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Children listen as their parents talk about the struggle to find enough food to feed their families.
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Praying for Delivery
Kadiatou tries to hide her worry from her children, but it’s written all over her face. “The little ones among us share. We give first to the children—but the baby in my belly can’t cry out. We just don’t have enough.” Quietly she adds, “I’m just praying for a healthy delivery.”
As I sit with Kadiatou in a small community in southern Mali, it strikes me that peaceful delivery is exactly what this region needs from the slow and devastating food crisis engulfing millions of people. Fifteen million people in five countries across West Africa face imminent hunger right now—and without urgent action, famine will not only stalk, but kill.
And yet, I still find reason to hope. I have learned that glimmers of God’s deliverance show up in unexpected places. The poor are not giving up here. A community garden where workers share what little food they have with each other, reminded me of another act of generosity—Christ’s feeding of the 5,000. What’s often overlooked in that story is that the fish and the bread came from a little boy who offered them as a gift. It strikes me again how even small gifts can be magnified by God to do so much.
For me, prayer is just one of those gifts that I can give back to God.
Prayer is so critical. Our prayers keep our will and determination to do the right thing alive and powerful. And prayer can also be a tangible act of obedience to Christ’s call to love our neighbours as ourselves. More than anything though, prayer for others is an act of true compassion, silencing our own thoughts and desires to focus on others.
Please pray with me, as we seek deliverance for all those suffering today.
Dave Toycen
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