I come from a small town in Pennsylvania called Shippensburg, and in it there are about 7 or 8 thousand people. Obviously there are needs anywhere we go in the world, but in Shippensburg you have to look a little harder to find them. Here in Belo Horizonte however, it is impossible not to see the needs. I’m not sure of any exact numbers, but there are millions of people here, and most of them live with very little. We have had several opportunities to go into the city since being here, and each time I am overwhelmed by the amount of poverty. I have heard stories about people who literally live in a pile of garbage, but to actually see it is so devastating. What is even more devastating is that it isn’t all that rare. Even most of the people living in “houses” are living in conditions hardly better than a pile of garbage.
What has amazed me in this is how helpless I have felt since coming in contact with this amount of poverty. Not only do I not have the freedom to just go into a slum and start serving the people there, I have realized that even what is done is truly only a tiny drop in a huge bucket. The needs here just seem so endless.
This feeling of overwhelmedness has shown me something very important: I have forgotten the power of prayer. In a small town setting, it can sometimes feel as though my actions are actually having a decent impact. Thus, prayer can easily feel “optional”, as though nothing more will be accomplished through it. This is impossible here. I am learning very quickly that faithfulness in prayer is absolutely a necessity, because my actions alone have a grossly miniscule impact. I do understand that when someone is hungry, you don’t pray that they are filled, you just feed them. But I am horribly incapable of meeting the needs of millions of people. This is why I am committed to praying daily for the people here, that Jesus would reveal Himself more to them, and that He would meet their incredible needs. “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:11)
It seems to me that God is quite ready to give, we just need to ask. So that is what I plan to do, and I would ask that you might do the same. My hope is that through prayer, we will learn even more how infinitely loving and sovereign God is. So Lord, give us the boldness to ask much from You, and give us the faithfulness to respond when we are Your answer. Amen.
