For many of us, clean water is as simple as turning on a faucet. We have plenty to drink, water plants, shower, cook, and more. But countless people around the globe live in a very different reality.
People living without access to clean water struggle to survive every day. Humans can only live for around three days without water, so women and children are forced to spend hours every day traveling to distant rivers and streams to collect it for their families.
Often, the water they bring back is contaminated with parasites and bacteria that make them sick. But what else can they do when living without water is simply impossible?
This might seem like a huge problem — because it is. But that doesn’t mean you’re powerless to help. One of the easiest and most important things you can do is pray for people without access to clean water.
Keep reading to find out how:
Pray for women and children who must travel long distances for water
Children collecting water for their families
Without a clean water well in their community, women and children are often responsible for making the long and dangerous trip to collect water. Many wake up at dawn, grab their water buckets and jugs, and walk miles to the closest stream, river, or lake to gather contaminated water.
On their journeys to and from the nearest water source, they have to be vigilant of bandits and wildlife the entire time. Can you imagine how exhausting that would be?
Children who are responsible for collecting water often have to skip school to do so. That means they don’t get an education, which traps them in the cycle of poverty. Similarly, many adults have to choose between going to work or making the long trek to get water, which results in families having less income for other essentials like food and clothing.
Pray that the Holy Spirit will protect women and children as they embark on their daily journey to collect water for their families.
Pray for people suffering from waterborne illnesses
When children are responsible for gathering water for their family, they often miss out on school
Picture this: you wake up early every day to provide water for your family. The trip is long and tiring, but you have no other choice. Thankfully, you make it back safely without any incidents — but then your family gets sick from the water you brought home.
The streams, rivers, and lakes from which people gather water are often shared with wildlife. Bugs and bacteria grow and thrive unchecked. Finding a moving river or stream is lucky — but sometimes there is no choice but to drink from standing bodies of water like ponds, which only increases the risk of infection.
Drinking contaminated water can lead to serious health risks like diarrhea, cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and in some cases, even death.
These waterborne diseases can prevent children from attending school and adults from going to work, and communities without clean water often don’t have access to the healthcare they need to treat these diseases.
It’s a vicious cycle, and it can make people feel hopeless about their health and futures.
Pray that God would heal and protect those suffering from waterborne diseases.
Pray for small businesses struggling to succeed without access to water
When clean water is accessible, entire communities are transformed
In places where drought is common, it’s hard for agricultural and livestock businesses to flourish. Farmers often don’t have the water needed to grow essential crops that would provide food for the entire community.
And where there are water shortages, it’s nearly impossible to care for animals like chickens, goats, and cows. Without livestock, there are no eggs and milk … and without healthy crops, there is no food at all.
Pray that God will continue to provide these regions with steady access to water for agriculture to thrive.
Pray for people around the world to experience the Living Water
When clean water is accessible, The Living Water becomes accessible too
Without their basic needs met, it can be difficult for people to believe that God truly loves and cares for them. When you’re worried about finding water, tending to your sick family, and trying to keep your business afloat, sometimes all you can think about is just surviving until the next day.
That’s why many wells are built at churches or other places where the community gathers!
Providing clean water opens the door for the Gospel in a powerful way by showing people that God cares about both their physical and spiritual needs. When people visit their local well, they also have a chance to encounter Jesus Christ and hear about how much He loves them.
Pray that God would make Himself known worldwide by using His people to provide clean water in impoverished communities.
Prayer is powerful. But if you want to do even more to help people who need clean water, you can give financially! For just $30, you can provide clean water for TWO people for an entire year. Your generosity will be a lifeline and a lasting reminder of God’s love.
Thank you for praying for those in need of clean water.
“With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” — Isaiah 12:3 (NIV)