04. PRAYER IDEAS. Prayer resources and ideas for part of a service or event. Photos: James Morgan/Tearfund

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1 04. PRAYER IDEAS Prayer resources and ideas for part of a service or event Photos: James Morgan/Tearfund

2 PRAYER IDEAS THE FAMILIES ANKOOR Use or adapt these prayer ideas from Bihar in north India for a service or event, or display them on a wall to create a prayer station. Alternatively, encourage your small group to pray for a different person each week or allocate to each group member a particular person to pray for. Ankoor was abducted by traffickers near his home in Bihar state, India, when he was gleaning maize. His family struggles to get enough food to eat and lacks employment opportunities. Ankoor managed to escape and is now safe at home. Please pray that Ankoor will be healed of his trauma and thank God for the counselling he has received from Tearfund s partner, Emmanuel Hospital Association (EHA). Pray that Ankoor will enjoy his studies and go on to have more opportunities than his parents have had to earn a stable income.

3 MALTI Malti has five children and Ankoor (left) is her second oldest son. Since Ankoor s return home, Malti has worked with EHA and local volunteers to run a vigilance committee in her village, helping the community to keep watch on who comes in and out of the village and spot those who might try to traffic their children. Please pray that the success of the group will continue. NAZEEB Nazeeb was 14 when he believed the lies of a trafficker and found himself a modern-day slave in a zip factory. He had to work 21 hours a day for no pay at all. But he was released when he caught typhoid, and managed to get home. Now EHA has given his family the skills and materials they need to run a poultry farm. Finally, they have sufficient income to ensure they have enough to eat. Please pray for the continued success of their poultry farm and that similar small business projects will protect other children from being exploited by traffickers. NAFISA Nafisa used to struggle to scrape together two meals a day for her family. The family s poverty made her eldest son, Nazeeb (left), vulnerable to traffickers. Since Nazeeb s return home, EHA has helped the family set up a small poultry farm, enabling them to generate an income close to home. Nafisa is also part of a women s saving group that gives her not only the means to invest in the poultry farm but also a new confidence in her abilities. Pray that Nafisa s selfhelp group will go from strength to strength, freeing more and more families from poverty.

4 THE TEAM Many of the staff at Tearfund s partner EHA give up more comfortable lifestyles and proximity to their families to serve with the organisation. Give thanks for their dedication and pray that they may find hope and comfort in Mark 10:29 31: Truly I tell you, Jesus replied, no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields along with persecutions and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first. DENNYSON Abraham Dennyson oversees EHA s development work across the whole of Bihar, a large state with a population of 100 million. Please pray for wisdom, strong relationships with his team and great support from those around him. JOHNSON Johnson is EHA s project coordinator in Bihar. He leads the development projects, running a staff team of seven. At 26, he is a young leader, but he is loved and respected by his colleagues. Please pray for energy and wisdom for Johnson as he develops in his role.

5 ASHA Asha has been working at EHA for a year. Her role includes leading its youth work and running two monthly groups. The groups teach young people what to expect of life and helps them to understand things such as puberty. Often parents don t have those sorts of conversations with their children, especially women talking to their daughters, she explains. Please pray that God will bless Asha with strong relationships among the young people and other villagers with whom she works. USHA Usha is the newest member of the team. This is her first community development job and she is learning a great deal. She likes working with the women teaching them how to look after their children and families and educating them about their rights. Women often stay at home and don t know about their rights, she says. I like helping them to have a voice. Pray that Usha will continue to learn quickly in this new role and see God at work through her. ANILESH Anilesh grew up in Bihar and he now oversees the anti-trafficking work at EHA. He is particularly passionate about seeing spiritual change in the communities where they work, as well as physical transformation. He says: I share my testimony with people. The team sing worship songs and tell people the word of God. Please pray that the seeds they have sown will bear great fruit, and that many will see the love of the Lord through the community development work and the EHA staff.

6 THE COMMUNITIES The caste system has a strong hold in Bihar and the state is home to many of the lower castes and outcastes. This breeds low self-esteem and increases people s vulnerability to exploitation. EHA is taking the word of God to these communities and telling them they are made in his image; that they are not worthless as the caste system would have them believe. Pray that many find new hope in God. THE CHURCH Christians make up less than 0.5% of the population in Bihar. Pray that they will have strength, courage and a sense of being part of the global family of Christ as they worship and seek to live their lives in a way that pleases God. Pray that Christians in Bihar will know the love, support and prayers of the church in the UK as they worship.

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8 Trafficking is the world s fastest-growing crime. The church is the world s largest voluntary network. And they re head-to-head. Think of this: the church, standing between traffickers and the children they want. And, by God s grace, winning. No Child Taken help protect children vulnerable to trafficking, disease and disaster. Thank you Following Jesus where the need is greatest 100 Church Road, Teddington TW11 8QE T E enquiries@tearfund.org tearfund.org/nochildtaken XXXXXXX Registered Charity No (England & Wales) Registered Charity No. SC (Scotland) Photos: James Morgan/Tearfund 31274e-(0615)