Recently, a reader of this blog responded privately to my “Pray the News” post with the following comment:
One day I was putting together a coffee table we purchased and saw the usual “Made in China” stamped on the back. I also saw some brush stokes of the wood stain that had been used on the underside of the tabletop.
I realized that the hands–the person–that sanded and stained the pieces of that table had a high statistical chance of never hearing the Gospel. So the Lord prompted me to pray for them, that they would be connected to a believer or missionary and hear the Good News about Jesus Christ.
That also led me to pray in another moment of that same day for migrant workers who might have picked the strawberries I enjoyed as a snack. And later for the laborers in Thailand who provided my rice at dinner.
What a sensitive, prayerful heart! And what a wonderful idea to emulate.
How many products do I use in a day without a thought for who made them or how they were produced and brought to market? And yet every laborer, designer, assembly line worker, packing and shipping agent, truck driver, pilot–and every other person in the process–is someone God loves!
I decided that day to try to cultivate the habit of praying the products I use: the flowerpot made in Thailand, a grandchild’s plush toy made in China, the memory stick from Singapore and the coffee beans from Colombia.
Like my friend who inspired the practice, I say a short prayer for God to smile on the lives and families of those who played a part in providing that product, and especially that if they don’t yet know the love of God in Jesus Christ, they would experience it soon.
It only takes a little extra awareness–and a few seconds. But it could make a world of difference.
