Slum-Dwellers

Friday, January 13, 2023

Close to one billion people live in slums in our world today. Hemmed in by squalid and often miserable conditions, people feel degraded and ruined—no running water, no sewage system except the road, and no bed other than cardboard on the ground.

The estimated number increases continually as years go by. While not all slum-dwellers are Muslims, a large number of them are.

Prayer

Lord God, you created humans in your image to honor you and bring glory to the name of Jesus. We pray for slum-dwellers, our brothers and sisters in humanity who have been reduced to live in unsanitary, dismal conditions.

I pray against the abuse that people in powerful positions inflict upon broken humanity. Awaken their conscience, O God of justice. Let them know that one day they will stand before your throne to receive their just recompense.

Send Gospel workers prepared to share the message of Christ’s love with those who are hopeless and distraught and who are on the path to eternal doom.

O compassionate Father, send some of your children with material and food gifts to squatters’ camps and refugee compounds where the destitute and outcasts have lost hope and dignity.

I pray for the poor and needy to receive your grace, be changed by the power of the Gospel of Christ and live for him.

I pray for missionaries working among the slum-dwellers. Continue to fill them with the Holy Spirit, with compassion and courage. Reward their efforts with a great harvest of souls. In the precious name of Jesus, amen.

Promise

He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor (1 Samuel 2:8, NIV).