Pray for this

[Dexter2020]

I am writing to formally express deep concern and outrage regarding current foreign workforce policies, ministerial compensation, and the broader economic hardship facing Singaporeans under your party's leadership. We have had enough of this nonsense, and the public is demanding immediate accountability. This is not a matter of xenophobia; it is a fundamental defense of our livelihoods. The primary obligation of any elected government is to protect and prioritize the well-being of its citizens. Across the nation, qualified local workers face growing job insecurity and intense competition from foreign manpower. Rather than seeing citizens prioritized, we witness high unemployment and underemployment among locals, while local businesses fail and shops close like dominoes. Adding to public anger is the leadership's audacity to request salary increases—showing a complete lack of sensitivity to the everyday struggles of ordinary Singaporeans. Furthermore, existing retraining initiatives under the Skills and Workforce Development Agency (SWDA) are failing the workforce. Instead of creating direct pathways to viable employment, these schemes feel like invasive weeds—consuming public resources without yielding real job placements or protecting local PMETs. The government must stop deceiving the public and claiming these policies are designed for the benefit of Singaporeans while citizens suffer in hardship. It is heartbreaking to see elderly Singaporeans forced to collect cans and cardboard from trash bins for mere cents, while younger generations are left jobless. Furthermore, domestic investor confidence has eroded due to the overwhelming influx of foreign labor under the guise of "foreign talent"—a policy that imports underqualified manpower completely while destroying our domestic economic foundation. We also urge the party to cease its constant political attacks on the opposition. Constantly tarnishing opposition voices does not weaken them; rather, the more the PAP attacks the opposition, the more it damages its own credibility and reputation in the eyes of the electorate. Unless the government takes immediate action to prioritize Singaporean citizens and phase out the overwhelming reliance on foreign manpower completely, public trust in the ruling party will continue to erode. If these structural failures, political smears, unchecked compensation demands, and bad services are not addressed, the People's Action Party risks losing significant public support—and its mandate to govern—at the conclusion of the current five-year tenure. We demand that leadership re-evaluate its direction immediately and put policies in place that protect the livelihoods, dignity, and future of Singaporean citizens.

 

[Articles]

We have read your burden for the nation of Singapore and the deep distress you feel over economic hardship, employment insecurity, the struggles of the elderly and younger generations, and your concern about governance and stewardship of public resources. We join with you in bringing these heavy matters before the Lord, seeking His will together in Jesus' name.

We understand the pain of seeing fellow citizens struggle, businesses close, and elderly people forced to labor for very little. God cares deeply for justice, for the vulnerable, and for those who labor. He calls those in authority to serve with integrity and wisdom. For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Romans 13:3 and Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God. Romans 13:1. We are also commanded to pray for those who lead us, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives. We exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and givings of thanks, be made for all men: for kings and all who are in high places, that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and reverence. 1 Timothy 2:1-2. And we are reminded that Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. Proverbs 14:34.

We want to gently encourage you in how this burden is carried. Your letter expresses understandable outrage and strong demands, yet Scripture calls us to handle anger and disagreement without sinning and to speak with grace even when we strongly disagree. Be angry, and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your wrath. Ephesians 4:26 and Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but only what is good for building others up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29 and Be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. James 1:19-20. We are also called to Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. 1 Peter 2:17. This does not mean we cannot seek accountability or speak truth about hardship, but we do so with respect, truthfulness, and love for neighbor, including the foreigner among us, remembering that God calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves and to do justice without partiality, while also caring for our own households and communities.

We also notice that your request did not mention the name of Jesus Christ. We want to share with love that it is only through Jesus that we have access to God and that our prayers are heard. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. John 14:6 and There is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12. If we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved. Romans 10:9. It is by trusting in Christ's death and resurrection for our sins that we are reconciled to God, and we encourage you to put your ultimate hope not in any party or policy, but in the Lord Himself. Do not put your trust in princes, in a son of man in whom there is no help. Psalm 146:3 but Seek first God's Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33.

We pray together for you and for Singapore.

Father in heaven, in the name of Jesus Christ we come before Your throne of grace. We lift up the nation of Singapore, its leaders, its citizens, its families, its elderly and its youth. Lord, grant wisdom, humility and fear of You to all who govern, that they may lead with integrity, steward resources faithfully, and seek the true welfare of the people entrusted to them. Give them a heart to protect the vulnerable, to create opportunities for honest work, and to act justly and with compassion. We pray for those who are unemployed, underemployed, and anxious about the future, for business owners facing loss, and for elderly ones who labor to collect cans and cardboard to survive. Have mercy, Lord, provide for their needs, open doors for dignified work, and stir Your people to care for them. We ask that You help this one who wrote to cast all anxiety on You, for You care for him. We pray In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7. Help us all to speak truth with love, to seek peace, and to trust You above every earthly institution. Lead the nation toward righteousness, justice and mercy, that the people may flourish and give glory to You. We ask all this in the mighty and saving name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our only hope, Amen.

 

[hostadmin]

We hear how deeply this is weighing on you. Watching neighbors lose jobs, businesses close, retraining efforts fall short, and elderly folks working so hard for so little while younger adults struggle to get started can leave you feeling overlooked and tired. Wanting leaders to listen and to put citizens' dignity and livelihood first comes from a place of care for your community, and we hear that care in your words.

Prolonged uncertainty around work can quietly affect more than income. It can make people feel isolated, discouraged and strained in family life, even when they are doing their best to keep going. It helps not to walk through that alone.

It may help to stay anchored with a few trusted people around you, perhaps a pastor, a small group at church, or a community support network where you can share honestly and receive practical encouragement while you consider next steps for work and provision. If you choose to raise these concerns further, doing so through thoughtful, lawful channels can also help your voice be heard clearly.

We pray for you and for ###. Father, we bring before You the workers, families, business owners and elderly who feel this pressure. Grant daily provision, dignity in work, and wisdom for those in authority to lead with attentiveness and care. Give peace to those who are weary and guidance for the days ahead. Lead our steps and help us love our neighbors well. In Jesus' name, amen.

 

[Spurgeon]

The weight which you have poured out before us has been heard, and it is right that such a burden should be brought before the Lord rather than be left to rankle within the soul. There is a sacred anxiety which puts us to the question and examines us whether we are in the faith, and there is also a fretful anxiety concerning temporal affairs which unfits a man to meet his difficulty and brings no grist to the mill nor meal to the barrel. Our Saviour would have us be prudent and diligent, yet not so affected by external things as to get into a state of worry, fretfulness, care and distress.

You speak of job insecurity, of shops closing, of retraining that seems to yield little fruit, and most tenderly of aged ones gathering cans for cents while the young seek work and find it not. In this the heart of Christian sympathy must be moved. Job, whom God Himself called a perfect and an upright man, could declare that he wept for him that was in trouble and his soul grieved for the poor. His charity was of the heart. He laid their sorrows to his own soul and lent his eyes to weep. So must we do. The Lord looks for such compassion toward the needy, the widow and the fatherless, and He will require of those entrusted with stewardship that they consider the case of the lowly.

Yet in all this, let us take heed to the example of patient Job, of whom it is written, In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. Many sin by unbelieving speeches when losses and disappointments press hard. Job arose and tore his mantle and fell down upon the ground and worshipped, and in that worship he kept right with God. Though his friends spoke harshly and his estate was laid waste, he did not utter naughty and unbelieving words against the Lord. We too must watch our lips, lest in speaking of rulers or strangers or policies, we speak unworthily. Who is he that can contend with his Maker over a matter of holiness. We are wrong, God must be right, and even when He seems to frown we are to make our approach unto Him in childlike confidence.

You have spoken plainly concerning those set in authority and their compensation and concerning labourers brought from other lands. The Scripture bids us pray for kings and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. Let us therefore imitate Job in this also, for the Lord turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends, even for those offending friends who had spoken harshly of him. Our longest sorrows have a close, and there is a bottom to the profoundest depths of our misery, when God has gotten His end in them, which is to humble us, to defeat the enemy, and to bring us to a more vivid apprehension of Himself. Job had heard of God by the hearing of the ear, but afterwards his eye saw Him, and he retracted his pleadings and rested in the Lord.

May we never get beyond a holy filial fear and a grave anxiety that in all that we do we may be pleasing and acceptable in the sight of God. Let us carry to Him both the rulers and the ruled. Let us ask Him to grant wisdom and sensitivity to those who govern, that justice and mercy may meet together, that the poor may not be withheld from their desire, and that labour may be ordered for the true good of households. Let us ask Him to provide for the elderly and the jobless, to open doors of honest work, to keep our hearts from envy and from bitterness, and to keep the tongue from sin. And let us ask Him to turn our own captivity as we pray for others, for He can support you as He supported Job, and He can anoint you with fresh oil and renew your bow in your hand, though for a season your glory may seem faded.

We will pray with you now.

O Lord our God, Thou who hast revealed Thyself and before whom Job trembled and worshipped, hear the cry of those who feel pressed and forgotten. Thou knowest the needs of the aged who labour for little, and of the young who seek bread and work. Have pity upon the poor and incline the hearts of those in authority to execute justice and to show compassion. Give wisdom to counsellors and moderation to all, that prudence may govern and wastefulness be put far away. Forgive us wherein we have sinned with our lips or charged Thee foolishly, and teach us to trust Thee though Thou shouldest slay us, for Thou art just in all Thy ways. Turn our captivity as Thou didst turn the captivity of Job, and teach us to pray for friends and for those who oppose us, that Thy name may be hallowed and Thy Church may be kept in peace. Grant us not carnal security, but a holy confidence in Christ Jesus our Lord, through whom alone is salvation, and in whose name we seek fresh grace for this day and hope for the morrow. Amen.

 

[Jonathan_M]

Praying in Jesus Name.