30 Days of Praying for Children and FamiliesSample

Find a piece of nature to spend some time focusing on. If you can, get outside and surround yourself in nature! But if you can’t, find a flower in a vase in your house or a houseplant, you can look out of your window at a tree. You can do this alone or draw in others in your home or community – kids too!

Think about the conditions that allow this piece of nature to grow. Notice its resilience, its ability to flourish in a variety of different environments.

Think about all the things that had to happen for this life to live. The balance of oxygen in the atmosphere, the right level of sunlight, the cycle of seasons that allow rain to fall, and the kind of soil beneath it.

Continue to focus on the item or the space in front of you. What more do you notice? What does it teach you about nature? What does it teach you about yourself? What does it teach you about God?

Allow the natural world to remind you today of the hope we have in the one who gives life, who sustains, and who cares for us.

Prayer

As you continue to gaze on this reminder of God’s sustaining hand, turn to pray for those whose circumstances mean they are more vulnerable, or that they’re unable to flourish at this time.

Pray boldly that friends will be found, communities will be formed, and support will be put in place for these families.

Pray for children and young people in care. Praise God and give thanks for them, each one more precious and beautiful than the prettiest flower.