Faces of Children: Prayer Concerns for This Week

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 Concerns for the Week of 12/19/13

Central African Republic

• Please keep in prayer children and families in the Central African Republic (CAR) affected by violence between Christian and Muslim communities. The interim president, who seized control of the CAR’s government last March, has been unable to control his Muslim fighters who have attacked members of the Christian majority. Christians have formed militias to defend their communities against Muslim militias.
• Pray for the loved ones and friends of the nearly 400 people killed in this fighting. Please pray for children injured in the violence—many have been brought to hospitals with bullet wounds or injuries from crude weapons.
• Pray for the release of the 6,000 children recruited to fight in this conflict.
• Pray for peace, reconciliation, and solidarity in the Central African Republic and for a stable government that values all its citizens. The CAR has seen political instability and conflict for much of its 53 years of independence—the country is rich in uranium, diamonds, and gold.
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Philippines

• Please continue to keep the children and people of the Philippines held close in prayer as they deal with the aftereffects of Typhoon Haiyan (November 8, 2013), as well as two other natural disasters (7.2-magnitude earthquake—October 15, 2013; Typhoon Bopha—December 4, 2012) and an armed conflict in the southern part of the country.
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• Pray for the 14.4 million people affected by Haiyan ... for the 3.62 million who have been displaced by the typhoon and for the loved ones of the 5,600 people killed in it. Pray for children and families still living in over 1,000 displacement centers, many of which are schools.
• Please remember in prayer children and families struggling to recover from last year’s Typhoon Bopha which killed more than 1,000 people and impacted an estimated 6 million.
• Pray for the 300,000 people in central Philippines still in need of immediate food assistance following the October 15, 7.2-magnitude earthquake that killed 223 people.
• Keep in prayer the 70,000 children and families still displaced following fighting last September between government troops and Muslim rebels in the Philippines’ southern region

United States

• Please continue to keep 18-year-old Teresa * close in prayer as she enters her last semester of high school in a new community and at a new school. Over the Thanksgiving holidays, Teresa moved out of her biological mother’s home following an altercation in which her mother became physically abusive.
     • Pray for Teresa’s emotional and mental healing—her mother frequently spent time drinking with men in her apartment, exposing Teresa to at-risk and toxic situations.
     • Pray Teresa will persevere through this last semester of high school and not let the actions of her mother prevent her from pursuing a college education. Teresa was accepted into a university where she plans to study forensic science.
• Please pray for the safety and emotional health of Rebecca * and her 11-year-old son, Isaiah* who are in a very difficult situation. Isaiah’s father was recently released from prison (after serving a 10 year sentence) and has been living with them, but things aren’t going well. Pray Isaiah’s father will seek help adjusting to life on the outside.
• Pray for Isaiah who has moved in with his grandparents. Pray the contact with his father won’t cause any more problems for Isaiah who struggles with issues that may be related to his mother’s drug use during pregnancy. Pray those issues will be addressed and that he will receive the proper treatment for them.
• Please continue to pray for Louise* and Brad * and the three siblings they fostered, then adopted: 11-year-old Patrick *, 9-year-old Megan*, and 7-year-old Christopher *. Pray for physical, emotional, and mental healing of these three children who were exposed to methamphetamines while in the custody of their birth mother. Pray for the resources this family needs to deal with the aftereffects of such abusive treatment.
     • Pray Patrick will receive the educational support he needs to deal with several difficult diagnoses. He has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), attachment disorder, and a sensory problem.
     • Give thanks to God that Megan is doing pretty well. Several summers ago, she was molested by one of Brad’s nephews during a visit. Continue to pray for complete healing for this little girl.

* Name changed for confidentiality and/or protection.

Faces of Children

• Please continue to pray that more churches and individuals will join with the ministry of Faces of Children in spreading awareness about children in crisis and inviting more people to pray for children at risk.

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If you have prayer requests 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 Chris Laufer, FOC Coordinator, at claufer@facesofchildren.net