Listen

Jesus was telling them a parable about their need to pray continuously and not to be discouraged. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him, asking, ‘Give me justice in this case against my adversary.’ For a while he refused but finally said to himself, I don’t fear God or respect people, but I will give this widow justice because she keeps bothering me. Otherwise, there will be no end to her coming here and embarrassing me.”

Luke 18:1-5

Think

We often feel as though we are too small to make a difference. We watch the news and think, “The world’s problems are so complex and overwhelming.” We feel helpless in the face of climate change, human trafficking, war, drugs, greed, and all the issues surrounding our world.

The widow felt helpless too. She saw a world filled with injustice. She saw a system that was broken. She knew she was small. She was a nameless widow, perhaps one of the most vulnerable stations in life in the ancient world. And yet she would not be quiet. She would not be silent. She would not sit still. She refused to let her voice be silenced. She persisted until she was heard.

Where in our world do you see voices being silenced? How can you stand alongside those whose voices are often not heard or ignored?

Kelli Kirksey

Pray

God,
Today I confess
My feelings of inadequacy
My belief that I cannot make a difference.

Give me the wisdom
To listen to my brothers and sisters whose voices have been silenced
To know how best to stand with those who have no voice.

Amen.

Go

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Saviour

Matt Crocker, Joel Houston, and Salomon Ligthelm in “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)” (2013)