Four Bold Prayers For New Hope Children’s Home
By Zach Dodd, WEGO Director
As I sit down to write our special edition prayer guide focused on our home build, I can’t. It’s not that I don’t want you to pray for this crucial project, I do. We need God’s help and hand to build this thing. From the architectural plans and governmental permits to the urgent need for a Fall move in, we need the Lord. But the stumbling block lies in me reading the rest of the chapter I was set to quote. It’s all about kids.
Psalm 127 is most famous for its opening line: “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” Nobody has time to waste hammering nails that bend. We want every brushstroke and painted wall to count for something. We want screws driven into studs with such conviction it’s like God’s own hand is holding the drill. We don’t want our labor to be in vain. We do want this new house to be built but we want more than simply that. So, let’s pray for what we really want first. Let’s pray for the children in our home and let Psalm 127:3-5 lead the way.
#1 Pray our children know who they really are
Psalm 127:3 – “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.”
My heart physically aches at the reality that some children have come to our home without names or other parts of their story. How is a kid supposed to find their way in the world without a clear starting line? To be without a family or to be removed from your family must create a confusion of identity beyond what any person should have to untangle. We want our children to know who they really are. They are much more than a name, birthdate, or who their families of origin say they are. They are not defined by the problems they have faced. We want them to find their identity and worth in who their Creator has made them to be. They are a reward. They are a gift. They are gold and worth more than a thousand treasures. They are Loved. That is their name, no matter what. Pray they might discover this reality right now, even in this very moment.
#2 Pray our children discover and develop their callings
Psalm 127:4 – “Like arrows in the hands of a warrior…”
Mongolians know archery. It’s kind of their thing. They also have a long line of warriors that no king has wanted to tangle with. Mongolians are keenly aware that arrows and warriors both exist for a specific purpose. The same is true of our kids. Our graduates have gone on to be chefs, drivers, artists, business owners, moms and dads, youth pastors, and waitresses. Where do you think these passions were most likely discovered? Right under our roof and between our walls. Pray for our children to find those ‘good works’ that God has created each of them for. Not just equipped for income but for eternal significance in their future workplaces and country.
#3 Pray for the restoration of families
Psalm 127:5 – “Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.”
New Hope Children’s Home is a reaction to a terrible, terrible problem found in every country. Children are abandoned, abused, or their families are unable to adequately care for them. So, we exist to help fill the gap between that moment and adulthood. We love this ministry beyond description but long to see the necessity for it lessened. We want every quiver in Mongolia to be blessed, healthy, and full. Will you pray for adoptions (like Ariuka’s pictured) to skyrocket? Where appropriate, will you pray for children to be reconciled to their families and for broken relationships to be restored? Where full reconciliation is no longer possible, will you pray for our children to feel and experience the deep love of a family within our staff, other children, and the churches in our community? Will you also pray for the local churches in Mongolia as they strengthen mothers and fathers in the Lord? Pray one day, by God’s infinite power, there is no longer a need for New Hope Children’s Home. It is too glorious of a thought to even think upon without being moved. Unless the Lord….
#4 Pray our children win the battle against shame
Psalm 127:5 – “They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.”
It comes for us all. It’s lurking in the corner of every delivery room just waiting to pounce. Adam and Eve felt it and so do we. It’s that gut-punch feeling of not-enoughness and unworthiness. It’s that false accusation we can’t help but believe. Shame is utterly the worst, but no one has to stay in it. Romans 10:11 tells us that “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” Our children have this one defense, ready and more than able to help them win every battle. That’s Jesus. Pray our children turn to Him today and in every season. Pray they don’t believe the lies we all tend to hear. Pray, in Jesus, they silence the vicious pleas of shame and find life and hope in their stories.