Extending Hospitality to the Needy

[hospitality: the practice of welcoming strangers, visitors, or guests into our lives with kindness and generosity]

Theme: Extending hospitality to the needy in our community.

Challenge: Consider spending a few hours this month volunteering with an organization that helps those in our community who are less fortunate than ourselves. Options include the Food Bank, Love INC, Freedom House, ABC Life Choices, or any others that speak to your heart.

Daily Prayer: One way God creates a hospitable spirit within us is through prayer. Throughout the month of September, let us together bring before God these specific prayers for the needy in our community.

• Sunday: Pray God would move our hearts to empathy and compassion for those in need and that God’s Spirit would prompt us, even if only in a small way, to be an answer to our prayers this month.

• Monday: For those without hope, pray that God would meet them in their dark and despairing days, illumine their path forward, and comfort them with His compassionate and unwavering presence.

• Tuesday: For those who lack nourishment and provision, pray that God would see them in their distress and provide them with a sustainable source of food, shelter, and work, in order that their needs would be met.

• Wednesday: Pray that God would unite our community around a common purpose of caring for those in need and that He would sustain those organizations and people dedicated to achieving this purpose.

• Thursday: Ask God to strengthen our own voices as we advocate for the rights of the needy and for His justice to be active throughout the levels of our government who have influence at a systemic level of change.

• Friday: For those who experience a feeling of disempowerment or deal with overwhelming obstacles to a healthy way of life, pray God’s strengthening hand to hold them upright and for His grace to carry them through.

• Saturday: For those who face a lack of education for whatever reason, ask God to provide opportunities for personal growth and an enlightened mind, so they may break free from cycles of poverty and reach their fullest potential.