Pray the Word with David Platt is a resource from radical.net.

Deuteronomy chapter 15, verse 4, and then verse 11. First, verse 4, God says,

But there will be no poor among you. For the Lord will bless you in the land, that the Lord

your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess.

So that's verse four. And then Deuteronomy chapter 15 verse 11 says,

for they will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you. You shall open

wide your hand to your brother, to the needy, and to the poor in your land.

So put these verses together.

Clearly, God is telling his people, especially as they go into the promised land, care for one

another, provide for one another, guard against poverty in one another.

There will be no poor among you. God desired for all of his people to be plentifully supplied for.

And you see in God's law all kinds of provisions to keep people out of poverty, to rescue people from poverty,

which is why when you get to chapter 15 verse 11, God acknowledges that there will be things

in this sinful, broken world that result in poverty. And so God commands his people, you shall open, wide your hand

to your brother, to the needy, and to the poor in your land. What a phrase, open wide your hand to the poor,

to those in need. And I think the takeaway as we pray is obvious, isn't it?

Sure, things are very different than being a part of God's people going into the

promised land and even the physical promises of blessing that we're associated with the

promised land. But clearly we see all throughout the Bible, Old Testament and New Testament,

commands to care for the poor, to open wide our hands,

to brothers and sisters in Christ who are in need, and to people around us who are in need,

to love our neighbors as ourselves. And so we pray, God, in this sinful, broken world,

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