A MENA response to the crisis in the Middle East

A lament, invitation and prayer from the Middle East North Africa team of the Peace and Reconciliation Network.

With tragedy and conflict escalating in the Middle East, we invite you to hear the lament, invitation and prayer of our brothers and sisters of the PRN Middle East North Africa team.

Habakkuk’s Prayer, Kýrie eléison
A Response to the Crisis in the Middle East

Lord, have mercy and grace on the human race – especially on all peoples in the Middle East, where violence once again threatens lives, dignity and peace.

We, the MENA Peace and Reconciliation Network (PRN), stand firmly with humanity in this hour of pain and upheaval. As followers of Christ, we do not watch from the sidelines. We are not called to take the side of empires, factions, or ideologies – but to take the side of human beings, created in the image of God. Whether this is in Gaza, Sudan or anywhere there are human beings suffering at the hands of others.

We stand with the wounded, the displaced, the grieving – because that is where God stands. God is not found in the thunder of weapons or the rhetoric of vengeance. God is encountered in the silent cries of children, in the weary prayers of mothers, in the tears of the brokenhearted.

This is not neutrality.
It is discipleship.
It is the way of the Cross in a world of crosses.

In this moment of escalating crisis, we must ask – not, “Whose side are we on?” but rather, “Where is God in this?”

And the answer is: In the breach. With the broken. For the sake of peace. As followers of Christ, our loyalty is not to those who fight wars of pride and fear, but to the One who said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.”

When every side is wrong – driven by domination, ego and survival instincts – our call is not to pick a lesser evil but to embody the greater good.

To resist hatred.
To proclaim that war and violence destroy the humanity of both the aggressor and the victims of violence.
To live with hope.
To act faithfully in ways that reflects the Kingdom of God, not the kingdoms of man.

The prophet Habakkuk wrestled with the same agony in the face of injustice. He did not retreat into his worship or pious silence. He cried out to God for answers:
"How long, O Lord, must I call for help but you do not listen? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?" (Hab. 1:2–4).

God’s reply was unsettling: He would allow a ruthless empire to rise up as a judgment on injustice. But Habakkuk protested – How can a holy God use even greater evil as an instrument of discipline? How can this be justice?

God’s ultimate answer was not an endorsement of power or violence, but a vision of faithfulness:
"The righteous will live by his faithfulness” (Hab. 2:4).
And Habakkuk responded not with despair but with a powerful prayer:
"Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy” (Hab. 3:2).
His final words still resound:
"Though the fig tree does not bud... yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (Hab. 3:17–18).

This is the posture we need today.
Not blind optimism in political promises.
Not naïve trust in the so-called “liberation” through force.
But faithfulness to the call of Christ to be ambassadors of peace and reconciliation. Earthly empires and regimes rise and fall, but God remains forever,

The Middle East and North Africa now looks like a battleground for global power games – where innocent lives are disposable, and regime change is a tool, not a goal.

This is not justice.
This is not God's heart.
God is not absent – but God is not where many assume. God is not in the power plays of the strong but in the faithfulness of the humble.

So we, followers of Christ, plead for mercy in this time of wrath. We proclaim a God who is just and holy – who cannot be used for our causes but calls us to be ambassadors of Christ’s justice and reconciliation.

We choose not the camp of one army or another, but the heart of God.
And from that place, we say: “Lord, we have heard of Your fame. In Your mercy, repeat Your works in our day. But in wrath, remember mercy.”
Let us be like Habakkuk – honest, bold, faithful. Let our hope not depend on outcomes, but on the character of our God, who alone is able to bring life from death.

We ask you to join us in praying:

1. For a cessation of violence
2. For the ability to see God-created humanity in all people.
3. To not rejoice in the suffering of others.
4. To remember that Christ suffered the violence of the cross to end violence in every form.
5. That we remember God’s mercy in our suffering and in our anger.
6. That we have the eyes to see and the strength to stand with those who are wounded, displaced, and grieving.

Kýrie eléison.
Lord, have mercy.

The World Evangelical Alliance Peace & Reconciliation Network does its work through the generosity of donors. Connect with the PRN or donate. Invite Canadian director Joel Zantingh of Guelph, Ont., or global director Phil Wagler of Kelowna, B.C., as a speaker. The MENA regional coordinator of PRN is Salim Munayer. Back in 2024 he was a guest on the PRN podcast episode War in Israel & Being The Family of God. Read more of these blog posts at FaithToday.ca/AllThingsReconciled. Photo of candles by awesomecontent on Freepik.