More than 200,000 churches in 175 nations are expected to participate in the event, which has been endorsed by more than 1,000 church leaders. A prayer service being held at the International Convention Centre in Jerusalem will be broadcast live on GOD TV.
(Photo: Robert Stearns at the 2008 Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem)
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkatwill give the keynote address; other speakers include Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, rabbi of the Israeli city of Efrat; Arab pastor Naim Khoury of First Baptist Church of Bethlehem; and prayer day co-chairs Robert Stearns of Eagles Wings Ministries and Jack Hayford, former president of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel.
The prayer initiative comes as Israel faces growing threats from Iran, terrorist attacks and international pressure to exchange land for peace.
“The Bible declared it. Jerusalem has become a cup of controversy on the global stage,” Stearns said. “Even America, a nation historically supportive of the state of Israel, has been changing its rhetoric on matters pertaining to Jerusalem, and America has also seen unprecedented instances of hostile, anti-Israel demonstrations on its university campuses and in the streets of its cities.”
While advocating for Israel’s right to defend itself, Stearns maintains that Christians must meet the tensions in the Middle East with fervent prayer.
“At the root, the unrest in the Middle East is a spiritual problem requiring a spiritual answer,” he said. “That’s why God continues to stir energy for prayer in the hearts of thousands of Christians, from Latin America to Asia to all over Europe and Africa, on behalf of Jerusalem and all its inhabitants, Jew and Arab alike.”
