Praying for the world's children this weekend

Remember that moment in Bruce Almighty when Bruce, who has been given God’s job for a few weeks, is trying to find a way to organise and listen to all the prayers of the world?

He tries post-its and filing cabinets, then eventually settles on email, although he is still quickly overwhelmed by the sheer volume of prayer. Well, thank goodness that this weekend it’s not Bruce on duty but God, as millions of people around the world get down to some serious prayer for children at risk.

On 4 to 5 June the World Weekend of Prayer, set up by international children’s charity Viva, will see hundreds of prayer events taking place all over the globe.

“We are going to have people marching through towns,” says Viva’s CEO Patrick McDonald, “and folk getting together in their churches and children gathering in city squares across many capital cities to have festivals and moments of prayer for children.”

Viva has facilitated the World Weekend of Prayer for children at risk since 1995 when the idea was sparked off by McDonald, Viva’s founder as well as CEO.

Realising God’s heart for vulnerable children and his commitment to meeting their needs, Patrick wanted to find a way to mobilise churches around the world to come together for those children. His solution was simple: a clarion call to prayer.

“I see prayer as a mover of heaven and earth in ways no work of man can be. It is prayer that precedes power. It is prayer that can be the catalyst for change.”

And indeed it has been - the scale of this Weekend has grown over the years, and 2010 saw over 400 events take place in a total of 27 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America.

“As a result of these prayers,” says McDonald, “and the action of these newly united and mobilised groups, we are seeing incredible change in children’s lives. Girls kept safe from trafficking in Nepal, children rescued from the streets in Peru and children speaking up for their own rights in Uganda!” (See blog.viva.org for more details).

It’s not too late to get involved – hold your own prayer event, pray as a family, take 5 minutes in your church service to pray, or just spend one minute in silence over the weekend lifting up the children of the world to God.

Check out www.viva.org/wwp for more information and resources.