Faces of Children: Prayer Requests

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 3/16/11

Bulgaria
• Pray for Bulgarian and Roma girls who lack information about their bodies and the link between unprotected sex and its consequences in a culture that frowns on sex education.
• Pray for Roma girls who are married off at a very early age in a tradition rooted in the desire to protect the virginity of unmarried girls. Pray for those who have their first child at age 13 and continue to bear children every other year. Pray for the babies of these children.
• Pray for an end to the cycle of poverty perpetuated by teen pregnancies. Pregnant teens often drop out of school and stop their education, limiting their ability to help support their families.
• Pray for girls who find themselves pregnant, who have contracted sexually transmitted diseases, or who are unwilling to continue their pregnancies. The rate of abortions and spread of sexually transmitted diseases is growing quickly in Bulgaria.
A post from Jordan Ink. blog

Chad
• Please pray for children, some as young as 13, who are recruited, lured, or forced to fight in Chad’s army or Chadian or Sudanese rebel groups.
• Pray for children who are denied their childhood and manipulated into fighting adult wars. Pray for those who join armies and rebel groups to escape poverty or to protect their communities.
• Pray for governments that recruit children to fight wars—pray that justice for these children will roll down like water.
A report from Reuters/alertnet.org

Indonesia, Viet Nam
• Give thanks to God for the orphans of Caleb House in Maluku, Indonesia who blessed 400 children in Vietnam with Sunday school materials and small gifts. These Caleb House orphans, who lost at least one parent in the 2000-2004 religious conflicts between Muslims and Christians in the Maluku Islands of Indonesia, read about the persecution of Christians in Vietnam and decided to do something to show their support.
• Give praise to God for the compassion of these orphans who fasted at lunch every Saturday and saved that portion of their weekly food budget so they could make an end-of-year donation to Christian children in Vietnam.
• Please pray for the children in Vietnam who received the gifts. Most of them are from very poor Christian families and because these families are Christian, the government refuses to help them and even offers the parents money to renounce their faith.
A report from Jubilee Campaign

Kenya (CURE International – www.helpcurenow.org)
• Pray for the disabled children receiving treatment at the CURE International Hospital in Kenya and for the medical staff and caregivers there. Also pray for two young men: 14-year-old James and 16-year-old Joseph.

United States
• Please continue to pray for Ben, his siblings, and his adoptive parents as they cope with a very difficult situation. Ben suffers from emotional and psychological problems as a result of a severe physical and emotional abuse in his childhood. Pray that God will bring comfort to Ben as he works on healing his mind and body at the facility in which he is institutionalized. Pray for the peace of God that surpasses all understanding for this young man and his family.
• Pray for 3-year-old Claire who recently had open heart surgery. Pray that God’s healing presence will be with Claire and her family through the months of recovery she faces.
• Give thanks to God that baby Lexi may be placed in her aunt and uncle’s care very soon. Lexi was born two-and-a-half-months premature to young parents addicted to cocaine and has severe health issues due to the drugs found in her system at birth. Praise God that her aunt and uncle have resources and health insurance available to care for this baby who will probably have life-long physical, mental, and emotional challenges. Please continue to pray that Child Protective Services and the other authorities involved will make the best decision for Lexi. And pray for Lexi’s father who is in prison and her mother who continues to abuse drugs.
• Thanks be to God that Elizabeth Anne, a baby born two months premature, was able to go home with her parents. Please pray that she continues to improve and grow stronger. Pray that God will guide and comfort her parents as they make decisions about her health care.

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.