50 Days of Prayer – Oregon Coast
Day 42
For the Poor, the Hungry and Downtrodden
Deuteronomy 15:11 For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore, I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’
1 John: 3:16-18 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
PRAYER:
We pray today for God’s people, His creation. We pray that we, as humanity might identify with our human face. We pray for our world divided. God of life, into your world You come. Into this divided human community, You arrive. You sit amongst the poor, but the wealthy do not see You. You, walk with the lonely and the abandoned, but those with power cannot hear Your footsteps. You, stand among the hungry crowds awaiting food, but the greedy will not share their food with You. You live among the powerless, the frightened and the weak, but the corrupt fail to notice and continue to exploit You. God of hope deliver us all from self-righteousness so that while we may call the world towards a different way, we might also become the answer to the prayers of the silent, suffering, and struggling ones. God of justice grant us the courage to live as well as proclaim Your gospel. God of life grant us the energy to serve others in Your name. God of love, enable and allow us, with all our weaknesses and fears, to continue this walk of faith, for faith and in faith.
O God, we identify now with those who lack food. Give us (the world) this day, our daily bread. Bring to our awareness those in need. Move on our hearts to share with those who have not, and to weep for those who are downtrodden. We pray for people in war torn countries where corruption has caused control of the food. We pray that You would raise up angels over those, bringing food and blankets. Give favor to those supporting the people and make a way where there hasn’t been a way to supply needed assistance. Show the helping organizations how to get the food to the right places. Give helping organizations discernment on who and how to help, and to recognize true need. Help us to supply generously to those who are helping, (like World Vision, Samaritan’s Purse and others). God, the hungry and the not hungry stand as one before You; loved with the same love, both in need of You and each other. Lord, rescue Your children; fill their stomachs with food and their hearts with gladness and hope, so that they, too, might experience the luxury of dealing only with their spiritual hunger, their emotional hunger and their psychological hunger. Send your Spirit to all of us, until we all feast with Jesus in the age to come.
And now, I submit my heart and my resources to You, Lord. Speak to me about how You want me to help. Who would You like me to pray for? How can I help…could it be my neighbor? How can I give? I am listening. In the Name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.