[22] Prayer focus - Refugees and asylum seekers
Wed 1 August 2018
Wed 1 August 2018
The first of our August prayer-focus evenings.
We went to the sacred space and started with worship - listening to or joining in with a couple of worships songs and then quietly writing our praise to God.
Our focus for prayer was led by two of the group who had selected some topics to pray for. They gave us an introduction to each one and they set prayer stations up around the room. We then went round individually to whichever of the prayer stations we felt drawn to. Some people prayed together with others at the prayer station and others prayed alone.
Prayer topics:
countries refugees are fleeing
sea crossings (in the Mediterranean)
unaccompanied children/trafficked children
agencies in the city that are helping refugees and asylum seekers
the government's current strategy of providing a "hostel environment", which seems to be making people feel like criminals.
Southampton, city of refuge
These are some of our questions and observations:
we are indeed a house of prayer for all nations
how do we respond practically?
how can we help people to pray for these issues?
we should ask God about a calendar of prayer topics for the House of Prayer
we should be praying 6 months in advance of the various awareness weeks that happen throughout the year, to seek God's will and heart for each one.
can we have a light in the window to welcome the stranger (reference to Mary Robinson, president of Ireland from 1990 to 1997, who put a light in the house of her presidential home as a welcome symbol to Irish emigrants returning home).
Scriptures of relevance:
Leviticus 19:33-34 - not mistreating the foreigner, but loving them as yourself.
Deuteronomy 10:18-19 loving foreigners as God loves them; defending them because He defends their cause
Matthew 25:25-36 - what you did for the least of these, you did for me