Praise God for the gift of a new year. Ask Him to grow us in our faith through our worship and study of God’s Word together. Pray for Him to help us keep our eyes fixed on Him, to show us His work among us, and to establish for us the works He has for us.

This week, in observance of Human Trafficking Awareness Month, we are interceding on behalf of human trafficking victims in the greater Birmingham area, especially those who are minors. Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery that involves the recruitment, transfer, or receipt of an individual by means of force, coercion, or deception for the purpose of exploitation, that often involves minors. Research over the past few years has shown that this is a $110 million industry annually in the Birmingham area. We are also praying for Shades Mountain Baptist Church and Pastor George Wright.

DAY 1: Pray for God to protect, rescue, heal, save, and restore human trafficking victims in our own city, especially those who have been unable to escape their circumstances. Ask God to send His Holy Spirit to comfort the afflicted and be a very present help for them in times of trouble. 

DAY 2: Pray for God to bring awareness to the Body of Christ concerning human trafficking and an awakening to the community, nation, and world to the personal and societal destruction caused by this exploitation.

DAY 3: Pray the Church would be compelled by the biblical mandate in Scripture to seek justice for the oppressed. Ask God to speak and care for the oppressed through His Body in word and deed. Also, pray for local government authorities as they seek to combat slavery in all its forms. 

DAY 4: Pray for our partners, The WellHouse and Blanket Fort Hope, and other ministries in Birmingham that God has called to serve victims of human trafficking.

DAY 5: Sex trafficking and pornography are closely linked. Pray for sexual purity within the Church. Pray for individuals struggling with sexual sin and ministries like Awaken and Living 180 that are helping adults find freedom in Christ.

DAY 6: Ask Jesus for a spiritual awakening among all offenders of human trafficking. Pray they would repent of their sin, turn to Jesus, and become forces for freedom.

This week we are praying for several short term care teams that will be serving with our missionaries in the Middle East during the month of January.

DAY 1: Pray for travel mercies, for the Lord to go before the teams and provide for their every need. Ask the Lord to sustain them and give them good health, strength, and energy as they seek to encourage and serve our missionaries.

DAY 2:  Ask the Lord to prepare the care teams to serve sacrificially. Pray the Spirit would help them be good listeners and encouragers for our missionaries, spiritually and emotionally. 

DAY 3: Pray for the Lord to give the teams and our missionaries quality time together. Ask Him to minimize interruptions and distractions while they are there.

DAY 4: Pray the Lord would give the team unity and for them to work well together to meet the needs of our missionaries. Ask the Lord to bless the time they have together.

DAY 5: Pray the care teams would be flexible and sensitive to the Spirit. Ask the Lord to give them everything they need in every circumstance.

DAY 6:  Pray for this trip to be a blessing to our missionaries, for connections to be strengthened and for the care teams and our missionaries to grow in their faith and trust in the Lord.