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,

Courtesy Photo

This upcoming Sunday, November 13 is a day set aside in many churches as "Orphan Sunday." CAFO, or Christian Alliance for Orphans, asks churches to encourage their congregations to help every child experience God's unfailing love by using our resources, energies, prayers, and talents to respond to the needs of orphaned children. This week, I'd like to invite you to pray for four unique areas of orphan care. And perhaps this next Sunday, like us, you can set aside a time of prayer in your services to corporately pray for the following areas:

1: Praying for Children Growing Up in Orphanages //

Let's lift up caregivers and ask God to empower them to love and nurture children and not just meet basic needs. Let's pray for children to be protected from impacts of neglect and ask for them to be shielded from physical or sexual abuse. Pray for orphanages to have adequate supplies to meet basic physical and medical needs and for organizations and charities and churches working to support orphanages to be well-equipped, well-trained, and holistic in their help.

2: Praying for Children Growing Up in Foster Care //

Let's pray for loving foster parents who are able to help their foster children heal; for them to strengthened and encouraged and to have great endurance for their journey alongside these kids. Let's also pray that God raises up more foster families. Pray for adjudication in children's cases to be completed as soon as possible so that children aren't "stuck in the system," but can instead be in a permanent place as soon as possible. Pray for children who are in the foster system to be protected from abuse and for them to find healing from past traumas. Let's also lift up in particular those children who "graduate" from the foster system as a "ward of the state" - children who may never belong to a family and are on their own in the world. Finally, pray for foster agencies, the state systems, and support groups like CASA who support children in the foster system.

3: Praying for Adoptive Families //

Let's pray for families who are currently in the adoption process; pray they have the financial resources to complete the process and the emotional strength to endure the ups and downs. Let's ask God to raise up more adoptive families and put it on more families' hearts to consider the possibility of using adoption to grow their families. Pray for families to be well-equipped for the journey they are stepping into -- with understandings of the impact of trauma and loss on the children they adopt and a sensitivity to helping them find healing. Finally, let's pray for families in the early years after an adoption is finalized as they go through the sometimes difficult process of learning what it means to be a cohesive family.

4: Praying for Family Reunification/Family Preservation //

Let's pray for there to be no more orphans! We can pray for vulnerable families to receive the support they need in order to remain together. In some places, this might look like economic development opportunities that give parents an opportunity to earn a living wage so that they can afford to feed, clothe, and house their children. In other places, this might look like parenting classes, support services, and community wrap-around care to help young, single mothers successfully parent. And in other cases, this means that parents who struggle with addiction, mental illness, and their own childhood wounds due to abuse, neglect, or loss need help and healing so that they can break the cycle and not pass on the same patterns of brokenness to their children. Pray for community groups, churches, individuals and social service agencies to be able to recognize and properly support vulnerable families so that fewer children have to endure the loss of their parents.

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