Invitation to Prayer from Faces of Children ... Tomorrow

Faces of Children is an ecumenical prayer ministry under the auspices of First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Their mission is to initiate ministries of prayer for children in churches, communities, and neighborhoods. In doing so, they 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 ... Tomorrow

Hi Friends,

If you're in Midland this week, we'll be meeting at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 27, for prayer. We meet in the prayer closet at First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Please join us in lifting up the needs of vulnerable children in our community and around the world!

Blessings,

Carrie

Dear Intercessors,

There's a lot about this world that's scary and dark, which is one reason why this scripture from 2 Timothy 1:7 remains so timeless and true. No matter what happens out in the world, the Spirit empowers us with love, power, and a sound mind, and we have nothing to fear. When we are tempted to hate an enemy, God's spirit can fill us with love. When we are tempted to run hiding in fear and throw our hands up in despair, God's spirit fills us with power. When we find we aren't sure what to believe or who we can trust or how to make sense of all that we see and hear, God's spirit strengthens our mind. Bad things will happen. But we will never go through anything without God's loving and merciful presence right by our side. We have no reason to fear.

During this Lenten season, I've been pondering this quote from Frederick Buechner:

"The worst isn't the last thing about the world. It's the next to the last thing. The last thing is the best. It's the power from on high that comes down into the world, that wells up from the rock-bottom worst of the world like a hidden spring. Can you believe it? The last, best thing is the laughing deep in the hearts of the saints, sometimes our hearts even. Yes. You are terribly loved and forgiven. Yes. You are healed. All is well."

So this week, let's pray expectantly with great hope ... for children who are 20 times more likely to die from dirty water in conflict zones than from bullets ...

Photo by Patrick Brown/Unicef

... for children and their farming families caught in the exploitative webs of price fixing, child labor and exorbitant loans surrounding 80 percent of the world's vanilla pod cultivation ...

Photo by Rijasolo/AFP/Getty Images

... and for Texas foster children whose most basic safety needs go unmet because of bureaucratic in-fighting ...

Dallas Morning News File Photo by Rose Baca

And as we pray, that us move forward without fear, empowered by the Spirit with sound minds, loving hearts, and power, remembering that the worst thing isn't the last thing about the world.

All the best,

Carrie

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