30 Days of Praying for Children and FamiliesSample

These verses invite us to recall the Exodus. Pharaoh had felt so threatened by the Israelites’ number and prosperity that he had put them into slavery.

God raised up Moses to challenge Pharaoh to let the people go. He asked repeatedly, but the king would not relent. Meanwhile, the Israelites were treated increasingly harshly.

But then, when the time seemed even more desperate, God acted decisively – we now know this time as Passover. On that night, Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and ordered that all the Israelites leave immediately. The Israelites were free, no longer living in cruel and unsafe conditions.

God had acted decisively to free them. He acted in a just manner.

As the Bible unfolds, God continually instructs the Israelites to recall how he rescued them when they are being informed on how to treat their most at-risk people.

Deuteronomy 24:17-18 is saying: Because God is just in the way he treated you when you were vulnerable in Egypt, you must be just in the way you treat the most vulnerable among you.

We are to respond to God’s redemption by advocating for justice for the foreigner and the fatherless.

Prayer

Pray for those children and young people in care, and for families for whom injustice in our systems, structures, and society means they’re not being offered the support and care they deserve.

Pray that they will receive the practical help, support, and care they need in this moment, but also pray boldly for change that will allow our communities to flourish.

Pray for families who are experiencing the impact of the rising cost of living. Pray that they will be seen, known, understood, and comforted in their fear and concern.

Pray for support that will help those in our communities meet their needs, keeping their homes warm and their bodies nourished. Ask God that long-term solutions will be found quickly, so that our communities can flourish.