila’s who have lost homes and loved ones. We ask that you provide the comfort that only you can bring. Amen.
Wednesday 8 October
‘When I walked into the clinic and saw the slogan, “Where hope finds a way”, I felt a glimmer of that hope rekindle in me,’ says Shamaila. Her daughter was desperately in need of medicine to treat an acute bacterial infection. God, we lift up those in desperate need of medication. We ask that you answer their prayers through organisations like Tearfund and our partners, providing the medicine they need. Amen.
Thursday 9 October
Lord, we thank you that through generous gifts, more than 76,075 people living in extreme poverty in Gaza and the West Bank have received critical non-food items, including health and psychosocial support, and 2,437 people have received emergency cash support. Amen.
Friday 10 October
‘Hasan was at a nearby coffee shop when a drone attack struck the area,’ explains Hasan’s father from Gaza. ‘The injuries were devastating, and his condition was critical.’ Hasan had shrapnel lodged dangerously close to his heart. Lord, we pray for protection over families like Hasan’s, experiencing the daily reality of conflicts across the Middle East. Amen.
Saturday 11 October
Incredibly, the surgeons managed to remove the shrapnel in Hasan, but the family still needed to make a perilous journey to the south in search of further help. Praise God that Tearfund partners had just received a shipment of wound dressings. ‘They treated Hasan and continued his wound care for months,’ says Hasan’s father.
