Invitation to Prayer

Faces of Children is an ecumenical prayer ministry under the auspices of First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Our mission is to initiate ministries of prayer for children in churches, communities, and neighborhoods. In doing so, we seek to provide an opportunity for people of God to join together, learn about children and their needs throughout the world, and celebrate Christ's love (especially as it relates to children).

Prayer and Hope

"The prayer of little faith is where you hold fast to the concrete of the present situation in order to win a certain security. The prayer of little faith is filled with wishes which beg for immediate fulfillment. This prayer of wish fulfillment has a Santa Claus naiveté which wants to satisfy specific desires. When the prayer is not heard, that is, when you don't get the present you wanted, there is disappointment even hard feelings and bitterness.

It is understandable, therefore, that this prayer of little faith has a great deal of fear and anxiety about it. If you pray like the person of little faith for health, success, an advancement, for peace, or whatever else, then you get so set on the concrete request that you feel left in the cold when the expected present doesn't arrive ... With this prayer of little faith, it is the concreteness of the wishes which eliminates the possibility for hope ... With this prayer, the petition is aimed at getting what you ask for, any way you can, instead of being directed toward the person who might or might not be able to make that wish come true ... All the attention is on the gift and none on the one who gives it.

...when the person of little faith prays, it is a prayer without hope. Likewise, it is without despair, for despair is only possible for someone who knows what it means to hope. The person of little faith prays a prayer that is carefully reckoned, even stingy, and which is upset by every risk. There is no danger of despair and no chance for hope ...

A person with hope does not get tangled up with concerns for how his or her wishes will be fulfilled. So, too, his or her prayer is not directed toward the gift, but toward the one who gives it. His or her prayer might still contain just as many desires, but ultimately it is not a question of having a wish come true, but of expressing an unlimited faith in the giver of all good things. You wish that...but you hope for....For the prayer of hope, it is essential that there are no guarantees asked, no conditions posed, and no proofs demanded, only that you expect everything from the other without binding them in any way. Hope is based on the premise that the other gives only what is good. Hope includes an openness by which you wait for the other to make known their loving promise come true, even though you never know when, where, or how this might happen."


With Open Hands
by Henri J.M. Nouwen

A message from Chris Laufer, Coordinator, Faces of Children

Greetings, Faces of Children Prayer Partner,

I came across this book, With Open Hands, when we were clearing out our parent's house about a year after my mother's death. Seeing her name penciled on the inside cover brought a smile to my face...her handwriting was sure and confident. It was a delightful surprise to realize my mother had discovered Henri Nouwen years before I even knew his name. Reading through the pages where she underlined passages that were meaningful or important has brought me great comfort. In the chapter "Prayer and Hope," there are many places underscored by her trusty number 2 pencil. My pen marks now join her penciled ones in this marvelous, vintage book in which I've discovered more gems of Nouwen wisdom. The passage above is lengthy, but worth the time, I believe

Please join us as we pray for children at the Midland Faces of Children prayer meeting on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 at 11:30 a.m. in the Bride’s room at First Presbyterian Church-Midland, with lunch ($5) and fellowship to follow.

If you have prayer concerns or celebrations about children, those who care for them, those who have authority over them, or those who harm them (the really hard prayers to say sometimes), please send them to me at at claufer@facesofchildren.net, or give me a call.

Giving thanks for this life and this love,

Chris