Praying for the Poor

One of the main pushes of the Micah Project is to pray for those in
poverty throughout the world. This stirred my thinking-- I pray a lot
for those in my community in need, but rarely for those around the
world unless a specific group catches my attention.

This month, my family and I have been praying for different groups in
poverty-- one each night. Some of the groups we prayed for were:


The needy in Bangaldesh, who are at the forefront of being wiped out
if the sea levels rise.
The suffering in Columbia, who stand up against oppressors and drug
merchants.
The needy in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Palestinians.
The homeless and mentally ill in North America.
Those suffering from AIDS in Africa.
Today, we will be praying for those who have suffered through the
earthquake in Pakistan.


Something to think about!

How To End Poverty 2

 

I suppose I could have come up with ideas that would be a little less cruel to those in power, but I am tired of the rich elite ruling the world without any idea of what it means to be poor, or what their laws imply to those who have no resources. I am tired of this world where those in North America are so far removed from the poor that they dehumanize their own poor and distantly allow the poor of the world be killed, enslaved, have what little they have taken from them, all for the sake of that distant elite. I am sick of politicians rallying behind finance corporations to save the jobs of financiers, while allowing the needy be starved out due to forced debt and petty charges targeted against them.

I know God is angry at this too. He is saying now to the politicians and bankers and the wealthy elite of the world:
"How long will you judge unjustly
And show favor to the wicked?
Vindicate the needy and fatherless;
Give justice to the lowly and poor.
Rescue the weak and needy
Deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
They do not know nor do they understand;
They walk about in darkness.
All the foundations of the earth are shaken.”

Then He turns to them, in their smugness, and screams in their face:
“You had thought yourselves to be gods
And all of you to be sons of the Most High
But you will all die like mortals
And fall like any prince."

If we are honest about the world and the calamities that fall upon the poor and destitute, then we can but answer,
Arise, O God, bring justice to the earth!
Bring justice to the homeless who have been kicked out of their camps.
Bring justice to the AIDS sufferers who have been degraded by their own people
Bring justice to war victims, whose lives have been destroyed because of ideologies of distant rulers
Bring justice to the mentally ill, who are imprisoned in hospitals because they do not act “normal”
Bring justice to the elderly, who are commanded by their children to do that which they do not want to do
Bring justice to the falsely accused, who languish apart from their family and friends.
Bring justice to those beaten and lit on fire, just because they are too helpless to fight back.
Bring justice to the poor of the nations in such debt because of the greed of their politicians.

Yet, O God, have mercy on us who have failed the poor. Fill us with the compassion we lack.

Crossing Borders

Everyone in the West should live in a third world country for at least six months on the hospitality of a third world family.

Everyone who is rich should learn to live and give like the poor.

Every judge and politician should live on the street or in a shack for a month before taking their position.

Every pastor should live on food stamps for three months, without the opporunity to make any large purchase-- including books!

If leaders live as the poor, then we can better understand how our decisions effect the poor.