SATURDAY, 22ND AUGUST 2020 – THE ELDERLY AND DISABLED
PRAYER GUIDE
ISAIAH 51:15-16 (NKJV)
15But I am the Lord your God,
Who divided the sea whose waves roared—
The Lord of hosts is His name.
16And I have put My words in your mouth; [Emphasis Added]
I have covered you with the shadow of My hand,
That I may plant the heavens,
Lay the foundations of the earth, [Emphasis Added]
And say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’”
JEREMIAH 1:9,10 (ESV)
Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me,
“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”
GUIDING TEXT FOR THE FASTING SEASON
ISAIAH 32:1-8
1Behold, a king will reign in righteousness,
And princes will rule with justice.
2A man will be as a hiding place from the wind,
And a cover from the tempest,
As rivers of water in a dry place,
As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
3The eyes of those who see will not be dim,
And the ears of those who hear will listen.
4Also the heart of the rash will understand knowledge,
And the tongue of the stammerers will be ready to speak plainly.
5The foolish person will no longer be called generous,
Nor the miser said to be bountiful;
6For the foolish person will speak foolishness,
And his heart will work iniquity:
To practice ungodliness,
To utter error against the Lord,
To keep the hungry unsatisfied,
And he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail.
7Also the schemes of the schemer are evil;
He devises wicked plans
To destroy the poor with lying words,
Even when the needy speaks justice.
8But a generous man devises generous things,
And by generosity he shall stand.
WEEK ONE (19th – 25th August 2020)
| Day of the Week | Date | Area of Focus |
| Wednesday | 19th August 2020 | Personal Preparation |
| Thursday | 20th August 2020 | Family Leaders |
| Friday | 21st August 2020 | Youth and Children |
| Saturday | 22nd August 2020 | The Elderly and Disabled |
| Sunday | 23rd August 2020 | Church Leadership |
| Monday | 24th August 2020 | Culture and Values |
| Tuesday | 25th August 2020 | Community Leadership |
SCRIPTURES FOR PRAYER AND PROCLAMATION
LEVITICUS 19:22
“You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear
your God: I am the Lord.
Exodus 20:12
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God
is giving you.
I TIMOTHY 5:17
Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in
preaching and teaching.
PROVERBS 16:31
Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.
DEUTERONOMY 32:7
Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations;
ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.
JOB 12:12
Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days.
2 CORINTHIANS 4:16
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed
day by day.
ISAIAH 46:3,4
“Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb;
even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.
JOB 5:26
You shall come to your grave in ripe old age, like a sheaf gathered up in its season.
JOEL 2:28, 29
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.
Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. The elderly are repositories of history, wisdom and knowledge that even God directs the younger to go to.
PSALM 71:18
So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.
PSALM 71:18
Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent.
PSALM 92:12-14:
The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green,
PSALM 40:17
As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my
deliverer; do not delay, O my God!
DEUTERONOMY 27:18
“‘Cursed be anyone who misleads a blind man on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
PROVERBS 31:18
Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.
LEVITICUS 19:14
You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your
God: I am the LORD.
Luke 14:13-14
But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
God’s word reveals that He has a tender heart for those that are more vulnerable in society and this includes the elderly and disabled. As the Lord answers our prayers for increased life expectancy and improvement in quality of life, older people will become an ever-increasing proportion of our population. Those reaching retirement age will be healthier and fitter than ever before. With a larger part of our population below 30 years, there is a common belief that we gradually become less useful as we grow older. The elderly can often find themselves unappreciated, overlooked and even forgotten.
However, older persons are important storehouses of the society’s history and values. All generations have been entrusted with different lessons based upon the experiences they have gone through and the time they lived. The older we grow, the more we learn about kindness, patience, heartbreak, love, and mercy. All of these experiences lead us to a deeper understanding of life’s seasons, and a greater wisdom of God’s presence through them all. There is much to be learned from those that have gone before us. Senior citizens – parents, grandparents, church elders – have much to teach; that is if society recognizes their value and takes the time and consideration to ask for help.
God works through people at any age, and any stage. Noah, Abraham Moses embarked on their greatest adventures at a time when most would be settling into retirement. There is no age limit to the way He works, and His love never grows old. Rather than portraying older persons as a drain on the economy in terms of escalating health care and lack of economic contribution, ageing should be considered as an opportunity. The positive contribution of an active, healthy and productive older population should be highlighted – from caregiving to starting entrepreneurial activities or becoming volunteers in their communities.
Older persons can play important social roles in assisting their children, taking on care responsibilities, performing household tasks, working as volunteers in the community or providing a council of reference for societal issues. Their contributions in providing wisdom and advice to younger generations and the society as a whole should be acknowledged and honored.
WORSHIP GOD THE PRESERVER OF LIFE TO OLD AGE
Let us worship and praise God for He is the creator of all persons; and His creation is beautiful. He is the sustainer of life right from conception, through youthful age and in old age.
THANKSGIVING
- Thank God for our increasing life expectancy in Uganda and for our senior citizens
- Thank God for the National Social Protection Policy for Uganda launched in March 2016. The policy provides a wider framework for social protection implementation in Uganda. Give thanks for the Social Protection Program under the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, which offers financial relief to older persons past the productive age in certain districts in Uganda.
- Thank God for our culture that respects and looks after the elderly within the family setting; for children that take care of their aged parents and grandparents.
- Thank God that the People Living with Disabilities in Uganda are recognised as vulnerable and have five seats in Parliament with representatives who are elected by electoral colleges.
- Thank God that five Parliamentary seats for elderly persons were passed by Parliament, one of which has been ring-fenced for women.
PROCLAMATIONS FOR THE ELDERLY AND DISABLED
We see and call forth a Ugandan society that honors, respects and supports the elderly. We see and call forth a society that takes care of its disabled and vulnerable citizens. We see a Ugandan society with increasing life expectancy and improved quality of life – a society with longer and healthier lives.
We call forth a society where the aged have room to continue to be useful and fruitful; where the qualifications, experience and wisdom of the aged is valued, drawn from and used productively. We see and call forth a society where the elderly participate and are fully integrated into life,
where the righteous elderly are seen as role models and given room to teach wisdom.
We see a society where they provide inspiration, mentorship, guidance and refreshment to the
younger generations.
We call forth a society where the old men and women dream dreams and that are listened to and
acted upon.
We call forth a society where the weak, vulnerable and disabled are not taken advantage of but
are rather supported and protected – a society where the Kingdom of God manifests in
righteousness, justice, mercy and truth.
AMEN
