(prepared by Lilian Schmid)
Lord of Heaven and Earth,
we thank You for all Christian Charity and Not-For-Profit Welfare Organisations in Australia and overseas.
We ask You Lord to bless all people working in these organisations. Give them Your wisdom, provide all provisions, protect them in their daily activities, expose ungodly people working for them and purify their deeds and cover them with Your blood.
Amen.
Introduction
God, as the source of all life and all goodness, deserves our love, and that love is not something that we can confine to attending Mass or Service on Sundays.
We exercise the theological virtue of charity whenever we express our love for God, but that expression does not have to take the form of a verbal declaration of love. Sacrifice for God’s sake; the curbing of our passions in order to draw closer to Him; the practice of the spiritual works of mercy in order to bring other souls to God, and the corporal works of mercy to show the proper love and respect for God’s creatures – these, along with prayer and worship, fulfill our duty to “love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind” (Matthew 22:37).
Charity fulfills this duty, but also transforms it. Through this virtue we desire to love God not simply because we must but because we recognise that (in the words of the Act of Contrition) He is “all good and deserving of all of my love.” The exercise of the virtue of charity increases that desire within our souls, drawing us further into the inner life of God, which is characterised by the love of the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity.
Thus Saint Paul rightly refers to charity as “the bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:14). The more perfect our charity, the closer our souls are to the inner life of God.
Current Challenges
There are many challenges facing Charity and Not-For–Profit Welfare (CNFPW) organisations, particularly as a consequence of the Covid-19 Pandemic:
- Financial and voluntary support is rapidly shrinking, which is having an immediate impact, but also will also affect future help for CNFPW Organisations.
- Lower expected returns on investments have created budget pressures at a time when the need for services is greater than ever.
- The number of individual people willing or able to donate or contribute financially, or to volunteer their time to assist with the activities and events run by these organisations has greatly reduced. Many people have lost their jobs and are living off their savings or relying on Government funding. Many also are unwilling to potentially expose themselves during the Pandemic, particularly elderly volunteers, so they have withdrawn much of their involvement in charity work.
- Donations from commercial and other entities are also being reduced as they have to focus on their higher priorities in tight fiscal times.
- Government funding is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain and only provided with additional constraints, some of which may conflict with the guiding principles of many CNHPWs (particularly Christian organisations).
- Increasing demands on CNFPW boards as government and industry regulation and oversight increases.
- Governance is now a big issue facing the boards of charities and not-for-profits. Trustees are usually chosen because they have a passion for the cause or the activity of their organisation. They give their time freely and operate in good faith. However through increased government oversight of the sector and increasing demands on Trustee’s in general, the job is becoming more difficult. Trustees are feeling increasingly squeezed and vulnerable as they become more visible and potentially personally liable for their actions. It’s no longer possible to simply be ‘well-intentioned’.
- Trustees for NFPs are currently facing a crucial period of change and challenges. It’s important for the ongoing well-being of these organisations that board members retain enthusiasm and belief in their role, with clarity of vision and trusted professional advice, many are seeking new plans and putting new strategies to continue their missions to be well positioned to make the most of future opportunities.
- While short term pressures need more and more attention, the strategic positioning of these organisations require long term thinking – risk management and planning for the long term is essential.
- Recent social and legal events are undermining public confidence in CNFPW organisations.
- On-line and phone scams are diverting potential donations away from genuine CNFPWs and publicity of these scams are hardening people against donating.
- Child Abuse scandals, court cases and Royal Commissions, although often addressing historical incidents, are further hardening the general population against supporting CNFPWs.
Prayer Strategy
Claim the blood of Jesus over all and each section/department/division within the Charity and Not-For–Profit Welfare (CNFPW) organisations you are praying for (charities, government departments, NFP companies, and so on).
“This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.” (1 John 5:6)
Ask the Holy Spirit to expose all ungodly activities within these sections and departments.
“Our battle is not against human forces but against the principalities and powers, the rulers of this world of darkness, the evil spirits in regions above.” (Ephesians 6:12)
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal all ungodly monies, false charity organisations, suspicious organisations, suspicious money transfer overseas to fund terrorism.
“The thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy.” (John 10:10)
Renounce Evil
Renounce everything evil from the sphere:
Lord, I come before you on behalf of all Charity and NFP Welfare organisations, sections, departments, divisions, whether Christian, secular or other religious charities and in regards to all of the issues that have placed us into ungodly alignment.
“…and they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the LORD to anger.” (Judges 2:12)
Lord we repent on behalf of those who stole and mislead people in the Charity and Not-For–Profit Welfare sphere.
Intercession
Let us pray on behalf of our nation and the people and organisations in this sphere of Charity and Not-For–Profit Welfare sphere:
My God,
I am sorry for our sins with all my heart.
In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good,
We have sinned against You
whom we should love and honour above all things.
I pray you forgive us
and change our hearts so that we sin no more,
honour Your name,
and avoid whatever leads us to sin.
Our Saviour Jesus Christ suffered and died for us.
In His Name, my God, have mercy.
Amen.
“But if the wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed and observes all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die.” (Ezekiel 18:21)
We repent on behalf of people who:
- Allowed enticements to draw away from your original plan for all charity organisations.
- Who stole, promoted, fundraised, set traps for the theft of inheritances and birthrights.
- Who lured people into ungodly alignment through deception or shape shifting.
- Who made decisions out of fear or panic rather than fighting the battle from the rest and giving their burdens to You to deal with.
- People in charge and influential position in these charity organisations who traded inheritances willingly in order to become more successful and gain power.
- People who acted with false power and bad behaviour and who performed illegal and ungodly activities by opening the door for the enemy to come into these charity groups.
- Abusing the resources and all information, technology, provision that You gave us and exploiting them for financial gain.
- Manipulating all resources, and elements by adding unnecessary additives in an effort to win friends or influencial people, without regard for the damage that could be caused.
- Setting up false pillars of lust, deception, enticement, and religion.
- Establishing ungodly centres to steal and using the Lord’s name to attract people’s money.
- Establishing ungodly offices and positions of power, worshiping ungodly thrones, and seeking after positions in ungodly places rather than the positions of authority You had for us.
- Worshiping money and/or using money to sow seeds and finance ungodly organizations and projects
- Doing false marketing to steal people’s integrity and kindness
Refusing to bring important decisions about finances to You for approval and guidance. - Purchasing memberships and entering into agreements with ungodly places of business, resulting in financial curses.
- Ignoring our discernment or allowing ourselves to be deceived to the enemy’s tactics and plans to destroy others to gain power.
- Not exercising self-discipline in order to plan our day and make good decisions regarding funding, grants and provision.
- Not following your teaching on how to serve YOU in this sphere.
- Not using our wisdom and spiritual gifts to win many to your kingdom.
- Listening to those with their own agendas and motivations.
- Abusing our gifts, and using them to further our own purposes.
- For not using the resources that you gave us instead of using others and stealing from them.
- Using wrong teaching of the gospel and not following your commands Oh Lord
Forgive us Father God for our negligence.
Lord, please help us to guard our hearts,
both coming and going.
Help us to not act out of desperation,
nor to align with any ungodly network
because of lust, deception, enticement, or religion.
We seek only to glorify Your name
and to lead our bothers and sisters to You;
to glorify You and live together
in Your harmony forever.
Amen.