This past week Novemeber 12th-18th was Global Poverty Prayer Week. In Dublin we ran a prayer room from 7pm til 2am Monday to Thursday. Each night focused on a different aspect of poverty, including HIV/AIDS, climate change, disasters and trade justice. It was great to hear more about these issues and to look at them from a biblical perspective.

As I allowed myself to delve into these issues and tried to engage with my world I had to ask God to soften my heart and allow the things that break his heart to break mine. The sheer size of this issues overwhelms me. Its so hard to see beyond them, so hard to see how I can make a difference. Its so much easier to close your heart and not be affected because so often there seems to be nothing we can do. I’ve learnt this week there is plenty we can do. One article I read this week said that prayer is the greatest act of solidarity. However real prayer involves emotions, intercessory prayer means feeling the pain of those we pray for, and that’s where it gets tough. On Monday Lucy shared about HIV/AIDS and I was challenged by the idea that as the body of Christ we need to begin by grieving for our broken world.

As I spent time in the prayer roome each night dwelling on global poverty and reading stories about real people I started to get angry. Angry at the world for getting itself so messed up, angry at our leaders for letting things get this bad but most of all I’m angry at me. Angry at my inaction and letting my hear be numbed to the injustices in the world around me. Maybe before we change we need to get a little angry,

The world needs anger. The world often continues to allow evil because
it isn't angry enough.” -Bede Jarrett

God loves justice, and this week I have been struck by just how big a deal justice is to God. Its a major theme throughout the Old Testament and lived out through Jesus in the New Testament. One night I starting reading some Psalms and then flicked through Isaiah and the gospels and I was astounded by the coverage justice gets throughout the bible, its absolutely everywhere! God says it over and over again, “Act justly”, “Maintain justice”, “Administer true justice”, “Let justice roll on like a river” (Micah6, Isaiah 56, Zechariah 7 and Amos 5). So how come as the Body of Christ in the western world we have neglected something so close to God’s heart? If we are striving to become Christ-like then why do we neglect justice? Why do our hearts not burn with anger at injustice and the massive inequality in our world? It made Jesus angry so where is our anger?

Its so hard to see beyond the size of the mess our world is in and so hard to see how I can make a difference. But if we don’t believe we can affect change then what do we believe? How small have we made our God? Have we forgotten that  ‘What is impossible with men is possible with God’ (Luke 18 v.27). So we can hope and dream