A Call to Prayer

The Joshua Fund calls on followers of Jesus Christ around the world to pray for their fellow brothers and sisters in the Middle East.

We are deeply saddened by tragic events in the epicenter. In recent days, churches in Israel and Iraq have been attacked by terrorists.

• Radical Islamic terrorists affiliated with al Qaeda attacked a church in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, leaving at least 58 dead and some 67 people wounded. The New York Times called the attacked “the worst massacre of Iraqi Christians since the war began here in 2003.”
• Conversely, the firebombing of an Arab Christian church in Jerusalem has received almost no media coverage. We're rtrying to raise awareness by our report in this article and encourage you to share this with your friends and church leaders.

Here are excerpts from an exclusive, firsthand report from pastor Jack Saar of the firebombed church in Israel:

"On Friday morning at 1:00 AM we reported a fire to the Jerusalem police and fire department, which erupted in our church property on Prophets Street 55 in the center of Jerusalem. The church property is known as the Jerusalem Alliance Church Ministry Center (JACMC). Ten persons were sleeping in the church overnight facilities in the building at the time ...

"The main location of the fire was discovered to be in two lower basement rooms ... I saw two sofas outside the building ... being heavily consumed in flames ...

"The police gave us no clue of who would be the persons behind the fire! The church is located near a very religious Jewish neighborhood. But the Police did confirm for us today that it was arson."

Clearly, our brothers and sisters in both places need us to intercede on their behalf, and to mobilize others to pray for them and to stand with them in their time of need. Mobilizing Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, according to Genesis 12:1-3, is a key mission of The Joshua Fund.

Please join with us in prayer at this critical moment. Pray for peace. Pray for courage for the believers to proclaim the good news of Christ’s love and forgiveness for all people. Pray for the spread of the gospel. Please, pray, too, that the perpetrators of these attacks will be brought to justice, but will also come to faith in Jesus Christ and will repent of their evil acts.

Please urge other Christians you know to pray about these events, and remember to continue praying for:

• The release of Gilad Shalit, the IDF soldier being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza
• Prime Minister Netanyahu as he comes to the U.S. for meetings with Jewish leaders this weekend
• The conviction of Jack Teitel, the Jewish terrorist who allegedly tried to kill an Israeli pastor and his family in March 2008, among many of his other Jewish and Arab targets. The trial has been delayed for several reasons. Please pray the trial happens and is successful.

There are also other prayer requests on our prayer page. Scripture instructs us to "carry each other’s burdens, and in this way ... fulfill the law of Christ." Arab, Palestinian, and Israeli believers need us to stand with them in prayer, helping to carry their burden of persecution. 

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