Praying for Peace- Sailors

Prayer is one of the greatest privileges we have as children of God.  God invites us into relationship with Him and gives us a powerful way to know Him better.  Not only does He invite us into this relationship, but He also reveals our hearts to us as we pray. In the coming weeks we will talk more about prayer as a way of life.

Today, I want to draw our attention to prayer as participation with God for the furtherance of His Kingdom. Every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we say: “May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. We know that Peace is at the heart of God. It was announced by the angels as they proclaimed Jesus’s birth. It was the first word Jesus spoke to his disciples after his resurrection.

We know that our ultimate Peace is in Jesus. We don’t want to just talk about praying. We actually want to do it together, as individuals on own time as well as a gathered community.

Christiane and I want to invite you to join us to pray for Peace.  Peace in the world through the ceasing of conflicts; peace in the hearts of those ravaged by war; and peace for all of us who struggle daily with brokenness in and aroundus. May God  revive our hearts with His love, and bring us together as prayerful warriors.

This week I want to bring something very specific to your attention. Many of us at Mariners’ Church, and on our email list, have a special connection to the seafaring community.  Please pray for these men and women in our Navy, Coast Guard, and Marines in fleets around the world. We can pray for specific military vessels, and personnel by clicking here: Fleet and Marine tracker and seeing details of locations and names of vessels .  Please remember these sailors in your prayers.

We also just received an update from our friend, Dr. Jason Zuidema (please, see email below),  the Executive Director of the North American Maritime Ministry Association (NAMMA.org) and the General Secretary of the International Christian Maritime Association (www.icma.as).  He gives some details for us to know and pray in the shipping industry, which has dominated the news recently.  I have attached part of the email he sent out to all those involved in seafarer’s ministry for your consideration and prayer.

Thank you for your participating with us and God in praying for “His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven”.

Blessings and peace,

Rev. Todd and Dr. Christiane

—————————

“Dear friends,

We continue to remember seafarers caught up in the conflict in the area around the Strait of Hormuz. The maritime threat environment across region remains critical.

The Strait of Hormuz has swung rapidly between periods of opening and closure over the past days, marked by vessel attacks and U.S. naval boardings. This volatile situation has left commercial shipping operators deeply concerned about the safety of their fleets and seafarers in the region. Resumption of ceasefire talks have been signaled, but not confirmed.

In the brief period of opening on Saturday, five stranded cruise ships (MSC Euribia, Mein Schiff 4, Mein Schiff 5, Celestyal Discovery and Celestyal Journey) with only minimum crew aboard, transited via the Southern route close to Oman.

On Friday 17 we received this update on support from Sara Baade, CEO ofSailors’ Society: “We support both seafarers and their families with counselling, grants and general support. One of the cases from this last week is a 30-strong Indian crew who have been at anchorage for one month and 10 days, waiting for the green light to be able to transit the Strait. The crew are now very anxious and hear seafarers on other ships close by desperate for water and reporting injuries over the radio. We speak to them several times every day.” Cases are highlighted on the Sailors’ Society website here.

As in Splash247 today, “The humanitarian toll is being felt most acutely on the front lines by those providing direct relief. John Attenborough, the Mission to Seafarers’ (MtS) Middle East and South Asia regional director, reports that ships are running dangerously low on food and water. His teams across the region are receiving an increasing number of calls for assistance.”

Several interesting articles have appeared in the last days that highlight thevoice of seafarers:

• “For Captain Raman Kapoor, the days aboard his oil tanker now have a dangerous familiarity, anchored on the edge of war…His tanker has a crew of 24, and the captain said one of the biggest challenges is keeping up morale.” https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-21/stranded-in-the-strait-of-hormuz/106587880

• “When seaman Rex Pereira saw missiles flying above his vessel in the Gulf, it sparked in him one desperate wish: to get back home to India…”Whatever I have earned (on the ship), I think I paid the entire amount in travelling, so I didn’t get anything in return. All of my savings are gone,” the 28-year-old told AFP by phone from his home in Mumbai.” https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260417-stranded-seafarers-endure-costly-path-home-from-gulf

• “Aboard an oil tanker plying the tense waters between the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, Iraqi Captain Rahman Al-Jubouri continues to work in one of the world’s most volatile maritime corridors, where the U.S.-Israel war with Iran has disrupted global trade and left some crews stranded and exposed to attacks. ‘Work has become a real risk; we don’t know when we might be bombed. We’re sailing over a ball of fire,’ he said.” https://apnews.com/article/oil-tanker-iraq-hormuz-a010fadac0a724b82b4994c896e2df62

• “An Indian seafarer stationed near Iraqi waters told CNBC-TV18, ‘There is no food, no water and no fuel on our ship. Our entire crew is living in fear. A few days ago, two tankers transferring oil near us were attacked by an unknown boat. Missiles are fired in front of us—we don’t know what to do.‘” https://www.cnbctv18.com/india/caught-in-conflict-waters-inside-the-ordeal-of-indian-seafarers-trapped-in-hormuz-ws-el-19890327.htm

Thank you.

Jason Zuidema”

—

Dr. Jason Zuidema

General Secretary

International Christian Maritime Association

www.icma.as