Christians to Join Millions in Prayer for Peace of Jerusalem
The 5th annual International Day of Prayer and Solidarity with Israel this weekend expects millions of Christians and Jews to pray for peace in Israel.
War, terrorism, poverty, and peace with Israel’s neighbors will be the focus of this year’s day of prayer sponsored by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
“I think Israel is the apple of God’s eyes and the nation is built on covenant land that God has given to the Jewish people,” said Gary Bauer, president of the conservative American Values and former chief domestic policy advisor for President Ronald Reagan, at a recent gala honoring the former Israeli ambassador.
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“In addition to that, we have these shared democratic values and they are our only reliable ally in the Middle East,” he added.
Many well-known Christian leaders have lent their support to Israel including Dr. Jack Hayford, president of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel; the Rev. Dr. Jerry Falwell, founder of Liberty University; Paula White, co-pastor of the 22,000-membered Without Walls International Church in Florida; Pastor John Hagee, founder of Christian United for Israel and senior pastor of the 18,000-membered Cornerstone Church in Texas; Pastor Steve Munsey of the 12,000-membered Family Christian Center; and Stephen Strang, founder and president of Charisma Magazine.
Last summer, a national poll by The Pew Forum supports the belief that contemporary American Christians still view Israel and the Jewish people as biblically important. The poll found that 69 percent of white evangelical American Protestants in the South support the belief that the state of Israel was given to the Jewish people by God. A full 59 percent subscribe to the belief that Israel is the fulfillment of biblical prophecy.
“The reason that 7 out of 10 evangelicals believe that God gave the land of Israel to the Jewish people is simply because it is stated as such in the Bible, and evangelicals believe the Bible to be God’s Word,” explained the Southern Baptist Convention vice president for convention relations, Dr. Kenyn Cureton, to The Christian Post last year.
During the Israel-Hezbollah conflict last summer, American Christians were strong advocates of U.S. support for Israel, holding massive rallies and conferences throughout the country.
According to Israel’ tourism minister, American evangelicals make up 1/3 of American tourists that visit Israel, second only to American Jews.
Sunday’s International Day of Prayer and Solidarity with Israel expects to have churches around the world participate in prayer for Israel including ones in Canada, Holland, Germany, Hungary, Jamaica, El Salvador, Panama, Nicaragua and several African countries.
