And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. - Ephesians 6:18
The most powerful Atlantic hurricane of modern times has left destruction throughout the Bahamas, and forced millions of coastal residents in the U.S. to flee inland to safety. Dorian marked the fourth consecutive year that at least one Atlantic hurricane had reached category 5 status, denoting sustained winds topping 157mph. Many communities are still trying to recover from storms that caused major damage and deaths throughout the Caribbean and the U.S. coast. There is growing evidence that the climate crisis, through the warming of the atmosphere and higher sea temperatures, is contributing to a pattern of fiercer, more destructive hurricanes.
God, we pray for all those who have lost homes and livelihoods because of these storms. We pray for those who wait to find out what the storm will do. We pray especially for those without a safety net -- those without homes, who live in poverty, who are sick or vulnerable. We pray for organizations like World Renew who work so diligently to respond to the needs of people after storms like Dorian hit.
Despite bearing heavy costs, including bribes for government officials, 1.9 million people were excluded from the final citizens list recently released in the northeastern state of Assam. The impoverished state, which borders Muslim-majority Bangladesh, has decided that only those who could prove that they or their ancestors were in India before 1971, when Bangladesh's war of independence forced millions of refugees into Assam, were counted as citizens.
God, we pray for those who have been excluded from this list, and the panic that it strikes for them and their ability to survive and thrive in India. We pray for those who have been forced to flee from their homes, and have not found places to live that have welcomed them. We pray that we might use our voices and our actions to provide welcome in the places where we are.
The death of a man deported to Iraq, even though he never lived there, has added to the fears among Iraqis in the US. Jimmy Aldaoud, who was born in a refugee camp in Greece, was sent to Baghdad in June, where he said he did not understand the language and slept on the street. Sixty-three days after being deported, he died from medical complications. Around 1,000 other Green Card holders with criminal records in the US face deportation to Iraq, a country to which the US State Department advises no US citizen travel due to the dangers. Aldaoud's body is expected to arrive back in Detroit on Friday.
God, for the family of Jimmy Aldaoud, we pray. Bring them comfort and peace as they grieve. We pray for all those who hear Jimmy’s story and feel afraid for what they may face due to new immigration policies in the U.S. We pray for justice, Lord.
After several tumultuous years for evangelicals in Bolivia, President Evo Morales came through on promises to extend religious freedom for the country’s Protestant minority. A new law offers their churches and ministries equal rights as Catholic groups. Last year, evangelicals decried a government move to criminalize evangelism. But the president consulted with Protestant leaders, and the National Association of Evangelicals of Bolivia celebrated that the law was finally approved in April.
God, we give thanks for policies that protect the freedoms that so many of us take for granted -- freedom to worship, to believe, to pray, to share the gospel. We celebrate alongside our brothers and sisters in Bolivia, and we also pray for people around the world who are longing for similar freedoms.
November 3rd is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. We have free resources avaliable to mark this date in the church calendar.
Deanna Geelhoed, 24, and Anneke Spoelma, 14, attended a Climate Witness Project Bootcamp this summer, a learning experience put together by the Office of Social Justice and World Renew. Read more here...
The Reformed family is a diverse family with a diverse range of opinions. Not all perspectives expressed on the blog represent the official positions of the Christian Reformed Church. Learn more about this blog, Reformed doctrines, and our diversity policy on our About page.
In order to steward ministry shares well, commenting isn’t available on Do Justice itself because we engage with comments and dialogue in other spaces. To comment on this post, please visit the Christian Reformed Centre for Public Dialogue’s Facebook page (for Canada-specific articles) or the Office of Social Justice’s Facebook page. Alternatively, please email us. We want to hear from you!
Read more about our comment policy.