TEARFUND PRAYER DIARY FEBRUARY 2014
BRINGING HOPE IN 2014: 2 – 8 FEBRUARY
Tearfund has been part of the HOPE movement since the beginning, and this year HOPE is bringing churches together across the UK to do more together in mission, in words and action: the whole church, reaching the whole nation, for a whole year.
Sunday 2 February
HOPE 2014 invites local churches across the UK to work together to spread the hope Jesus gives us, through a year of united mission. Roy Crowne, HOPE’s Executive Director, says, ‘Ask God to pour out his promised blessing on churches as they work together in mission.’
Monday 3 February
HOPE Chairman Steve Clifford says: ‘Let’s give thanks today that God has put us in local communities, and that he’s put us in God’s family with other believers within that community. Ask him to give you a big heart for the people where you live.’
Tuesday 4 February
Join Phil Timson, HOPE’s Youth Director, praying: ‘Father, raise up a generation of children and young people in the UK who follow you with passion. Use the HOPE Revolution Mission Academies to train a new generation of mission-hearted young people. May they give a lead to churches reaching out into their communities so that many people find new life in Jesus.’
Wednesday 5 February
Andy Hawthorne of the Message Trust, one of HOPE’s founders, says: ‘God has been shaking many of the things our country relies on: banks, media, politicians and more. We are not the same country that we were last year. God is doing something new. Ask him to raise your faith to look for new opportunities for evangelism.’
Thursday 6 February
HOPE founder Mike Pilavachi of Soul Survivor says: ‘In John 1:41-42, we read that Andrew brought his brother to meet Jesus and that brother, Simon Peter, became a founding father of the church. Think of the people you meet each day and pray for them by name. Ask God to give you words which will touch their lives.’
Friday 7 February
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby says, ‘The church transforms society when it takes the risks of renewal in prayer, of reconciliation and of confident declaration of the good news of Jesus Christ. Let us pray for a fresh outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit throughout the church and across our nation.’
Saturday 8 February
‘Loving Father, as we meet people today, please show us why you have brought them into contact with us - perhaps because they need your touch, because they need to know your forgiveness, or because they need reconciliation with you or with others,’ asks HOPE’s Prayer Director Jane Holloway.
Welcome to the weekend – what you can do
HOPE is a church-based movement: Christians joining with others to reach out in their communities in mission, through words and actions. If you would like to know more, want to be part of HOPE or continue to pray for its success, visit to find out more.
SECRET’S OUT: 9 – 15 FEBRUARY
In 2010, developing countries lost £555 billion because of illicit money flows - money stolen through corruption, smuggling, trade mispricing, money laundering and tax evasion. That’s money that could be spent on services such as schools and hospitals in the world’s poorest communities. But as we approach the G20 summit in Australia in November, Tearfund is calling on world leaders to act as part of our Secret’s Out campaign.
Sunday 9 February
Corruption is a daily reality that traps millions of people in poverty. It deprives communities of wealth and prevents people from experiencing life in all its fullness. Pray that Tearfund’s Secret’s Out campaign will bring Christians in the UK together to expose the scandal of corruption ahead of the G20 summit in Australia.
Monday 10 February
Give thanks for the success of Tearfund’s Unearth the Truth campaign, which means that now the European Parliament has implemented new transparency laws to clamp down on corruption in the extractive industries. Pray that Secret’s Out will encourage other countries to put in place similar laws.
Tuesday 11 February
Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. Ephesians 5:11.
Corruption takes many different forms. Prayerfully consider what it means to expose the ‘deeds of darkness’. Listen to God and make a commitment to challenge even the small acts of secrecy and corruption that you see around you.
Wednesday 12 February
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbour, for we are all members of one body. Ephesians 4:25.
Let’s repent of secrecy, slander or dishonesty in our own lives and in our churches, and pray that we will demonstrate God’s heart for justice by speaking truth to our neighbour and living lives of integrity.
Thursday 13 February
In Psalm 9:16, God declares that it is by his acts of justice that he ?will be known. But all too often, we see a world full of unjust deeds and dishonest transactions. Let’s intercede on behalf of a world that has turned away from God’s perfect plan, and ask for renewed zeal to proclaim God’s justice in this broken world.
Friday 14 February
Pray for people around the world who feel disillusioned with leadership. Pray that new transparency laws will hold governments to account, restore trust among citizens, and empower communities to challenge corruption wherever they see it.
Saturday 15 February
God calls us to speak out against injustice. As we reflect on the daily reality of corruption for millions around the world, let’s pray that Christians in the UK and globally will continue be a powerful voice in the fight against corruption, and that our actions will have an impact.
Welcome to the weekend – what you can do
Sign Tearfund’s Act Fast action card calling on the prime minister to champion transparency at the Australian G20 summit. You can do this action with your small group, or ask your church leader about including it in a church service. For details, visit – or you can order campaign cards by phoning 0845 355 8355.
PRAYERS FOR THE PHILIPPINES: 16 – 22 FEBRUARY
On 8 November last year, one of the most powerful storms ever to hit land tore through the Philippines, with winds of up to 320 km/h (199 mph). This week we pray for people who lost loved ones, for the 11 million people are still affected and the 670,000 people whose homes were destroyed.
Sunday 16 February
Lord, you say to us, ‘Comfort, comfort my people.’ We lift before you now the people of the Philippines. With heavy hearts we mourn with those who mourn. Stretch out your arms of love to embrace all who are still hurting and have lost so much. Lord, comfort your people.
Monday 17 February
Due to the magnitude of this disaster and its impact on infrastructure, some of the worst affected communities were extremely hard to reach. Pray for Tearfund’s partners as well as churches, others agencies and government teams as they operate in these difficult conditions.
Tuesday 18 February
Tearfund’s partners on the ground, supported by our team of emergency aid workers, were able to act quickly, with the support of your prayers and donations. They’re working hard to provide for the daily and long-term needs of survivors. Pray for Tearfund’s partner staff today, and in the coming months, as they respond to this disaster.
Wednesday 19 February
Several thousand people were killed in the typhoon - leaving behind mothers, fathers, sons and daughters to grieve and mourn. Father God, we pray for those whose loved ones have been killed, who are still experiencing the agony of loss and grief and whose lives will never be the same again.
Thursday 20 February
Tearfund and our partner organisations as part of the Disasters Emergency Committee are doing all we can to reach and support the hundreds of thousands of people who lost their homes in the typhoon. Lord Jesus, we pray for a coordinated effort to reach those most in need, and wisdom in how to re-build lives and homes.
Friday 21 February
‘The pastor saved us. If he hadn’t come to open the door of the chapel, we would have stayed in the house. Maybe today we would be dead,’ says Emmalyn who survived the typhoon, along with her husband and baby son, thanks to her local church. Praise God that his people are at the forefront of the disaster response.
Saturday 22 February
‘Heavenly Father, we trust in you as our comfort, strength and hope. By your Spirit we pray you will lift up the broken and give comfort and strength to those who mourn the loss of loved ones. Amen.’ Mark Melluish, Senior Pastor of St Paul’s Church, Ealing.
Welcome to the weekend – what you can do
The situation in the Philippines will be changing fast as we are still in the first few months following the typhoon. You can read stories of survivors and get up-to-date prayer requests and reports from Tearfund staff and partners on the ground at
SHARING SOLUTIONS IN ETHIOPIA: 23 FEBRUARY – 1 MARCH
Poverty is being reduced, relationships restored and communities united across Ethiopia. How? The answer lies in three simple words - self-help groups.
Sunday 23 February
For more than a decade, Tearfund has been supporting self-help groups in Ethiopia where people in poverty come together to save small amounts of money, build up joint funds and then offer loans to each other to start small businesses. Give thanks that today there are more than 12,500 groups benefiting more than a million people.
Monday 24 February
The groups are organised by Tearfund partners, such as the Kale Heywet Church, which provide training to members about saving money and making loans. Crucially, this training also changes people’s thinking, breaking down age-old attitudes of dependency and helping people understand they can use the resources they have to build a better life. Praise God for the transforming power of a renewed mind.
Tuesday 25 February
As well as enabling people to improve the material quality of their lives, for example being able to send children to school and access healthcare, self-help groups are about changing relationships and bringing people together. Thank God that those of differing faiths are being united and that neighbourly love is changing communities.
Wednesday 26 February
Meseret was so poor that people used to think she was a beggar. No longer. Joining a self-help group has enabled her to start businesses selling charcoal, making jewellery and cutting hair that have raised her quality of life. But the most important change is that she has encountered Jesus and is now a Christian. Ask God to bring life in all its fullness to more Ethiopians through this initiative.
Thursday 27 February
Being in a self-help group where problems are shared and solutions are found collectively has given Meseret new confidence. She’s using that confidence to be ‘a voice for the voiceless’, speaking out about the rights of women and children to those in power in Ethiopia. Pray the Lord will raise up more Ethiopians to challenge injustices.
Friday 28 February
In a poor district of the city of Nazret, a kindergarten has been set up by a self-help group, to provide education and play opportunities for more than 300 children. Without the kindergarten, these children would have no other educational opportunities before joining state schools at the age of seven. Ask the Lord to bless those youngsters who attend and also plans to expand the number of places available.
Saturday 1 March
Self-help groups are bringing people together to tackle common problems, honing their decision-making and management skills and their understanding of rights to vote and to stand for election. Give thanks such empowerment is enabling them to lobby for community needs, such as provision of water, electricity, schools and roads.
Welcome to the weekend – what you can do
Please help us set up more self-help groups in Ethiopia. Just £10 can provide the training that’s needed to get one going and start changing lives. You can support this work at
Tearfund Prayer Diary February 2014