A Prayer for the Hungry

Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
    only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
    and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
    a day acceptable to the Lord?

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—

when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;

then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
- Isaiah 58:5-8

Lord, we hear your word —— please hear our prayer.

Triune God -- Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer,

We come before You as Your children, Your family. We stand on the sacred earth You have given, our feet planted in the dust that carries the stories of those who came before us. We lift our hands to the sky, seeking Your wisdom, Your mercy, and Your justice.

Today, we gather as keepers of the flame, holding vigil for the poor, the hungry, the forgotten.
We pray for those whose voices go unheard,
for the mothers who go without so their children might eat,
for the grandmothers who tell stories by the fire even when their own bellies are empty.
We pray for the widows, the orphans, the displaced—those who wander in search of home.

Lord, You have told us what is good, what You require of us: to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with You (Micah 6:8). You have spoken through the prophet Isaiah, calling us not to empty fasting, but to loosen the chains of injustice, to set the oppressed free, to share our food with the hungry, to clothe the naked, and to welcome the poor into our homes (Isaiah 58:6-8). This is the true fast, the true worship.

But Lord, we come with heavy hearts, knowing that justice has been withheld, that mercy has been denied. We lament the choices of those in power who have turned away from the suffering of Your children. We grieve policies that strip life-saving aid from those in deepest need, funding that has been withdrawn from clinics where babies take their first breaths, from hospitals where mothers fight to survive childbirth, from communities where clean water and medicine once flowed. We weep because this is not Your way.

God of justice, open the eyes of those who lead. Let us see that when aid is cut, it is not just numbers on a page—it is real lives lost, those that Jesus looks in the eye and declares, “You are mine!” It is a mother in Malawi who can no longer receive the medicine that kept her child alive. It is a grandmother in Guatemala who watches her family go hungry because food assistance has stopped. It is a village in Ethiopia where children die from preventable diseases because the clinic’s doors have closed. These are not statistics, Lord. These are Your beloved. These are Your children, my children, O LORD.

So we pray, O God, for the nations of the world—for leaders and governments, for those with wealth and power—that they may not turn away from the least of these. May they open their hands and their hearts, not in charity alone, but in justice. Let them see that when we lift up the poor, we do not lose, we all rise.

We pray for those on the front lines—for our church partners and sister organizations—who are Your hands and feet among the poor. Strengthen them. Protect them. Bless the work of their hands so that those in need may receive not just bread, but dignity; not just aid, but hope.

And we pray for courage for ourselves. May we never grow weary of doing good. May we walk the path of justice, silence our voices so others may be heard, may we call on our leaders to restore what has been taken, may we carry the wisdom of our ancestors and release the dreams of our grandchildren. May we never let our hearts fall to the ground but stand with courage. May we be relentless in our pursuit of mercy, knowing that You go before us, that we do not walk alone.

And may Your promise come to pass: that “Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear.” (Isaiah 58:8)

We pray this in the name of Jesus, the Chosen One who walked among the poor, who fed the hungry, and who calls us to do the same.

Amen.