Christians Unite in Prayer for Israel
Millions of Christians around the world united in worship and prayer for Israel Sunday as part of the sixth annual Global Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem (DPPJ).
Hosted by Robert Stearns, founder of Eagles’ Wings Ministries, and Foursquare President Jack Hayford, the prayer day takes its name from Psalm 122:6, which states: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love you.'”
“We are praying past the place of political agenda; we are praying past the point of theological doctrinal statements,” Stearns said. “The Bible commands that we pray and the current situation demands that we pray.”
Although events were to be held in 200,000 churches in 175 nations, Stearns and Hayford gathered Sunday with Christian, Jewish and Arab leaders at the Haas Promenade, overlooking Jerusalem’s Old City. Participants included the Hon. Daniel Ayalon, former Israeli Ambassador to the United States; Orthodox Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, founder of Ohr Torah Stone and the community of Efrat; Wayne Hilsden, pastor of King of Kings/The Jerusalem Pavilion, one of the largest churches in Jerusalem; and Malcolm Hedding, director of the International Christian Embassy of Jerusalem.
Approximately 700 intercessors joined in “virtual prayer rooms” through a 24-hour teleconference call.
“The fact is, whatever our theological or political positions regarding Israel, we can all agree there is a biblical mandate and a current crisis that should cause us to pray,” Stearns said in a statement. “God is vitally concerned for all those living in Jerusalem—Jew and Arab alike—and we should be directing our prayer and actions toward God’s Shalom [peace] manifesting in that city.”
In an article posted on the DPPJ website, Hayford wrote that Christians are living in a “sobering moment in history” that calls them to stand with Israel. “We could be people of the last hours,” he said. “We are not to be passive in the face of prophecy; we are called to pray with passion, to intercede, and to minister according to the words of the Savior who said it is not our task to speculate when the end will be. It is our responsibility to do Kingdom business until He comes (Luke 19:13).”
The prayer day has won support from such prominent Christian leaders as T.D. Jakes, John Hagee, Michael W. Smith and Aglow International founder Jane Hanson-Hoyt. “Never has it been as critical as it is now that we stand in the gap for the nation of Israel and its people,” Hanson-Hoyt said before the prayer day. “The biblical mandate to ‘pray for the peace of Jerusalem’ must take on greater priority in our lives as we watch the intensity of warfare increase, both in the natural and spiritual realms, over God’s end-time purposes for His people—Israel and the body of Christ.”
The international prayer day was broadcast to 192 nations via GOD TV and coincided with Eagles’ Wings’ celebration of Israel’s 60th anniversary.
