It is the end of another week there has been lots of issues worthy of prayer. To list them all and go into detail would require … something I don’t have a lot of – time. So here is a snippet of just some of the issues that I’d appreciate you remembering in your prayers.
- Youth Unemployment
This week saw the release of the Budget to the inevitable mixed response. The tough balance of managing the economy and reducing the level of debt whilst not bringing too many devastating cuts that affect people’s likelihood is something that will be seen in the actual lived out responses to the changes itself.
One area that will not be overcome overnight is the problem of young people leaving school and not being able to find a job. The levels are going up if statistics are being believed. Working with those who have been unemployed for over six months, many of whom have never worked a day in their lives, there are quite a number of issues to be addressed. It’s not just the lack of jobs or necessary qualifications, it’s the lack of confidence and motivation. One thing the current economic climate highlights is how much people attach quality of life to material possession and level of financial wherewithal an individual is able to have. Those pressures influence some young people not to take certain paths to attaining a measure of life that is far more worthwhile even if it’s with less material resources.
There’s work to be done helping young people look beyond the frames of perspective they’re given by society as to how to enjoy and make the most of their life. There’s work to be done as a community helping the young explore and discover who they are and how the world of work is a tool to help their self-expression and fulfilment in the context of contributing to the wellbeing of others. The time is an opportunity to be seized by those with that compassion for those who falling through the gaps in society and buying the lie that living off benefits is a good way to live, or following illegitimate means of gaining income is all that matters to keep a certain lifestyle going. Please remember the youth unemployed in your prayers
- Effective Communication
Prayer is communication – a vital part of the two-way communication between God and men. Prayerlessness is the surest sign of ineffective communication taking place between God and men and explains quite a lot about the dire consequences that man has to live with as a result.
Great relationships throughout history are marked by effective communication. Families operate on effective communication. Marriages function on effective communication. Businesses prosper on effective communication. Difficulties are overcome through effective communication. Successes are achieved through effective communication. I reckon I’ve made the point about it.
Likewise the simplest and most obvious things are exactly the sort of things that are the first to be ignored when the going gets tough. In my training life, one of the things that emerges is how easy it is to forget what makes for effective communication. The basics of talking and listening are the foundations – and yet these acts are dependent on the keys of understanding and being able to respond appropriately. Another thing I’ve picked up from training is just how crucial it is to remember and employ the basics and not miss out the obvious.
The impression I receive is that these basics are being forgotten and are leading to those tragic consequences. Marriages are breaking up, families grow all the more dysfunctional, the workplace is a more cagey place to work and life as whole relationally becomes full of more alienated individuals who wouldn’t feel that way if only they had learnt and been the beneficiary of effective communication. In your own communication with God in prayer, please remember these basics for the welfare of those you love and care for.
- Righteousness and Not Pretentiousness
One of the things reading about Jesus and the Kingdom was how His lifestyle and His commitment to the life His Father sought came into conflict with a lot of the accepted forms of religious observance. Such was the emphasis of external behaviour as a means of being seen as ‘righteous’ that little was ever mentioned about the state of the heart and the things that happened beyond a tick-box approach to religion.
I was reminded of this recently when someone shared with me the episode of the rich young ruler and his encounter with Jesus that left him sorrowful as he was told the real cost of what it would take to gain eternal life. I contrasted that with another comment I received from someone else who came across as rather pious, but underneath that there was a sense of a vacuum when it came to considering what really mattered in the pursuit of the things that matter to Jesus.
Not decrying religious acts at all, and appreciating the richness of symbolism and significance, it is sad when we don’t go beyond them to have lives that reflect those qualities that Jesus expressed. Qualities like mercy, forgiveness, grace and love. It is a deterrent to people approaching Jesus in the community, how much more does it put off those who are yet to be invited. Please remember the vital importance of reflecting the true values of righteousness beyond religiosity in your prayers.
No one knows when Jesus will return and I am always challenged by His statement that said on His return would He find faith on earth. Faithful people tend to be prayerful people, and there remains so much to engage in prayer about. So as well as these points remember all the more to be focussed on a prayerful life that produces that essential faithful character as constant connection with Him conforms us to His image.
Have a great weekend.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
dmcd
Life With CD 