Pray for the Poor: Addressing Root Problems

Causes of poverty are quite complex and attempts at development often fail. A 2021 United Nations report showed that poverty levels vary immensely between different ethnic groups in a country. For instance, in India five out of six poor people were from lower tribes or
castes. Poverty levels are assessed based on health, education, housing, clean water and other standards of living. (hdr.undp.org/en/2021-MPI, stratus.earth)

Pray that the Lord would give wisdom to workers among the poor, giving them insight into root problems and long-term solutions. Pray that the poor will experience God’s great love for their families through workers.

Great progress has been made with the arrival of electricity, transportation, cell phones, and help with water supply and health. In just the last twenty years more than a billion people left the most impoverished living conditions behind, and the number of people living on more than 10 dollars per day has increased by 900 million.(iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNetpov DuplicateWB.aspx)

But, even though extreme poverty has decreased, many people still go hungry, suffer from poor health, lack education and live in substandard conditions, and the Covid lockdowns have made things worse. Eighty-five percent of the world lives on less than $30 per day, two-thirds live on less than $10 per day, and 10% live on less than $1.90 per day. (ourworldindata.org/extreme-poverty, urgentneeds.org/)

Drug addiction results in poverty and sex trafficking as addicted families try to survive. Many people in FPGs struggle with addiction to alcohol or drugs, consuming the few resources of the poor people. Women in the slums of N. Africa and India both said “alcohol is our worst problem.” Under Western dominance Afghanistan produced over 90% of the world’s illegal heroin, with an addiction rate of 8% in their own population; also high in nearby Iran. Since the Taliban took over in August of 2021, they have denounced the “narco-state,” banned opium growing and set up rehab clinics for adults and children, as the Qur’an bans intoxicating substance use.

Pray that believers and godly organizations will show Jesus’ love for addicted people by helping free them from drugs and helping them find other sources of income to replace drug trade and trafficking. Pray that believers can help families find other forms of employment that bless their families and communities.

Encourage Youth and Children to Pray!

The disciples shooed away children to prevent them from ”bothering” Jesus, but Jesus viewed the children worthy of His time and told His
disciples that children have a gift in the way they receive the kingdom of God, He said:

“Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them!
For the Kingdom of God belongs to those
who are like these children.” (Mk. 10:14)

We’re no better than the disciples trying to shoo the children away if we just teach them about Jesus but not how to relate to Him, so when opportunity arises encourage and teach them to pray. Have them pray.