Christian Reflection and Prayer

Scripture:

Who else protects the poor and needy
from those who want to rob them?
Psalm 35:10 NLT

As for me, I am poor and needy, but
the Lord is thinking of me right now.
Psalm 40:17 NLT

He will rescue the poor when they
cry to him; he will help the oppressed,
who have no one to defend them.
Psalm 72:12 NLT

Reflection:

"I'll just have to go blind"

A man was having a lot of trouble
with his eyes. His doctor examined
him and recommended the name of
another doctor he should visit, saying,
"I would advise you to go at once and
take plenty of money with you, for it's
going to cost a lot."

The man had eighty dollars in the bank,
so he got his money and went to see
the other doctor. After examining him,
the doctor said, "I never accept less than
five hundred dollars for this particular operation."

"Well, then," said the man, "I guess I'll
just have to go blind, because I have only
eighty dollars."

But the good doctor said, "There is one
other way to solve our trouble. You don't
have enough to pay the bill, and I can't
charge you as little as eighty dollars,
but there is another way open to us—
I will do the operation for nothing."
And that is just what he did.

adapted from a story by Kenneth N. Taylor,
quoted in 1001 Great Stories and Quotes by
R. Kent Hughes (Tyndale House) p 180

Prayer:

Father, in your wisdom you have made
us dependent on one another, and so
we pray for the starving millions in our
world. Give us true repentance for our
greed and selfishness. Empower us to
make amends as best we can. Help us
to find the ways to share so that no one
hungers at the table of life. We ask this t
hrough Christ our Lord. Amen.