Children Praying for Children

A group of children in a classroom in Nigeria raised their voices in prayer to God asking for His help after seeing the plight of street children in their town. Mary, a children’s ministry leader gathered the group of children to pray during the global Children Everywhere 24 hour prayer vigil held on the 17 – 18 November. Mary’s heart for the street children in her area was first ignited when she was working on her community project as part of her involvement in the Leadership Experience (LE) course in 2016.

Mary wrote: “The children I gathered to pray were willing to pray for children like them who are denied true love and relationships. We could not minister or communicate with the street children because of (the) language barrier but the children were moved when they saw the way the children on the street were living and sleeping along the road with their aged mother begging for alms. They saw the helplessness of the children on the street and raised their voices in prayer to God. They prayed for the following:

• God-fearing people who would reach out and show love to the children on the street.
• The children would also experience God’s love in their own way.
• They asked God to send men/women who will adopt them and give them a good life.
• That God would help and comfort those who have lost their parents and do not have a place to live.
• One child (a boy) prayed that God would arrest those who kidnapped children.
• That the church would reach out and help them where they need help the most and most especially they should experience God’s love in Jesus’ name.

Mary had been communicating with one homeless boy who spoke a little English but she lost contact with him when another boy he was with stopped him from visiting her.

Mary said “The challenge faced is that when we are getting close to the street children, they will change location and go far away and some of these children are abused by their aged mother who sends them to go and ask (beg) for alms or food. They look very unkempt and hungry.”

Rather than give up due to the difficulty of ministering to these street children, Mary gathered children she was discipling to pray knowing that the prayers of children are powerful (as we explored in a previous news article, read more here). Empowering children to be involved with us in what God is doing in His world, through prayer and action and going to where children are in our communities is exactly what the Children Everywhere Walking with Jesus vision is all about.