PRAYER IDEAS 1. SPOKEN PRAYER Dear God, This harvest, we pray for mothers like Sina who face a daily struggle to feed their children, often going without food themselves. We pray for fathers like Sina s husband Bora, who do everything they can to provide for their families but still see their children go to bed hungry. And we pray for churches like Ke Pich s, desperate to help the poorest of the poor in Jesus name. Lord, we pray for your kingdom to come and your will to be done in Tonle Batie, and wherever there is poverty and injustice. And we pray you ll work through each and every one of us to make this happen. Amen. 2. PRAYER POINTS Please pray for Sina. Pray for renewed hope and strength as she struggles daily to feed her children. Pray for Sina s husband Bora, working every hour he can to try and provide for his family. Pray for job security that he will be able to stay in work. Pray for Sina s three young children Yuth, Bunton and baby Den. Pray that it will be possible for all three boys to get a good education. Pray for Pastor Ke Pich as he works to build up the new church project, for wisdom and perseverance. Pray that vital prayer and financial support will be raised this harvest time, making it possible for church projects like Ke Pich s around the world to flourish. Pray specifically for the project in Tonle Batie, that it will be possible for it to expand effectively and offer Sina and others like her the chance to get involved. Pray for God s kingdom to come in Tonle Batie through the work of the local church pray that hearts and minds will be transformed, and poverty beaten in Jesus name.
PRAYER IDEAS 3. CREATIVE PRAYER IDEA - PRAYERPOD, OUTSIDE IN Use this PrayerPod as part of your harvest service, or independently, to help people in your church to pray actively for those in need of God s love and transformation. WHAT YOU NEED: A very large piece of paper (eg flipchart paper) Post-it notes (enough for all of those who will be using the PrayerPod) Pens Print-outs of the following resource sheets HOW TO SET UP THIS PRAYERPOD: 1. Print the following resource sheets on A3 paper (A4 s fine if you don t have A3). 2. Choose an area/corner in your church to set up the PrayerPod. You ll need either a wall or a board to pin up the resource sheets. 3. In your chosen area, pin up the resource sheets in order, ie so people can go on a mini prayer journey. 4. On your large piece of paper, draw a big circle, leaving some space around the outside. 5. Put the sheet of paper on the floor or on a table in your PrayerPod area (close to resource sheet 4 if possible), and put the blocks of Post-it notes and pens around the outside of the circle. 6. Don t worry, it s easy! Read through the following resource sheets, and it should make sense. Registered Charity No. 265464 (England and Wales) Registered Charity No. SC037624 (Scotland)
OUTSIDE IN
1. MEET SINA This is Sina, a mother of three from Cambodia. Her family is one of the poorest in the whole village, and she and her husband struggle to put food on the table. With little education and no land to farm, families like hers are considered lost causes poor for life and are pushed to the outskirts of society. Photos: Ralph Hodgson/Tearfund Sina s family is looked down upon by many in her village because they are so poor.
2. READ GOD S WORD A woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him [Jesus] and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped... Jesus said, Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me. Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet... Then he said to her, Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace. (Luke 8) The disciples came to him and said,... Send the crowds away, so that they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food. Jesus replied, They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat. We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish, they answered. Bring them here to me, he said. And he told the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. (Matthew 14)
3. REFLECT Jesus life is rich with inspiring examples of how he included those in his ministry who were pushed away, excluded or on the edges of their community. He brought those on the outside, in. The sick woman was stigmatised because of her illness, written off as a hopeless case. But Jesus noticed her, and then healed her. Thousands of people at the lake were nearly sent away because the disciples didn t believe they could meet their needs. But Jesus insisted they stay, and made it possible for the disciples to feed every one of them. Photos: Kieran Dodds/Tearfund
4. RESPOND Think of individuals or groups of people who are on the outside of community or society, either in your neighbourhood (eg asylum seekers, the elderly etc) or globally (eg people living in extreme poverty, those living with HIV etc). Take Post-it notes from the outside of the circle and write down whoever you ve thought of. Photos: Chris Boyd/Tearfund Re-attach the Post-it notes, but this time on the inside of the circle. This is to symbolise our calling as followers of Jesus to live as he taught us to bring those on the outside, in.
5. PRAY - Pray for those individuals or groups of people you wrote down. Ask God to reveal new ways for you as an individual or church to follow Jesus example and empower those on the outside to come in. - Pray for Sina, her family and the millions of others around the world who have been pushed out because of poverty. - In Sina s village, the local church, supported by Tearfund, is starting a new project. The church hopes to offer the whole village, including the most marginalised people like Sina, the chance to take part and learn new ways to work their way out of poverty. Pray for the work of local churches like this, and for Tearfund as we raise support to make these projects possible. Photos: Ralph Hodgson/Tearfund
6. ACT If you feel led to take action locally and have ideas, speak to a leader in your church as soon as possible while things are fresh in your heart and mind. If you re not sure what else to do, keep praying! Please pray regularly for people like Sina and for the work of Tearfund. Visit www.tearfund.org/pray to sign up for One Voice, our weekly prayer email. If you can, please give regularly to Tearfund. Only with your help can we support local churches like Sina s to give people like her the chance to build a better future. Visit www.see-for-yourself.org to find out more. Photos: Ralph Hodgson/Tearfund