Religious leaders hold interfaith prayer to free world from plague

Seven top religious leaders from various faiths have held a joint prayer session in Jerusalem to beseech God for an end to the coronavirus crisis.

Chief Ashekanzi and Sephardic rabbis David Lau and Yitzhak Yosef,  Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III, Latin Patriarch Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Imam Sheikh Gamal el Ubra, Imam Sheikh Agel Al-Atrash and Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif all took part in the prayer on a patio at the King David hotel, standing two meters from each other.

” Out of true faith in solidarity, we now call on all citizens of the world to join forces and carry a joint prayer to health and unity,” reads a statement about the prayer, which it says was a joint initiative of the Rabbinate, the government and Jewish and other religious communities around the world.

The Joint Global Prayer:

God of the first and of the last, God of all Creatures, Lord of all generations, He arouses those who sleep and awakens those who slumber, He heals the sick, opens the eyes of the blind and raises those who are bowed down. We come before you with a bowed head, and with bent stature, and plead.

Hundreds of thousands died, millions have fallen sick. Save, we beseech thee, O Lord. We entreat thee, O Lord, send prosperity! Send complete recovery to the sick, avert the plague from Your world.

Please – God, You who have nourished us in famine and provided us with plenty, You have removed us from pestilence, and freed us from severe and long-lasting disease – Help us.

Until now, Your mercy has aided us and Your kindness has not abandoned us, therefore we plead and request before You to heal us, Lord and we will be healed, Save us and we will be saved, for You are our glory.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing before you, O Lord, my rock and redeemer.

As in the words of Psalm 121 “A song for ascents:

I turn my eyes to the mountains; from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot give way; Your guardian will not slumber; see, the Guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps! The Lord is your guardian; the Lord is your protection at your right hand. By day the sun will not strike you, nor the moon by night. The Lord will guard you from all harm; He will guard your life. The Lord will guard your going and coming now and forever.”