Praise God for the good work He has created us to do. Pray for us all to live our lives in light of the work He has accomplished in and for us rather than attempting to earn His love and grace through our work. Ask God to display His glory as we do all things as we are doing them for Him.

This week we are praying for the Brook Hills Foster Care Ministry and other foster care ministries in and around the city of Birmingham, as well as for the families whose lives they touch. There are currently 6,000 children in foster care in the state of Alabama. In Jefferson and Shelby counties alone, there are over 1,000 children in foster care, with many more kids coming into care each month. 

Day 1: Pray for the children in foster care. Ask the Father to comfort them in their loss and confusion. Pray for Him to protect their hearts so that they do not become hardened, but instead remain open and receptive to the love of their foster family, and especially the love Jesus has for them. 

Day 2: Pray for our foster care parents to guard and protect their time with the Lord, and to spend time in the Word and prayer each day so that they are able to parent out of His provision and not their own strength. Pray for God to call out more foster parents from among us.

Day 3: Praise God for the amazing WRAP Ministry volunteers and leaders who give of their time and talents to come alongside many of our foster families by providing prayer, encouragement, meals, tutoring, quilts, blankets, and lots of love. 

Day 4: Pray for our Birmingham agency and ministry partners that provide training and licensing for foster parents. Ask the Father to encourage them as they spend countless hours facilitating classes, doing home studies, and dealing with mountains of paperwork.

Day 5: Pray for the many Birmingham agencies and ministry partners that support foster and foster-adoptive families, including Brook Hills WRAP Ministry, Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes and Family Ministries, Pathways Professional Counseling, Lifeline Children’s Services, Alabama DHR, APAC, Grace House, King’s Home, and The Forgotten Initiative.

Day 6: Pray for wisdom for judges, attorneys, and all court personnel that serve families walking through long and emotional court proceedings. Pray also for all service providers (CASA workers, GALs, rehabilitative and mental health professionals) who assist parents and children in being reunited as a strong family unit.

This week we are praying for the Zaza people and the field partners who are working among them. The Zaza people are of the largest unreached and unengaged people groups in Turkey. There are close to three million Zaza living in Turkey. They are considered unreached as most of them do not have access to the gospel, and only a small percentage of their population are Evangelical Christians.

Day 1: The Zaza are split into two categories, the Northern Zaza and the Southern Zaza, each with its own distinct language. Pray for God to awaken the hearts of Zaza men and women to the truth of the gospel.   
  
Day 2: The primary religion of the Zaza is Sunni Islam. There are only a handful of known believers among them. Pray for the workers who are actively engaging Southern Zaza people with the gospel and training the believers to do the same. Pray for God to save those that are hearing.

Day 3: There are a few Southern Zaza men who have believed and who face regular persecution. Pray for our brothers who are faithfully living out and sharing the gospel.  Pray for God to sustain them and provide for their every need. Pray for God to use our brothers to establish His church among the Zaza.

Day 4: There are 1.5 million Northern Zaza people who are primarily Shia Muslims, but there is a small group of believers among them who need discipleship and maturing. Pray for God to grow the faith of these believers and raise up leaders and elders from among them to disciple others.

Day 5: The Zaza people live in isolated areas of Eastern Turkey, making them not only spiritually, but also physically, one of the most unreached people groups in the world.  Recently an earthquake hit this area of Turkey and believers have been able to provide for Zaza families in need. Pray for an awakening to God to happen among the Zaza as believers engage them with the gospel.    

Day 6: Pray for the Lord to soften Zaza hearts and open their eyes to their need for salvation.