Carve a Heart
Prayer and Bible Study Guide
Written by Krish Kandiah, Founder and Director of Home for Good.
Thank you for using this prayer and bible study guide.
This Halloween World Vision is asking people to carve a heart
in their pumpkin as a symbol of hope for children living in the
world’s hardest places. You can share a picture of it on social
media to show that as children are important to God, children
are important to us too and text HEART to 70060 to donate
£3* helping to turn a night of fear into a night of hope. Also join
World Vision in praying for children who don’t have the choice
between fun and fear this Halloween.
This is a charity donation service for World Vision. *Texts cost £3 plus your standard network rate message. World Vision will
receive 100% of your donation. If you have a question about your payment call 0203 282 7863. If you would prefer we didn’t contact
you again in future, text NOCOMMS WORLD VISION to 70060. Charity no England and Wales (no 285908).
Mary, 11 years old, © 2016 Alison Cole/World Vision
Mary’s story
Watch Mary tell her own story in the Carve a Heart film.
Eight-year-old Mary was asleep at home in South Sudan
when gunshots pierced the night, followed by stomach
lurching screams, as rebels ransacked her village killing
anyone. That night Mary saw things no child should ever
see. Mary and her mum escaped, leaving everything
behind. They ran for seven days, following a riverbank,
they managed to survive on fish.
Mary now lives in a refugee camp in Uganda, where
she wants to forget about the war. At World Vision’s
Child Friendly Space she can feel safe, play, learn and
just be a child.
Prayer
Lord, we pray for Mary and children living in fear from conflict and war.
(You could ask different people to read out different parts of the prayer points below.)
We pray…
For peace in countries like South Sudan, Syria and Uganda where there is
war and conflict
For children’s health, safety and happiness as they live in difficult
circumstances (e.g. in refugee camps)
For the children that have fled their homeland and found refuge in foreign
countries to be able to resume their education
That Christians would continue to stand alongside those in need and
living in fear
That Mary and children like her would not feel alone, that they would know
the rest of the world is thinking and praying for them
Mary, 11 years old, © 2016 Alison Cole/World Vision
Peter’s story
The Bible does not hide the challenges of living in a broken world from us.
Prepare to read about how a night of fear turned into a night of hope for Peter. Consider three key
things as you hear the story:
• How many people were affected by Peter’s imprisonment?
• What emotions do you think Peter was feeling?
• What emotions do you think the church was feeling, knowing what was happening to Peter?
Read Acts 12 :1-6 together and discuss the following questions:
• Can you imagine the prayers the church might have prayed when Peter was captured (v.5)?
Take a look at Acts 4:23 –31 if you need inspiration.
• What do you think stops us praying with the same passion, urgency and confidence today when
so many people around the world face the same dangers as Peter and the early church?
Lighting pumpkins as a symbol of hope in a Carve a Heart
service in Spital Fields, London 2015.
Understanding Peter’s story
Peter was chosen and appointed by Jesus to be the leader of the earliest church.
It’s an amazing transformation to see how a man who hid his faith, abandoned Jesus and
buckled under pressure is now standing strong leading the church through difficult times
of extreme persecution. The story of the book of Acts tracks the increasing hostility
between the powerful leaders and the church.
It’s hard to imagine what it would have been like to face this growing opposition. For
Peter, the odds are stacked against him. Jesus, their Lord and Master, had been executed;
Stephen, their friend, had been stoned to death (Acts 9) and now it seems to be Peter’s
turn to suffer.
Nevertheless, someone had called a prayer meeting, and behind locked doors in a home
the fearful church was praying. They had no official buildings, no paid staff, no legal status
and no social media campaigns; they had no reason to believe that God would save
Peter, having already witnessed friends killed for their faith - but they were fervently
seeking God in prayer anyway. Despite the fear, hope remained.
Hopeful Prayer Together
Read Acts 12:7-19 and discuss the following questions:
• How did this experience help Peter’s faith and the mission of the early church? (v.11)
• Why do you think Peter takes the time to tell the praying church what happened to him
instead of running far away as quickly as possible? (v.16–17)
As we read the stories about the earliest church in the book of Acts we notice a real sense of
solidarity in suffering, fervency in prayer and faithfulness to God despite their dire circumstances.
Two thousand years on in Syria, the place where the followers of Jesus were first called
Christians (see Acts 11:25 - Antioch was in the borders of ancient Syria), we need to recapture
this same sense of solidarity and stand with our brothers and sisters facing the horrors of war.
This Halloween show children living in
the hardest places that God loves them
CARVE a heart in your pumpkin this Halloween
PRAY for children living in fear
Written by Krish Kandiah
Dr Krish is Founder and Director of Home for Good and is in demand as a speaker, author and
theological consultant. He has taught apologetics, evangelism and mission as part of the faculty at
Oxford University. Dr Krish helps to lead his local church and is the author of several books
aiming to present the gospel faithfully, relevantly and winsomely. He is a husband, father, foster
carer and big fan of Liverpool FC!
TEXT HEART to 70060 to donate £3* to help change their future for good
SHARE a picture #carveaheart
worldvision.org.uk/carveaheart
This is a charity donation service for World Vision. *Texts cost £3 plus your standard network rate message. World Vision will receive 100% of your donation. If you have a question about your payment call 0203 282 7863. If you would prefer we didn’t contact
you again in future, text NOCOMMS WORLD VISION to 70060. Charity no England and Wales (no 285908).