The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pray-ers :)

Thank you for continuing in our partial fast--minimal amounts of beans, rice and tap water--in order to focus our attention and prayers on behalf of the world's poor. Today's prayer suggestions will be a little different. John Robb of World Vision once wrote, "Wherever in the world there is significant development--people coming to Christ, health improvements, economic opporunities, adoption of kingdom values--it is the direct result of Christians praying." May that be true of us!! We want to build a habit of praying for the poor, so that we can say like Samuel, "As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you" (1 Samuel 12:23). Today we hope to give you some practical suggestions and habits for praying for the poor on a daily basis.

First, it is important that we ask God to give us a heart for the poor. The righteous Job, even in the midst of terrible hardships himself, could say, "Have I not wept for those in trouble? Has not my soul grieved for the poor?" (Job 30:25). Have you wept? Has your soul grieved? Ask that God would break your heart for the same things that break God's heart.

When you are ready to pray with a heart full of love and compassion for the poor, here are seven steps toward integrating prayer for the poor in your daily life (excerpted from The Hole in Our Gospel, pg 291-292). By the way, these are great habits to form with your kids as well!

1. When you take your morning shower, pray for families in poor countries who do not have access to clean water, forcing mothers to spend hours collecting inadequate water and causing children to suffer and even die from water-related diseases.
2. When you pack your lunch or your child's lunch, pray for the one billion people who are chronically hungry in the world today.
3. As you commute to your job, pray for the adults around the world who can't find consistent work to feed their families, or pray for the millions of children forced into harmful or exploitative labor.
4. When you drop off your child at school, pray for children around the world who cannot get an education because of poverty or discrimination.
5. As you take a vitamin, pray for the families without adequate health care, leaving them and especially their children vulnerable to preventable diseases.
6. When you arrive home after work, pray for the children and families who are homeless due to poverty, conflict, or natural disasters.
7. As you tuck your children into bed, guide them to pray for the millions of children who have lost their parents around the world--especially the fifteen million AIDS orphans around the world, many of whom must survive without guardians.