Pray against poverty
Poverty and injustice can't be remedied through money alone
SOMALIA—Earlier this fall, World Vision Canada took the unusual step of sending out a special e-mail alert to Canadian Church leaders, appealing for prayer for the horrific situation in Somalia. While issuing that alert was an uncommon thing for us to do, we felt the dire nature of the situation—and the desperate need for God to intervene—warranted it.
But the experience got us thinking about prayer, specifically as it relates to poverty and injustice. Scripture tells us that "the prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective," but we wondered how prayer affects the situations and people we pray for and about.
Author Philip Yancey tells us, "I used to see prayer as my way of getting God to do what I want done. Now I see it as our way of 'tuning in' to what God wants done in the world."
"We know God is a God of mercy and compassion and justice," Yancey goes on, "and for whatever reason God has chosen us as the way to dispense those qualities to the world, to put into practice Jesus' petition that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
Heaven knows our world needs God's will to be done. More than a billion people on the planet are living in failed and fragile states, where poverty and violence are everyday realities. According to data published in the World Bank's World Development Report 2011, not a single fragile or conflict-affected country has yet achieved even one of the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals.
The Apostle Paul's letter to the Ephesians reminds us that God is able to do "immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine." But God wants us to ask. And I've seen what can happen when we do.
In one nation far from here, where the roots of corruption, repression and need run deep, a group of children approached one of our workers one day, recounting stories of the challenges they face in their day-to-day lives. "What can we do?" they asked.
The worker thought for a moment, and then told the children that when he had problems, he prayed, asking Jesus for help. "Can we pray too?" they wondered. "Of course!" he answered. And so that group of little ones began to pray.
A week later, it was my privilege to visit with them. One youngster excitedly reported she had prayed that the leaky roof of her school would be repaired; and that very day, people had come to fix it. A boy testified he'd prayed that his father would stop beating his mother. His father hadn't given his mother a beating since. Another little fellow said he'd asked God to help him study more, and he had indeed been able to work at his studies a little harder that week.
I believe poverty and injustice are not simply material issues; time and again I've seen that you can't remedy them through money alone. There is a profoundly spiritual component to such things. Prayer relates to material concerns of course, but in a way that connects us with spiritual realities.
"Praying for others is the act of holding them up into the blessing of God," says Dr. Arthur Boers, author and associate professor at Tyndale University College and Seminary. "It is one of the most basic ways we have of showing God's and our love for others."
This month, as Canadians mark Remembrance Day and focus our thoughts on tragedies of the past, it's good to recognize that there are also contemporary tragedies that would benefit from our remembrance.
But let's do more than remember; let's take the additional step of praying for our brothers and sisters around the globe who live in fragile and failed states. And as we do, we'll tap into the tremendous spiritual power God promises when we seek His face in the midst of injustice and need.
Dear Readers:
ChristianWeek relies on your generous support. please take a minute and donate to help give voice to stories that inform, encourage and inspire.
Donations of $20 or more will receive a charitable receipt.Thank you, from Christianweek.
