“This I recall to mind; therefore, I have hope. Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed because His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is His faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:21-23)
Today, April 28, is a sober day in Israel as the nation observes Holocaust Remembrance Day (“Yom HaShoah”). The memory of every Jew who perished in the Nazi Holocaust (1939-1945) is honored on this day. Ceremonies are held, prayers are prayed and survivors of the atrocity are honored.The purpose of Yom HaShoah is not to dwell on the morbid, tragic past. The goal is to learn from history so that it need “never again” be repeated.
Holocaust Remembrance Day exists partly because genocidal atrocities aimed at the Jews have recurred through millennia. This can only be attributed to the satanic force of anti-Semitism or anti-Israelism seeking to neutralize God’s covenant call on the Jewish people. It explains why the Holocaust remains a stand-alone, sordid event. It is not entirely accurate or fair, therefore, to view the attempted genocide of other people groups, though horrifically tragic and perhaps similar, quite the same as the Holocaust.
This is also why, even as we commemorate Yom HaShoah today, the specter of death still looms over our people. Unhindered by any nation on earth, Iran is racing toward its often repeated goal to wipe Israel off the map. In 2022, our pleas and petitions to the world to help crush Iran’s nuclear weapons program remain mostly unheeded.
The Hebrew word shoah is used in Scripture to mean devastation or ruin. It appears in Zephaniah 1:15, where the prophet describes the Day of the Lord (verse 14) as a day of absolute calamity and utter destruction.
Here are 5 ways to pray concerning Yom HaShoah.
- God of all comfort, would You wrap Your arms of comfort around Israel on this day. In Your love, release grace for the nation to forgive. Use believers around the world to express Your true heart toward Israel and reveal to them the true face of Yeshua. (Isaiah 40:1-2)
- Captain of the Armies of Heaven, dispatch Your warrior angels to protect Your covenant nation. Battle against and demolish the plans of Your enemies seeking Israel’s destruction. Upend Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Bless her underground church and save Iran! (Psalm 33:10-12)
- Give grace to people groups and to nations to align rightly with You and with Israel as sheep nations rather than goat nations. Bless those who bless Israel. (Genesis 12:3)
- Give Israel strategies from heaven with which to undermine Iran’s ongoing assault through terror proxies, cyberattacks, and more. (Isaiah 8:10, Proverbs 21:1)
- Thank You that any future wars which Israel must fight will be in Your timing, under Your control and for Your glory, with the least amount of damage to achieve the most amount of good. (Daniel 2:21, Psalm 110:2)