Tuesday we took the Job Club girls on a prayer walk. To be honest, I was a bit skeptical about how they would react. My girls in my 6th grade Bible club are really uncomfortable praying out loud, and I assumed these girls would act the same way. However, I was greatly impressed by not only their willingness to pray, but their prayers as well. These girls are growing in their relationship with Christ. They are learning to talk to him and to care for other people, just like He calls us to.
One of our stops was the
“Is this not the fast which I choose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free and break every yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked, to cover him; and not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery will speedily spring forth; and your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in the darkness and your gloom will become like midday.”
As I was praying with my small group, I was reminded of these verses, and how John Piper and John Perkins both refer to the poor’s need for respect and dignity. I prayed that we would learn how to show respect and dignity to the homeless.
After we finished praying, my group asked how we are able to do that. “Aren’t all homeless people just lazy?” one of my girls asked. I was able to share with them some of the reasons people become homeless, like unemployment or mental illness. I also told her some short conversations my friends and I have had with some of the homeless in downtown