Praying through the day
Scripture tells us that prayer should be as natural as breathing, a running conversation with a Creator who loves to talk to us. As we prepare for Thanksgiving this month, let’s use the ordinary things of our day to remember to be thankful for them and to pray for those who can’t even imagine having the things we take for granted.
Each time you …
- Turn on a faucet, thank God for clean water. More than 880 million people worldwide only have access to unsafe water sources. And 4,110 children in developing countries die every day because they don’t have clean drinking water. Claim for them the promise of Isaiah 41:18: “I will open up rivers for them on the high plateaus. I will give them fountains of water in the valleys.”
Dear God, You are Living Water, and I thank You that I have constant access to clean water. Protect those who walk miles daily to gather water for their families, and please give them sources of clean, healthy water.
- Read a book, a sign, or an email, thank God for your education. Around the world, some 67 million elementary-age children are not enrolled in school. Many are denied an education because their parents can’t afford their school fees and uniforms. Millions are put to work to help feed the family.
Dear God, You are the beginning of all knowledge. Thank You for the gift of an education that has made such a difference in my life, and make a way for the millions of children who want to go to school to be able to attend.
- Open the medicine cabinet, thank God for access to health care. Every day more than 20,000 children younger than 5 die from causes we can easily prevent, including diarrhea, measles, malaria, and malnutrition. Pray for children born into unhealthy living situations.
Dear God, You are the Great Physician, who gives my body its ability to heal. Touch the bodies of those who are sick and suffering, and give them Your perfect health.
- Put away an item you’ve just bought, thank God for His overflowing generosity to you. Today 1.4 billion people in the developing world live in poverty on less than $1.25 per day — even though most are willing to work. Millions of families in developing countries have no opportunity to earn income. Pray for these families that struggle to survive. Proverbs 14:31 tells us: ” … Whoever is kind to the needy honors God” (NIV). Contemplate what it means for you to be “kind to the needy.”
Dear God, if I am honest with myself, I probably waste more money every day than most people in the world have to live on. Help me to remember just how blessed I am because of who I am — your child — not what I have. And help me be sensitive to those who struggle to sustain their families.
- Read your Bible, be thankful for access to Bibles and other materials that help keep your Christian faith strong and focused. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” In some of the 100 countries where World Vision works, political, economic, or social values severely restrict churches serving as beacons of hope to their communities. Pray that church leaders and congregations will be equipped to demonstrate God’s unconditional love to families in need.
Dear God, thank You for loving me so much that You reveal Yourself to me through Your Word. Help me keep Your truth close to my heart, so that I can grow closer to Yours.
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