AN URGENT CALL TO PRAYER: for those who need a touch from heaven

We just received an urgent call to prayer from our field worker in a country that, for us personally, has become like a second home:  LEBANON.  The reality for the people in the region is beyond, really beyond dire.

THIS IS THE REQUEST

To dedicate 5 MINUTES during your service tomorrow in prayer for the people of LEBANON and the  PEOPLE OF THE MIDDLE EAST

Scripture is absolutely saturated with God’s call to pray for — and stand with — the weak, the vulnerable, and the traumatised.  Tomorrow presents an opportunity for the body of Christ to unite our hearts for a region that needs a touch from heaven.  Please participate by praying and by sharing

God’s call to prayer is not an activity on the program of the Church, it is the pulse of the gathering of saints:

• Psalm 34:18  “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”
• Psalm 9:9  “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed.”
• Psalm 72:12–14  God rescues the poor who cry out, the afflicted who have no helper, and “precious is their blood in his sight.”
• Psalm 82:3–4  “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and oppressed.”
• Isaiah 1:17  “Seek justice, defend the oppressed, take up the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.”
• Isaiah 61:1  The Spirit of the Lord sends the servant “to bind up the brokenhearted” and “comfort all who mourn.”
• Jeremiah 29:7  “Pray for the peace of the city… for in its peace you will find your peace.”

THIS IS THE MESSAGE

 

I am still safe and doing well despite the situation. Thank you for all your prayers. It really means a lot.  But the reality is not good at all.

I’ve been trying to find the words to describe the state of things here, but everything feels like a blurry movie. Since this nightmare started on March 2nd, the ground hasn’t stopped shaking. We are at 1,021 dead already, and among them are 116 children whose lives were ended before they even started. It’s not just “loss,” it’s a slaughter.

According to the Ministry of Public Health and the WHO, at least 40 healthcare workers have died since the start of the month, including a horrific strike on March 13 in Burj Qalaouiyah that killed 12 medics instantly. 5 of our hospitals have been forced to close completely, and schools aren’t for learning anymore, 353 of them are now just overcrowded shelters for the 1 million people (20% of our country) who have been forced to flee.

Watching this feels like the Gaza playbook has been moved directly to our doorstep. Amnesty International even called it the “same deadly playbook,” with reports from The Guardian today (March 21) confirming that Israel is using “double-tap” strikes, hitting a spot, waiting for paramedics to arrive, and then bombing them too.

The excuses they use to justify this are honestly insulting. They talk about a “buffer zone” to stop an “October 7th style” attack, but organizations like Human Rights Watch have seen no proof Hezbollah ever planned that, it’s a complete fabrication to justify the blood.

It’s so backward when you realize Hezbollah isn’t the one with a history of crossing the border to take land, while Israel has invaded Lebanon over and over again for decades. They claim they are “defending” themselves while they level entire villages, use white phosphorus in residential areas like Yohmor (reported by HRW on March 3), and bomb clearly marked ambulances. We all see it for what it is.

This isn’t security, it’s just the same collective punishment we’ve watched for years elsewhere, now burning through our own homes.

PLEASE PRAY

A Prayer for Lebanon

in the shadow of slaughter, in the company of the brokenhearted

God of the crushed in spirit,
God who hears the cry of the afflicted,
God who does not look away —
we bring before You the wounded land of Lebanon.

Lord, have mercy.

We name before You the classrooms now filled with mattresses instead of books,
the mothers who cannot find their sons,
the fathers who dig through rubble with their bare hands.

Christ, have mercy.

God of truth,
You see what is happening even when the world pretends not to.
You see the fear

You stand with those who mourn,
those who flee,
those who bury their children,
those who have no helper.
Stand now with Lebanon.

Bind up the brokenhearted.
Shelter the displaced.
Strengthen the healers who remain.
Protect the rescuers who run toward danger.
Comfort the traumatised who cannot sleep.
Hold the children who tremble at every sound.

Christ, have mercy.

Let Lebanon know that it is not abandoned.
Let every shattered home become a place where Your nearness is felt.
Let every grieving family find companions in their sorrow.
Let every traumatised heart feel the warmth of Your healing.

Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
God, have mercy on Lebanon.

Amen

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