[The body of this post is excerpted from an article by Mandy Adendorff; I wrote the prayer.]
For this is what the Lord says:
“I will extend peace to her like a river,
and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream;
you will nurse and be carried on her arm
and dandled on her knees.
As a mother comforts her child,
so will I comfort you;
and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”
(Isaiah 66:12-13 NIV)
“I sensed the Lord saying “comfort” three times: “Comfort My people Israel; comfort My Middle-Eastern Bride; comfort My battle-weary saints in all the earth.”
“The night after the attacks on Israel [October 7, 2023], I was given a short dream. I dreamt that I was in the Gaza Strip, and I was completely depleted and weak. There was nothing around me but rubble, and I was alone and destitute. I was so weak that I couldn’t help myself, but suddenly a huge, golden-brown eagle came down to me; it had a large wingspan and was bigger than a person. It landed right next to me, put its beak in my mouth, and began to feed me. The eagle was glorious and had the warmth and kindness of a mother. I sensed that the eagle was the Lord, and I believe God placed me in the dream to allow me to feel His heart and see what He was doing in the midst of great suffering. I dreamt this during the first night that the hostages spent in Gaza. I had a sense that in the dream I represented two specific people groups: the Jew, since I am Jewish, and the Church, since Christ has engrafted His Gentile Believers into the olive tree (Ephesians 2:15).
“The Lord has come to strengthen many in Gaza and has not left their side; and though many have suffered and died, there have been unseen miracles in Gaza where the Lord has been coming to supernaturally feed and comfort the destitute. God is never absent, even when we can’t see Him, and each hostage who has been released and sustained has been delivered by nothing less than the mighty hand of the Lord. Many Arab Believers and Gazan civilians are encountering the God who sees, and though we cannot see what God is doing, we know that He is faithful in the darkest places. He comes close to all who call out to Him, just as the eagle came to feed me in my dream, where I was destitute and alone. We will hear testimonies of God’s miraculous interventions, though some we may only hear about in Heaven…
“God has not forgotten Ishmael. Genesis 16 tells the story of a destitute mother and child who fled into the desert because they were caught in a complicated family struggle. They found themselves all alone and distressed, and had been left to die from dehydration. As Hagar sobbed and the boy cried, the angel of the Lord appeared and told Hagar that God had heard the cry of the boy Ishmael, and God supernaturally provided water in the desert for them. God has not forgotten His Arab people, and He hears the cries of the innocent ones caught in war, just as He heard the cries of the boy Ishmael. Jesus broke down the wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile in His own body, creating one new man. He has become our peace, and His government is increasing even when darkness overreaches.”
In the holy mountain of the Lord all war and strife will cease;
in the holy mountain of the Lord creation will be at peace.
The wolf will lie down with the lamb, the cow and bear will feed,
their young will play together; a little child will lead.
The leopard and goat will graze, the lion will feed on straw.
They will war no more; a child will lead them all.
In the holy mountain of the Lord all war and strife will cease;
in the holy mountain of the Lord creation will be at peace.*
(“Creation Will Be at Peace,” based on Isaiah 11:6–9)
Jehovah Shalom,
All praise and honor, glory, power, and worship belong to you, Lord of Lords, King of Kings, Holy Spirit, and Prince of Peace. We know the salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord, and you are our stronghold in time of trouble. You help and deliver us from the wicked because we take refuge in you. As the heavens are so much higher than the earth, we know your thoughts and your ways are so much higher than we can see and understand. We thank you for what we know you are doing in Israel and Gaza, even in a time of great distress, even when we can’t necessarily see it. Today we pray that you will provide supernatural strength for your people in Israel and Gaza. Come as a mother eagle to feed and minister to the hostages who are still alive, and to comfort those who are in distress. We pray for those caught in the war in Gaza who are crying out in terror and deep need, and especially for your Church there. Send angelic assistance to them, and to feed, comfort, and sustain them. We pray that your joy would bring supernatural encouragement and break off the spirit of despair. We pray for the government of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, to increase in his people, that revival will come to masses, and for peace to become the norm in the Middle East. We pray that scales will fall off unbelieving eyes as Jesus is revealed, and that Jews, Arabs, Palestinians, Muslims, and all others in the Middle East would behold the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Break the power of the wickedness in that area, and uphold, guard, guide, protect, and provide for your righteous children. After millennia of war and strife in the Middle East, it seems impossible to believe that there could be peace in that region, yet we do pray for all war and strife to cease, in the name of Jesus Christ. We bind all evil spirits of strife, war, hatred, division, and death and send them to the pit of hell. We release spirits of hope, peace, and joy over the precious people you have created and love. Until Jesus reigns completely on this earth and hatred and war are ended, be their Prince of Peace – be our Prince of Peace – we pray in Jesus’s name, AMEN.
For the power of the wicked will be broken,
but the Lord upholds the righteous. (Psalm 37:17 NIV)
“But what about you?” [Jesus] asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:15-16 NIV)
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” – Jesus (Matthew 16:19 NIV)
A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy peace and prosperity.
But the wicked will perish:
Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.
Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed;
the offspring of the wicked will perish.
The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.
The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
The Lord helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him. (Psalm 37:10-11, 20, 28-29, 39-40 NIV)
Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:7-9 NIV)
Mandy Adendorff: “Eagle Food and ‘Samson Water’ for the Weary” https://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word.html?ID=30359#word-truncate
*”Creation Will Be at Peace” by J. Paul Williams and Anna Laura Page