Call2Prayer: Elderly in MENA

Just above 5% of the population in North Africa and the Middle East (MENA) are over 65 years old and this figure is growing year on year. Older people are living longer in MENA as their access to medication is better and faster. The older generation are often leaders within their families and are given great respect and honour. As this group of people grow within the region we should be praying for them and their influence on younger generations.

MENA has a strong culture of respecting and caring for the elderly. Families tend to live together and so you often have three or four generations living under the same roof. This means that care homes are very rare in the region as families expect to care for their parents and grandparents themselves. It also means that children grow up around many different generations and their grandparents, and great-grandparents, can have a big influence over them. MENA culture sees grandparents as the head of families and all family members look to them for advice, guidance, and decisions. Generally, if a grandparents or great-grandparent do not agree with something, it will not happen.

Imagine if this group of people opened their hearts to Jesus Christ. The influence they could have over their children, nieces, nephews, grand-children, great grand-children would be colossal.

As people get older, they are often searching for answers about life, death and God. Media is a fantastic, non-intrusive, tool to be able to express God’s love, grace, and mercy for people of all tribes and nations. Many elderly spend time at home during the day with the TV on. Their chances of seeing media that could influence them is very high. Let us pray that they will find our culturally relevant media and that it would speak to their hearts and minds.

Please turn with us in prayer for the elderly in MENA this week. We pray that –

• They would be actively seeking you, Lord. Their hearts would be open to receiving your good message.

• They would be looking to be a positive influence in their families. They would be actively looking to curb negative influences on their families and look to support younger generations.

• They would help others come to faith. They would use their positions within the family structure to encourage younger generations to ask questions about God, faith and accepted societal norms.

• They would find our media on TV or the internet and become curious. Let them open their hearts to you.

• All those who are suffering from ill health would find relief. We pray for the continued development of health care within the region and pray that people from all backgrounds would have access to quality support.

• Those who do not have a family to care for them would be able to find good care and support from the community.

Lord, we thank you that MENA has a culture of love and respect for the elderly. We pray that this would continue to help stop global trends of loneliness and isolation.