“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour.” 1 Timothy 2:1-2

We are pleased that this week Kensington Palace announced that the Duke of Cambridge, Prince William will visit Israel in the summer. Prince Charles has visited unofficially in the past (his grandmother, Prince Philips’s mother, is buried at the Mount of Olives), but William will become the first member of the Royal Family to make an official State visit to Israel since its independence 70 years ago. The decision is truly historic.

The absence of a Royal visit has always raised questions. The Foreign Office, which recommends the international visits to the Royal Family, has often been the subject of criticism over this issue.

One Israeli journalist, the late David Landau, said that every time he’s asked a British official about this he “gets a muttered line about ‘when there’s permanent peace'”.

Permanent peace, of course, hasn’t arrived…but the long-waited decision for a Royal visit cannot be ignored.

Also the US has announced it is opening its embassy in Jerusalem in May this year – much earlier than originally anticipated – and in time for the State of Israel’s 70th anniversary. 

It means that two of Israel’s closest allies, America and Britain, are taking unprecedented, symbolic steps in recognising the importance of Israel.

Prince William will also be visiting Jordan and the Palestinian Territories during his trip. Sadly, the UK media has covered the Royal visit with unacceptable bias, even before the trip has started. The BBC, Sky and many other news outlets produced headlines that omitted Israel and only highlighted Prince William’s planned visit to the “Occupied” Palestinian Territories. 

Most of the mainstream media has a biased agenda against Israel and we can anticipate seeing more of it over the next few months. Let us pray that truth will prevail and that that these major events for Israel, US and Britain will turn people’s attention towards the importance of standing with the Jewish State.

Let us pray also for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children. We don’t know Prince William’s view of Israel, but we pray that this trip brings a revelation of God’s historic, present and future purpose for Israel and the land, which remains part of Almighty God’s plan for all the nations of the earth.

“He makes nations great, and destroys them;
He enlarges nations, and guides them.”
Job 12:23

The following prayer points are to assist you as you pray. For the stories behind these prayer points, please view the CUFI Weekly News Round-up, by clicking here.

May God bless you as you pray.

Praise the Lord for the decision that Prince William will make the first ever UK Royal visit to Israel. Pray for him and at the same time for other members of the Royal Family, including The Queen. Pray that William’s visit will be life-changing, bringing him an experience that will be foundational in leading him to stand with Israel for the rest of his life. Pray for a safe and fruitful trip that will bring Britain and Israel even closer.

Pray for those that seek to delegitimise Israel by providing biased reporting surrounding his visit. Pray instead that this will be an opportunity for even more people to hear about and understand the importance of Israel.

Pray that CUFI will be effective in countering some of this negative media coverage and that our social media and online presence will grow even further, enabling us to reach more people with the truth about Israel.

Pray for the 14-year-old Jewish boy who was beaten-up outside a synagogue in Paris during Purim this week. 

Pray for Israel’s continued protection and for God’s wisdom and guidance for its leaders, especially amid continued threats by the Iranian regime and Iran’s reach into Syria.

Pray for CUFI’s continued campaign against the so-called, “Israel Apartheid Week”

And “pray for the peace of Jerusalem”