More than four million people around the world prayed earlier in the month for children at risk, with many of those who prayed being children themselves.

The World Weekend of Prayer was held in the first weekend of June and organised by the Oxford-based charity Viva.

The focus of the prayer material for this year was on John 10.10 and the abundance of life that Jesus came to bring, as well as what that looks like in the wider context of children at risk in the world today.

Local networks and groups of projects across the globe took a creative approach to prayer, with everything from cake baking to wrapping up marbles and putting post-it notes on a world map.

In many regions, churches came together for the first time across towns and cities to call out to God in unison for those most at need in our world.

“The whole church prayed ... it was so special. If only every church could be so enlightened and united around one issue!” Jean Webster, mission worker in Zimbabwe.

Viva is a Christian charity based in Oxford, working in Latin America, North America, India, Africa, and Asia. They currently support more than 8,000 projects through local networks, enabling them to reach over 1.1 million children around the world.