November 2011 Prayer Focus: Against Poverty, Disease and Injustice

Novem­ber Mes­sage from David Wells, Gen­eral Superintendent

Friends, thank you for your ongo­ing faith­ful­ness in pray­ing with us. As a Pen­te­costal fam­ily, I trust we can all attest to the ways we have seen God’s power at work, redeem­ing and trans­form­ing impos­si­ble cir­cum­stances. We con­tinue to accept His invi­ta­tion to part­ner with Him in prayer so that His pur­poses can be fully accom­plished in our tumul­tuous world.

This month, we are ask­ing for God’s inter­ven­tion and pro­vi­sion in the lives of those fac­ing dif­fi­cult eco­nomic cir­cum­stances across the globe. Please remem­ber the cri­sis in the Horn of Africa, as we con­tinue to inter­cede for the severe human­i­tar­ian crises unfold­ing there and else­where. We are also ask­ing that He will hear the cries of those who are exploited or oppressed everywhere.

The Inter­na­tional Day of Prayer for the Per­se­cuted Church is Novem­ber 13^th. Please lift up per­se­cuted Chris­tians, many of whom are sac­ri­fic­ing their very lives for the sake of the gospel. In hon­our of Remem­brance Day, let us also ask God’s bless­ing, strength and encour­age­ment for our nation’s vet­er­ans, along with those who are still risk­ing their lives for the pro­tec­tion of our nation.

Thanks for your ongo­ing prayer part­ner­ship with us,

David Wells,

Gen­eral Superintendent

Please read on for a review of November’s prayer focus. You can also e-mail prayer@paoc.org or visit www.paoc.org if you have addi­tional ques­tions.

Do you have a story to share about this month’s or any other pre­vi­ous prayer focus? Please e-mail us at prayer@paoc.org. Visit www.paoc.org to read other tes­ti­monies of God’s faithfulness.

Novem­ber 2011 Prayer Focus: Against Poverty, Dis­ease and Injustice

Pray that God will com­fort those suf­fer­ing the effects of nat­ural disasters.

Pray that God will relieve the cry of the sick, the hun­gry, orphans and widows.

Pray for the con­tin­ued strength and effec­tive­ness of our human­i­tar­ian agency, Emer­gency Relief and Devel­op­ment Over­seas (ERDO), and for our min­istries that care for orphans and wid­ows, such as Vil­lages of Hope.

Pray that God will deliver chil­dren, women and men caught in sex­ual and labour exploita­tion. Pray that God will destroy the chan­nels that facil­i­tate finan­cial gain from human misery.

Pray for God to pro­tect our nation from harm.

Theme Scrip­tures

Jere­miah 20:13, NIV

Sing to the LORD! Give praise to the LORD! He res­cues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked.

Psalm 69:33, NIV

The LORD hears the needy and does not despise his cap­tive people.

Psalm 113:5–8, NIV

Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heav­ens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes, with the princes of their people.

Psalm 107:19–20, NIV

Then they cried to the LORD in their trou­ble, and he saved them from their dis­tress. He sent forth his word and healed them; he res­cued them from the grave.

Isa­iah 53:4–5, NIV

Surely [Jesus] took up our infir­mi­ties and car­ried our sor­rows, yet we con­sid­ered him stricken by God, smit­ten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our trans­gres­sions, he was crushed for our iniq­ui­ties; the pun­ish­ment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Isa­iah 58:6–11, NIV

‘Is not this the kind of fast­ing I have cho­sen: to loose the chains of injus­tice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hun­gry and to pro­vide the poor wan­derer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

‘Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your heal­ing will quickly appear; then your right­eous­ness­will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

‘If you do away with the yoke of oppres­sion, with the point­ing fin­ger and mali­cious talk, and if you spend your­selves in behalf of the hun­gry and sat­isfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the dark­ness, and your night will become like the noonday.

‘The LORD will guide you always; he will sat­isfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered gar­den, like a spring whose waters never fail.’

Related posts:

1. May Pray Every Day Focus | Emphase de prière pour mai 2011
2. Pray Every Day — Sep­tem­ber Focus
3. Pray Every Day — March Focus
4. Pray Every Day April Focus | Prier Chaque Jours Emphase Avril
5. A Day of Fast­ing and Prayer For Souls | Une journée de jeûne et prière pour les âmes