Displaying items by tag: spiritual poverty

From Hope for the Countryside: ‘The Lord is the source of our provision, and His kindness and faithfulness are honoured by all those who look to him. Many Christians are involved in running foodbanks and pantries, offering some hope, helping to meet the very real material needs of people and showing the love of Christ in action. However, as important as this is, there is a deeper and more urgent need, to address the spiritual poverty in this land. God is not lacking nor unwilling to extend an invitation to his table and share his bounty. Pray for many to recognise their spiritual poverty and to hunger after the Lord.  Pray that we can work together to bring spiritual food to those in need, to tell them of the hope that lasts for ever and of the food and drink freely offered that will satisfy for a lifetime and into eternity. Give thanks for the many outreach and discipleship materials already available.’ For the full article, see

One of the root causes of poverty in Asia is corruption that diverts resources from the poor to the rich in a culture of bribes. Corruption and bribery are two sides of the same coin. Another root cause of Asian poverty is recurring natural disasters - floods, typhoons, volcanic eruptions, landslides, etc. ‘Asian countries are mostly dependent upon agriculture, forestry and tourism. All can all be affected by natural disasters. Education is affected by poverty because poor people stop going to school to work; leaving them without literacy and numeracy skills needed for a career. Poor people tend to believe not only that they are poor, but that they will remain poor, leading to psychological poverty - an unhealthy frame of mind that is usually self-inflicted. Spiritual poverty occurs when people’s incompleteness and dependency overwhelms them. In their brokenness they feel that something is wrong within themselves. They need God. Ask God to brood over and touch the impoverished Asian.

Qatar is accused by her Gulf neighbours of destabilising the region, and some nations have cut diplomatic ties (see Prayer Alert article ). The ramifications of escalating tensions are yet to be fully determined. Qatar is one of the wealthiest countries in the region but suffers from devastating spiritual poverty; it is almost entirely Muslim, and proselytising is forbidden. The church mainly consists of foreigners. At this time of unrest we can intercede for the 90% of Qataris who have not yet heard the good news. May this pivotal moment in Qatar’s history become a spiritual turning point for a nation that has been long closed to the Gospel. Pray for the south and southeast Asians, Egyptians, Palestinians, Lebanese, Syrians, and Iranians, who comprise most of Qatar’s workforce.