CATALYSE - GLOBAL COMMUNITY CARE by Lisa Toh

Lisa Toh serves as lead for the Form Strategic Partnerships with Global NGO initiative. This initiative is part of CATALYSE, our five-year global master-plan for 2011-2015. Lisa shares that prayer can make a difference in impacting our community.

Injustice and poverty 

Just thinking about the plight of injustice and poverty in the world even in our own backyard – can be overwhelming. Years ago, the Lord brought the conviction in my heart that the church stewards the answer for deepest problems in the world because we have the Gospel. Christ IS the answer to all the problems in the world – because all problems fundamentally stem from sin.

Once when I was in prayer about the injustices in the world - in my own town, the Lord showed me that prayer and intercession are keys to unlock much of these injustices and poverty.

Prayer and intercession 

Prayer and intercession are certainly not replacement for actions such as helping the needy, feeding the hungry, talking to the isolated, and walking people through messy restorations. The latter actions are important! We only have to read through the Bible to know that these things are very much integral to a Christians life.

One of my favourite sayings is “you can’t do everything, but you can do something”. Rather than being overwhelmed (or worse, numbed) by the flight of injustice, you CAN do something. Start by praying – and see what God will do in your heart, and through your hands! 

Below is an excerpt from www.micahchallenge.org.au, a global movement of Christian agencies, churches, groups and individuals who aims to deepen people’s engagement with the poor and to help reduce poverty as an integral part of our Christian faith:

“Prayer is essential in bringing about change in the world. When we pray we are reminded of God's priorities and power when we are dealing with big issues of justice, like poverty. When we pray, we can see the world with God's eyes of compassion and justice rather than being hopelessly cynical, fearful or naïve about global injustice. Prayer is also a wonderful reminder to those of us who want to race out and change the world, that it is God's power, God's enabling and God's mercy which make us effective. Poverty is an issue that needs action but it is vital to remember that our actions need to be built on prayer. As the Lord's Prayer puts it, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven". This points to the priority of God's control but also the need for us to demonstrate God's Kingdom values on earth. 

Praying about poverty needs persistence and insight. Poverty is the result of individual actions but also of structural injustice and therefore we must pray at different levels. We can pray for individuals suffering from poverty (including people and places we know) to be comforted and provided form as well as for individuals living in wealth including people and places we know) to cast off their indifference or exploitation. We must also pray for national policies which care for the poor and address injustice, for God's power to overcome injustice in international laws, multinational companies and power structures and for Godly government decisions that protect and care for the weak and vulnerable.

We tend not to pray about overcoming powerful structures but examples from the Bible show God's people praying to overcome worldly power e.g. Elijah confronting the prophets of Baal, Moses defying Pharaoh. 

Prayer sustains us as we seek to overcome injustice - our prayers sometimes start as laments, cried from the heart about the unfairness of suffering. But our prayers help us to avoid despair or cynicism because we are assured that our lamentations are heard.

Nehemiah is a wonderful example of a person of powerful prayer and effective, persistent action. He saw the plight of his people in Jerusalem and wanted to do something. His first response was to fast and pray, then he acted. And he acted in a way that went to the heart of the issue: that dealt with the cause of suffering and broke the power of people who stood against justice. He discerned the right way to act because his actions were grounded in prayer. This combination of spiritual power and practical wisdom is a great way to deal with poverty.” 

I do pray that this prayer will challenge you to expand your prayer life! www.micahchallenge.org.au

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