Despite the United Nations bias, or perhaps because of it, a Christian prayer group has been meeting for twenty years in the UN headquarters in New York City to pray for the State of Israel. Perhaps more amazing is the remarkable story behind the woman who helps lead these prayers.
During their lunch break, UN workers gather in meeting rooms in the New York City Headquarters. Some groups use their break-time to engage in hobbies, such as painting or dancing. One group of devout Christians takes this time to pray. Though not formally affiliated with the UN, the multi-denominational prayer group is the international organization’s spiritual counterpart. The faces change constantly as workers come and go, but the special focus of this prayer group has remained the same. The stated purpose of the prayer meetings is to pray for world leaders, and more specifically, for the State of Israel. Twice a week, for the last two decades, between 20 and 40 people have been quietly gathering for these prayers.
“Praying for the government is from the Bible,” Claudia Kiesinger, one of the organizers of the group, told Breaking Israel News, citing Proverbs.
The king’s heart is in the hand of Hashem as the watercourses: He turneth it whithersoever He will. Proverbs 21:1
“As a Christian,” she added, “It is very important for me to pray for Israel.”
Though not affiliated with the UN, Kiesinger is on the committee that organizes the UN prayer group. She came to New York City seven years ago as an emissary for TOS Ministry, a ministry founded in Germany in 1987.
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“When we saw what America did for Western Germany after the war, our ministry felt the need to come here to pray out of thankfulness,” Kiesinger explained. “With the rising anti-Semitism in Europe, we decided to devote much of our prayer for the Jewish people.”
She also noted that praying for Israel at the UN has a special significance.
“The UN played a big role in establishing Israel, but now many of the forces against Israel are here,” said Kiesinger. “They need our prayers. Prayer can change so much.”
The ministry set up an apartment near the UN for this purpose. Kiesinger is joined by people from around the world, who come for periods of time to pray with the group.
As remarkable as the prayer group is, Kiesinger’s connection to the Jewish people is even more surprising, going back several generations. Kiesinger is a volunteer for the March of Life, a group of descendants of Nazi perpetrators who are trying to reconcile the actions of their ancestors. The group is dedicated to remembering the Holocaust and taking a stand against anti-Semitism.
This is personally relevant to Kiesinger. She is a relative of former German chancellor Kurt George Kiesinger, who, after the war, successfully concealed his role as a high-level Nazi. She also discovered that despite his denials, her paternal grandfather was an ardent Nazi. Kiesinger has taken her family history and turned it into her life’s mission.
“This is my stand with Israel, to not be silent,” Kesinger said. “During the war, so many Germans were silent. This is my way of saying, ‘Never again’: through prayer.”
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Source: Israel in the News
