Weekly Prayer Update
Friday, July 4, 2025
Latest Child Labor Statistics
According to a new report from UNICEF, harmful child labor is still a reality for 138 million children around the globe. Approximately 54 million children are engaged in hazardous work threatening their health and development. Although there has been a reduction of more than 20 million cases since 2020—reversing a prior increase linked to a spike in levels of poverty after the COVID-19 pandemic—many nations face steep challenges in entirely eliminating the practice.
Children work on farms, in markets, factories, mines, and other industries. Many provide domestic labor in homes. When children are forced to work, their education is interrupted or prematurely stopped, reducing their chances of rising above poverty as adults. Children who spend their days working live with a higher risk of exploitation, violence, or poor health.
Nazarene churches, through ministries called child development centers, provide alternatives to families struggling to keep their children in school. By addressing the holistic needs of children living in poverty, children can stay in school and find hope for a brighter future. Through Nazarene Compassionate Ministries’ child sponsorship program, individual sponsors can directly impact a child at a child development center. Sponsorship provides the support that can turn a future with no options into one full of possibilities.
God, we know you see when even a sparrow falls, so we know your heart is attuned to the needs of children. Protect children who must work so they or their families can eat. Open doors and opportunities that give them alternatives. Move in the hearts of leaders around the world to protect children. Help us advocate for the needs of children in our own communities. Lord, hear our prayers.
Food Insecurity in Lebanon
Right now, close to 1.2 million people in Lebanon—approximately one in five—are experiencing crisis or emergency levels of acute food insecurity. (Acute food insecurity is defined as the inability to obtain enough food due to shocks like conflict, economic collapse, or natural disasters.) While this marks a gradual improvement from earlier in the year, when 1.65 million were affected following conflict, the situation remains fragile.
A ceasefire and increased food aid have aided the recovery. However, major challenges persist, including damaged agricultural infrastructure, inflation, economic stagnation, and funding shortfalls. Conflict-related damage to southern Lebanon’s agricultural sector has reduced food production and left about 100,000 people displaced.
The Church of the Nazarene in Beirut regularly provides food vouchers to families struggling to eat. In addition, children who attend the Nazarene school receive free breakfast to supplement their nutritional needs. A Nazarene clinic also provided food to patients at the height of the conflict.
Lord, we pray for all who are hungry in Lebanon and around the world. Bless all who seek to meet the needs of those facing food insecurity and help connect the most vulnerable to the quickest aid. When we consider hungry people across the globe and pray for them to find relief, inspire us to also look for ways to relieve hunger close to home. Give us generous hearts, willing to share our resources to help others. Lord, hear our prayers.
Economic Development Ministries
More than 700 million people live in extreme poverty, which means living on less than $1.90 USD a day. Without opportunities for stable income, life can become focused only on survival. NCM partners with local churches to equip individuals and families to interrupt the cycle of poverty. Through job skills training, savings groups, assistance for small-scale farmers, and child development programs, people living in poverty find hope and are equipped to create a better future.
We pray that through economic development programs, people will experience the affirmation of their inherent dignity as Your children and that their potential will be unleashed. Lord, hear our prayers.