I often tell my children, “There’s a difference between being broke and being poor.”

Broke is when you have so many student loans that you eat mac-n-cheese for dinner most nights.

Broke is when a $3000 car repair zeros out your savings.

Broke is when there’s month left at the end of the money.

But poor is a trap—a situation of perpetual lack that there seems no way out of.

Poor is a web of lies that says, “There’s no hope for change” or “We need someone else to help us; we can’t improve this situation on our own” or “This is just my lot in life.”

Poor is a label of “shame” and “less than” and “failure.”

Poverty is often caused by societal systems that favor some people over others. And those systems are fed by broken beliefs, like “Those people deserve to be poor, because they’re lazy or uneducated or stupid or law-breakers…” It’s fed by the beliefs of the wealthy as well as by the beliefs of those who are vulnerable—beliefs that are too often reinforced by those who are seeking to help.

So often, we see someone in need and jump right to giving handouts, trying to solve the problem by providing the physical thing that is lacking. Then, eventually, we become frustrated or disillusioned because, no matter how much or how often we meet the need, their poverty is never really solved. New holes appear in the boat as fast as we can plug the old ones.

It’s because we’re trying to address poverty as if it’s a purely physical problem—the lack of food or water or education or rent money… But those things are symptoms of the deeper issue: wrong beliefs. Theirs. Mine. Society’s.

We all need God’s grace, truth, and power if we are ever to see poverty overcome.

Examining the complex causes of poverty and its solution is a much bigger job than I could possibly do in a blog article. But it is an issue worth wrestling with. I highly encourage you to read the free downloadable booklet Focusing on the Vulnerable as a good starting place. Download it, settle in for about an hour, and prepare for a worldview shift!

In the meantime, please join us in praying that God would bring the transformation only He can, that He would break every chain that holds people in poverty. Pray for:

  • Churches in impoverished areas—that God would break through the lies that keep the churches and their communities from transforming. Pray that God would be glorified and churches strengthened.
  • Those living in poverty to experience God’s provision and protection, especially in times of crisis. Pray for access to education, medical care, and income generation opportunities so they may fulfill their purpose as image-bearers of God. Pray for opportunities to learn to apply God’s truth to every area of life.
  • Leaders at every level of society to seek justice for vulnerable people. Pray for the dismantling of unjust and oppressive systems.
  • Ministries seeking to alleviate poverty—that they would have wisdom to understand the complexities of poverty in their particular context. Pray for God to refresh them in the midst of what can be draining work. Pray for Holy Spirit-inspired creativity and insight.

Thanks for joining us in prayer. Poverty truly is a spiritual battlefield where prayer is so needed. Please download this month’s prayer mailing, print it out, put it someplace you’ll see it often, and keep praying!