As I sat in my office, reading about the present conflict in Israel, the Bach station on Amazon music was playing in the background. As I wondered how it will all end, suddenly, Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus began to play. I stopped what I was doing and went into full-blown worship mode. This! Yes, this is the answer to all the questions! This is the ultimate end to which all history is moving!

Conflict in the Middle East, specifically involving Israel, is no new thing--and whenever it happens questions about the end times arise. People see it as a prophetic harbinger of Christ’s return or the end of the world as we know it. Yet what every Christian must remember is that God is sovereign and that “the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ.” (Revelation 11:15)

Historically, since their bondage in Egypt, the people of Israel have been continuously persecuted and surrounded by enemies. Today, the tiny country is encompassed by 22 Islamic nations over 600 times her size and 60 times her population. Most of these want Israel swept into the sea and exterminated, but Israel’s continued existence bears witness to God’s providential care of his people. Truly the state of Israel is a living miracle.

Charles Krauthammer once wrote: "Israel is the very embodiment of Jewish continuity: It is the only nation on earth that inhabits the same land, bears the same name, speaks the same language, and worships the same God that it did 3,000 years ago. You dig into the soil and you find pottery from Davidic times, coins from Bar Kokhba, and 2,000-year-old scrolls written in a script remarkably like the one that today advertises ice cream.”

While there is much in biblical prophecy that remains unanswered, one thing is sure: God is not done with Israel. She has survived for 3,500 years in spite of enslavement, dispersion and holocaust. Through Ezekiel, the Lord promised to “take them out of the nations and gather them from all the countries and bring them back into their own land.” (Ezekiel 36:24)

Through Zechariah, God said, “I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.” (Zechariah 12:2-3)

In light of these prophecies, one thing all Christians should be doing, not only during the present crisis but always, is “praying for the peace of Jerusalem.” (Psalm 122:6)

This means at least three things:

1. Praying for a swift end to this war.

As I write, Israel’s ground war into Gaza has yet to begin. The goal, as I understand it, is to completely destroy Hamas. Neither side seems open to de-escalation. Pray that God will resolve the tension between support for Israel and her right to defend herself and what could be a major humanitarian crisis in Gaza. This also includes praying for American support for Israel to remain strong. God has promised to bless those who bless his people Israel.

2. Pray for the safety of innocents.

Hamas is deliberately using Palestinians as human shields and is set to blame Israel for their deaths. Pray this can be avoided. Already, over 4,000 people have died: many of them women and children. Pray for an end to the barbaric atrocities carried out by Hamas terrorists on innocent people.

3. Pray for the return of our Lord Jesus.

Zechariah prophesied that a future day of oppression against Israel that would end when the LORD returns from heaven at the very spot from where He ascended 2,000 years ago, saying:

“And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south.” (Zechariah 14:4)

Of course, there are many other things we could pray for regarding this war, but hopefully these three things will help get you started. God moves through the prayers of his people. Therefore, let us determine to pray for peace in the Middle East.