OPINION:
The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas unquestionably has produced divisiveness throughout America and the world, including a surprising and devastating chasm among many members of the body of Messiah.
Some members of the Church have even gone as far as to embrace antisemitism and have sided with the terrorist organization, choosing to believe one-sided information about the conflict provided by the secular media.
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Chad Holland, Senior Pastor of King of Kings Community Jerusalem, believes this separation in the Church is a tragedy, but not something that cannot be overcome by the power of prayer. On a recent conference call of the Romans 911 Project WATCH conducted by Reconnecting Ministries’ founder Grant Berry, Mr. Holland called for the Church to help pray down the explosive division between the two camps by not only uniting in prayer for the nation of Israel but also for courageous Palestinians who want nothing more to end the destructive conflict and for the two factions to live in harmony under the umbrella of Yeshua’s love.
While he said members of his Messianic congregation network don’t necessarily agree with “everything the Israeli government does” and that Israel needs to be reproved for some of its decisions, the pastor said it’s time for the worldwide church to pray for the defeat of the spirit of hate and for a change of heart among Palestinians.
“When Hamas took over Gaza in 1987, whether the elections were real or rigged, they instituted a new school curriculum and started to indoctrinate through education,” Mr. Holland said. “The fighters you are seeing today — the families, the young people — are all products of that indoctrination generation. It’s why they have been indoctrinated with such a hate-filled message against Israel.”
Mr. Holland said all believers should ask Yeshua for a continued growth of love for Palestinians, and to pray for Palestinians to shun the anger and deception Hamas embodies.
“We are asking, in the name of Yeshua, that spirit of hate will be broken,” Mr. Holland said.
King of Kings Jerusalem partners with Mr. Berry and Reconnecting Ministries in its efforts to unite Jews and Gentiles through Reconnecting’s One New Man initiative. Reconnecting Ministries’ ultimate goal is to help restore love and unity between all races and tongues in the family of God according to Yeshua/Jesus’s prayer in John 17, for the preparation of the Bride, the Reformation of the Ekklesia/Church, the last great Harvest of souls, Israel’s salvation and the Lord’s return.
Being in-country in Israel affords Mr. Holland and members of his network of congregations access to information about the war in Gaza that the secular media doesn’t report to the world. The pastor said there have been reports that “heads of certain Arabic” and, more specifically, “Palestinian clans” have recently contacted the Israeli Defense Forces in an effort to join the IDF in an attempt to free Gaza from Hamas rule.
Mr. Holland said the body of Messiah must join together to pray for more Palestinians to step up to battle the evil Hamas perpetrates on its own people.
“We are asking the Father to send louder and more confident voices in the Palestinian people, to rise up and have the courage to join the IDF, to truly be the freedom fighters that are needed to end this war,” Mr. Holland said. “We pray for this new wave of Palestinian heroes to bring a new voice to correct much of the lying media narrative around the world.”
Mr. Holland estimates that there are less than 1,000 believers that remain in Gaza. He prays for their humility and safety as well as a change of heart for “our Palestinian brothers.”
“We pray for their witness, the miracles, the supernatural to flow through them and to be a light in this most dark time,” Mr. Holland said.
Mr. Berry said believers around the world should pray to “break the back of the spirit of fear that would prevent those from coming together and speaking up.”
“Lord, we ask you to give courage to those people that are beginning to change,” Mr. Berry prayed. “We are just asking for more and more prayer to come to spark a change of heart in not just the Palestinians but the Lebanese people to turn against Hezbollah, an element that is also committed to Israel’s destruction.”
Corporate prayer in all its different forms, Mr. Berry said, provides the fuel and the directives for ministry in the Church. He cited Psalm 127:1, which reads, “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.”
“While most leaders in the Church know and are aware of this kingdom principle, why is it that prayer is not prioritized more in the American Church?” Mr. Berry asked. “We must demonstrate the heart of the Father through His most magnificent Son, Yeshua/Jesus, to a lost and dying world.”
To learn more about a renewed focus on prayer and missions for Israel and the nations, please click here. To learn more about Reconnecting Ministries and the Romans 911 Project, click here.
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Shawn A. Akers is a freelance writer and the former managing editor of Ministry Today magazine.
Author and speaker Grant Berry is the founder of Reconnecting Ministries and Producer of The Romans 911 Project.
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