Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:00 — 4.1MB)
We live in a world full of injustice and poverty and yet in our own little protected bubbles, we can go through a day without a thought for those who are poor and needy. I’ve been sharing part of some morning prayers written by John Baillie many years ago because they have spoken to my heart many times with conviction and challenge. Here is part of one of those challenging prayers:
“O Lord Jesus Christ, who didst bid Thy disciples to shine as lights in a dark world, in shame and contrition of heart do I acknowledge before Thee the many faults and weaknesses of which we are guilty who in this generation represent Thy Church before the world; and especially do I acknowledge my own part in the same. Forgive me, I beseech Thee, the feebleness of my witness, the smallness of my charity, and the slackness of my zeal. Make me to be a more worthy follower of Him who cared for the poor and the oppressed, and who could never see disease without seeking to heal it or any kind of human need without turning aside to help. Let Thy power, O Christ, be in us all, to share the world’s suffering and redress its wrongs. Amen.”
There are many ways we can share in the world’s suffering and seek to redress its wrongs, and as children of God, we should be at the forefront of helping the oppressed and poor. I often ask myself what have I ever truly sacrificed to help someone in need? Very, very little, for sure.
What if all of us who are followers of Jesus Christ prayed this way each morning, asking God for a compassionate heart and a willingness to reach out to those in need? We don’t have to go to far-off places to find needy people, do we? Recently I challenged my women’s class at church to find someone that week who needed some money and just give them some money, no matter how small.
I want to be the kind of Christian who sees the needy in my world and finds ways to be Jesus with skin on to them.
I do recommend this little devotional I’ve shared with you this week: A Diary of Private Prayer by John Baillie. I believe it will bless you, and I encourage you to start every day with prayer.