Praying for Family in Israel

6 

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:

    “May they prosper who love you.
7 Peace be within your walls,
    and security within your towers.”
8 For the sake of my relatives and friends
    I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
    I will seek your good.

                                Psalm 122: 6-9

 I thought I would follow up on my blog post from yesterday about the escalating violence between Palestinians and the state of Israel. You are probably aware that what began as protests on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem near the Al Aksa Mosque have become widespread. Rockets have been fired into Israel by the militant group, Hamas, and the IDF has responded with airstrikes into Gana. There have been injuries and deaths on both sides, including children. 

Yesterday we received a message from one of Ruth's step-sisters who has lived in Israel for decades. They are in a town which hasn't been targeted by missiles to this point, but they have hurried to air raid shelters twice by sirens, sheltering with neighbours. While this is not the first time attacks have occurred through the years, each occasion is scary. They asked us to pray for their safety and for peace between Palestinians and Israel, quoting the verses above. 

The message we received is a reminder that dire situations from across the world can come close to home in a hurry.