Pray for the Children

Ravaged by hunger, 5-year-old Raja fought back tears while rummaging through garbage for scraps to eat. What if the bad man returns? Why did Mommy leave me here alone? When will she come back?

But Mommy never came back, and unfortunately, the "bad man" did. Raja never adjusted to having his frail limbs beaten black and blue by the man's rod. At night, endless shivering warded off sleep — perhaps from the cold, hard ground he lay on, or from terror of being beaten.

Raja now lives happily in an orphanage in India where he is fed, clothed, schooled, sheltered and taught God's Word by loving Christians. I believe prayer changed Raja's destiny.

Sadly, millions of children in the world have suffered torment at a very young age. The following statistics are alarming:

• One million children become prostitutes every year.
• Thirty-five thousand children will die of malnutrition and preventable disease today.
• Forty million children are aborted every year.
• One hundred million children live on the streets.
• Two hundred million children work at adult jobs
• More than 1 billion children are at risk.

Where to start?

Such devastating figures can overwhelm us. We feel inadequate to combat such blatant misery. What can I do? How can I possibly make a difference?

Simple as it sounds, we can all pray. Prayer releases God's power. He moves on our behalf when our request lines up with His will. Yet so many of us don't know how to begin praying. This is why the World Wide Day of Prayer for Children at Risk was launched: to encourage intercession for the millions of suffering children in the world.

Initiated in 1996 by an international Christian outreach known as Viva Network, the World Wide Day of Prayer for Children at Risk takes place the first Saturday of every June, June 2 this year. Individuals and church groups are invited to get involved. An information pack is available upon request, providing suggestions on how to pray or arrange prayer meetings. The pack includes testimonies, information about suffering children, relevant Scriptures, prayers, suggested sources of further information, a planning guide, hints on mobilizing prayer, promotional material, and suggested children's prayer activities.

A family affair

The biggest prayers come from little hearts. Teaching our children to pray for other children cannot fail to reap results both in those we're praying for and in the hearts of our own children.

As Christians, we cannot ignore suffering. Likewise, as God has entrusted us to bring our children up for Him, He requires that we train them to be little lights in a dark world. Prayer is the first place to begin. And exposing them to the plight of hurting children cultivates compassion to motivate their prayers.

We discovered a useful tool to prompt our children to pray: a prayer board of orphans' photos. Praying over those pictures became part of their spiritual heritage. Just a touch of creativity helps mobilize family prayer, and of course, parents must always set the example. Here are some suggestions to sow prayer sensitivity:

• Support a child through a Christian child-sponsorship program and pray for that child and others daily.
• Show your children pictures of hurting children. These can be found in newspapers, magazines or TV documentaries on, say, child victims of war.
• As the children thank God for their food, remind them that many have no food.
• Contact Christian organizations working with suffering children and ask for regular prayer requests. (Orphans First e-mails prayer requests weekly.)
• Create a special prayer album with pictures of orphans, war-victim children or sick children and make it a habit to pray each day with your children.
• Have your family wait an hour or so longer than usual before eating to develop a sense of hunger and create compassion for the hungry. The time period can be adjusted according to the child's age. (World Vision can provide information its 30-Hour-Famine project.)
• Try sleeping on the floor without covers for even a few minutes to show how difficult it is to sleep in the cold without a snug blanket.

A church affair

Prayer is especially a church affair. Many churches are unaware of the World Wide Day of Prayer for Children at Risk. But ignorance is not bliss — especially for those needy children. Maybe God is waiting for someone to expose the need by talking with church leaders and be willing to pray.

• Inform your pastor of World Wide Day of Prayer for Children at Risk and order the information for him.
• Ask him how you can help him involve the church.
• If the church has another event scheduled for that day, suggest an alternative day.
• Place pictures of needy children in the church, and place handouts at the back of the church. (The information pack provides material to photocopy.)
• Initiate a small-group prayer program and make the information available in the church bulletin.
• Involve children by adapting Sunday school classes to include the suffering children's needs. (Some pastors even adapt their sermons.)

The pursuit of prayer

God's Word promises results for our prayers. 1 Samuel 30 demonstrates this. David and his men were devastated by the captivity of their women and children. We too can be deeply burdened for the world's children cruelly taken captive by God's enemy. Like David, we must release the burden to God and follow His instructions. As we persevere in prayer for the children at risk together, God's response to David provides impetus: "You will certainly succeed in the rescue" (1 Samuel 30:8).