The Bible talks a lot about God’s heart for hurting people….especially the least and the lost. God even calls Himself the Defender of the fatherless, the Helper of the weak, the Savior of the world. But it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the needs that cry out for attention—faces of starving children in Africa, the homeless that wander our city streets, those ravaged by broken families in our own neighborhoods.

You care. You even hurt for them. But what can one person do?  God’s Word says you can plant a seed. Maybe the seed will simply be a prayer. If you slow down a little, take a look at the world around you, and get really quiet on the inside, God will begin to burden your heart for the people and places that are on His heart.

It could be a lonely co-worker, a family ravaged by poverty, a genocide orphan in Africa, a teenager seeking God—you might be the only person answering the call to pray for this person in the whole world. And if you search the promises of His Word and cry out to God on their behalf, your prayer can set things in motion (See Isaiah 55:11). You might even change the world. You’ll be surprised at what can happen with just a simple prayer.

That seed can also be a gift of your money.  Your dollars are more than just currency. They represent the hours of your life, how you spend your time. As you pray, God may prompt you to “sow” into the dreams of the broken.  When you give, you are planting seeds of hope. Even a small gift driven by God’s love can have results that stretch far beyond your imagination (See 2 Corinthians 9:8-15).

Sometimes, after you pray and give, God calls you to go. When you pray for someone and invest in their dreams, your feet often follow. In this way, you are called to be Christ’s hands and feet—His very presence— to those you serve (See Matthew 25:34-40).

Seeds of Hope, planted in faith and watered with love can change the world—one life at a time.

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