Invitation to Prayer from Faces of Children ... TODAY

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).

Invitation to Prayer, TODAY

Hi Friends,

Thank you for joining me in prayer for the children of the world. If you can, we'd love to have you pray together with us this Wednesday - TODAY -  at 11:30 a.m., in the gym conference room at First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas, followed by lunch together.

Also, Faces of Children is now on Facebook ! I invite you to like our page so that you can see regular stories, prayer needs, and updates from partner ministries.

All the best,

Carrie

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Dear Intercessors,

We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul - not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.

God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He's set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating.

We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels - everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.

So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe - people and things, animals and atoms - get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the Cross.
- Colossians 1:11-20, MSG

Sometimes when the world feels heavy, broken and dislocated, I find myself coming back to this passage of scripture. They are words my heart finds deep comfort in. I can visualize crawling up into the Father's lap and curling up in all of his spaciousness and roominess. There is space to breathe; space to simply BE; space to rest.

The world may be broken and dislocated. But He fixes and fits everything together in vibrant harmonies. I'm praying this week finds you soaking in the full beauty and power of these promises and Truths and resting in the spacious and roomy lap of the Great Redeemer and Restorer. May you find peace in the arms of Jesus.

This week, please join me in praying for children in our communities and around the world, including:

IRAQ // Praise God for the safety and protection of 71 female students who were caught in a dormitory when ISIS fighters made a surprise attack in Kirkuk this past week. These girls - Christians, Yazidis, and Muslims already escaped ISIS once, and their harrowing ordeal was documented by Preemptive Love Coalition in a recent report. Thankfully, the fighters were stopped and the girls are safely with their families.

Getty Images Photo

SYRIA // Pray for the families of 20 students who were killed in an airstrike on a school. Bombs hit when 50 students were leaving the front door and there were at least 6 strikes. In addition to the 20 students who were killed, 6 adults were also killed and many other children and adults were injured. Relief workers expect the death toll to go up, making this strike (according to UNICEF) the deadliest attack on a school since the conflict in Syria erupted. You can learn more here.

FRANCE // Pray for unaccompanied migrant children who are vulnerable to traffickers as a large migrant camp is being dismantled this week in Calais, France. Humanitarian organizations have said they believe "the process of registering the children and sending them to the U.K. should have been completed before demolishing the camp." That was not done, however, and so they are concerned about some children who may slip through the cracks. "We do know it is an environment where people smugglers do operate, and outside the humanitarian center, children are exposed to potentially being trafficked by some fairly shady and unscrupulous characters," said Laura Padoan, a spokeswoman for the U.N.'s refugee agency, the UNHCR, which is assisting the U.K. in identifying unaccompanied children and registering them." You can learn more here.

Praying with you,

Carrie

Carrie J. McKean
Faces of Children Director
First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas
(432) 684-7821 x153

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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 info@facesofchildren.net