Endmalaria

End malaria prayer guide

We encourage you to use this guide with your church, small group, family, or for personal reflection as you pray for the children and families around the world impacted by malaria. In this guide, you will find facts about malaria and its impact, a few stories of children affected by the disease, and some Scripture for reflection. You can find prayer points to guide your prayer time on the last page.

Stories: Children affected by malaria

“At this age, she should be standing or walking.” ― Nurse, Uganda

Christine, 1 year old
Uganda
Christine cannot crawl or stand or even walk. At the age of 1, she weighs about as much as a 6-month-old. Her tiny body, already stunted by malnutrition, is ravaged by the telltale signs of malaria — nausea, diarrhea, and fever.

Christine can’t get the treatment she needs to fight the disease. Every time she falls ill, her mom carries her two miles to the nearest clinic. But often there is no medicine available.

Left unchecked, malaria will not stop with Christine’s flu-like symptoms. “If not treated, a child with malaria can get brain damage,” explains a local nurse. “And if a patient does not take the full dose, he can become resistant to treatment.”

“My bones ache.” — Sylvia, Lemashol’s mom

Lemashol, 7 years old
Kenya
The stagnant waters collecting around Sylvia’s house are a breeding ground for the malariabearing mosquitoes that wreak havoc when the sun goes down. “I get a fever and my body feels very hot, like it is on fire,” says her 7-year-old son, Lemashol. “I don’t feel like eating when food is brought. Sometimes, I go for even two weeks without going to school.” Often, the disease strikes Sylvia as well, leaving her too weak to care for Lemashol and his six siblings. “My bones ache,” she says. “This happens over and over again.”

Yet there’s a simple solution for Lemashol’s family: insecticide-treated bed nets could provide lasting protection from the mosquitoes’ nightly assault. Lemashol is one of 250 million people infected with malaria each year.

“Prevention is better than curing.” — Community doctor, Democratic Republic of Congo

Tshabala, 2 months old
Democratic Republic of Congo
Leonie’s newborn son Tshabala sleeps peacefully, surrounded by a protective net that keeps Africa’s deadliest predator at bay. Even before birth, malaria threatened Tshabala’s fragile life — and his mom’s, too. Globally, the disease causes 10,000 maternal deaths each year. Had it not been for the anti-malarial medication that Leonie received while pregnant, she and her son might have become just another statistic. According to the local doctor, the best hope for Tshabala is to stop malaria before it starts. “Prevention,” she says, “is better than curing.” Tshabala has a bed net. Africa needs 300 million more.

Scripture to consider

Psalm 140:12 “I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.”
 
Proverbs 31:8 “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.”
 
Isaiah 1:16-17 “Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.”
 
James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
 
Psalm 41:1 “Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the LORD delivers him in times of trouble.”
 
Proverbs 19:17 “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.”

Prayer points focused on malaria

• Pray for wisdom for our government decision-makers, who have the power to increase resources to fight this killer of children.
• Pray for the tens of millions of children whose lives have been affected by malaria.
• Pray for health and fullness of life for those vulnerable to malaria.
• Pray for the families of the 2,000 children who will die today from malaria.
• Pray for mothers who have to make difficult decisions: “Do I buy food for my children, or a bed net to protect them?”
• Pray that people around the world would speak out on behalf of those at risk for malaria and advocate for resources to end this deadly disease.
• Pray for the collective will to eradicate malaria, once and for all.

Download Malaria Prayer Guide (PDF)