December Prayer Journey Around the World
Are you looking for a way to incorporate geography, culture study, and compassion in a quick 10-minute daily homeschool lesson? Try praying your way around the world! Pray for countries of the world in December—your kids will learn where countries are located, basic demographics of each country, and most importantly, develop compassion for and interest in people around the world. Make it a homeschool project to pray for every country in the world in one year.
Pray for Countries of the World Homeschool Project
There are currently 195 recognized countries in the world, but this list includes Taiwan and Kosovo for a total of 197 countries.
To pray for every country in one year, you’ll need to pray for 16-17 countries each month. I’ve assigned the countries alphabetically to each month of the year. However, by praying for one country every weekday you can actually cover every country over the course of a school year if your summers are hectic and you prefer to organize it that way.
You can download my free calendar for December to pray for countries of the world, along with a few questions for your kids to learn a little bit more about a country of their choice.
Countries of the World to Pray for in December
There are 16 countries assigned to pray for in December. You can pray through one country each weekday and get through them even if you miss a day here and there.
The list is numbered continuously starting in January, but if you’re just starting this month, simply begin here and continue on through the year if you like. Visit my homeschool resources page for links to all twelve monthly prayer lists.
182 // Turkey
Locate Turkey on a world map or globe
Natural hazards: earthquakes, landslides, flooding
Religion: 99% Muslim (mostly Sunni)
Age of Population:
0-14 years old: 21.7%
15-64 years old: 68.6%
65 years and over: 9.6%
Median age: 34 years old
Find additional information about Turkey from The World Factbook/Turkey
Specific prayer needs for Turkey: Operation World/Turkey
183 // Turkmenistan
Locate Turkmenistan on a world map or globe
Natural hazards: earthquakes, mudslides, droughts, dust storms, floods
Religion: 93% Muslim, 6% Christian
Age of Population:
0-14 years old: 24.5%
15-64 years old: 68.6%
65 years and over: 6.9%
Median age: 31.2 years old
Find additional information about Turkmenistan from The World Factbook/Turkmenistan
Specific prayer needs for Turkmenistan: Operation World/Turkmenistan
184 // Tuvalu
Locate Tuvalu on a world map or globe
Natural hazards: cyclones, sea level change
Religion: 93% Protestant
Age of Population:
0-14 years old: 29.2%
15-64 years old: 63.2%
65 years and over: 7.6%
Median age: 27.8 years old
Find additional information about Tuvalu from The World Factbook/Tuvalu
Specific prayer needs for Tuvalu: Operation World/Tuvalu
185 // Uganda
Locate Uganda on a world map or globe
Natural hazards: droughts, floods, earthquakes, landslides, hailstorms
Religion: 45% Protestant, 39% Roman Catholic, 14% Muslim
Age of Population:
0-14 years old: 47%
15-64 years old: 50.6%
65 years and over: 2.4%
Median age: 16.2 years old
Find additional information about Uganda from The World Factbook/Uganda
Specific prayer needs for Uganda: Operation World/Uganda
186 // Ukraine
Locate Ukraine on a world map or globe
Natural hazards: occasional floods, occasional droughts
Religion: Christian, 2/3 identify as Orthodox
Age of Population:
0-14 years old: 12.3%
15-64 years old: 67.8%
65 years and over: 19.9%
Median age: 44.9 years old
Find additional information about Ukraine from The World Factbook/Ukraine
Specific prayer needs for Ukraine: Operation World/Ukraine
187 // United Arab Emirates
Locate United Arab Emirates on a world map or globe
Natural hazards: sand and dust storms
Religion: 75% Muslim, 13% Christian, 6% Hindu
Age of Population:
0-14 years old: 16.4%
15-64 years old: 81.4%
65 years and over: 2.2%
Median age: 35.8 years old
Find additional information about United Arab Emirates from The World Factbook/United Arab Emirates
Specific prayer needs for United Arab Emirates: Operation World/United Arab Emirates
188 // United Kingdom
Locate United Kingdom on a world map or globe
Natural hazards: winter windstorms, floods
Religion: 60% Christian, 26% none, 5% Muslim
Age of Population:
0-14 years old: 16.7%
15-64 years old: 63.9%
65 years and over: 19.3%
Median age: 40.8 years old
Find additional information about United Kingdom from The World Factbook/United Kingdom
Specific prayer needs for United Kingdom: Operation World/United Kingdom
189 // United States
Locate United States on a world map or globe
Natural hazards: tsunamis, volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, mudslides, forest fires, flooding
Religion: 47% Protestant, 21% Roman Catholic, 2% Jewish, 23% unaffiliated
Age of Population:
0-14 years old: 18.1%
15-64 years old: 63.4%
65 years and over: 18.5%
Median age: 38.9 years old
Find additional information about United States from The World Factbook/United States
Specific prayer needs for United States: Operation World/United States
190 // Uruguay
Locate Uruguay on a world map or globe
Natural hazards: violent wind, droughts, floods
Religion: 42% Roman Catholic, 15% Protestant, 10% atheist, 24% unspecified
Age of Population:
0-14 years old: 18.9%
15-64 years old: 65.4%
65 years and over: 15.7%
Median age: 36.5 years old
Find additional information about Uruguay from The World Factbook/Uruguay
Specific prayer needs for Uruguay: Operation World/Uruguay
191 // Uzbekistan
Locate Uzbekistan on a world map or globe
Natural hazards: earthquakes, floods, landslides, avalanches, droughts
Religion: 88% Muslim, 9% Eastern Orthodox
Age of Population:
0-14 years old: 29.6%
15-64 years old: 63.7%
65 years and over: 6.7%
Median age: 28.9 years old
Find additional information about Uzbekistan from The World Factbook/Uzbekistan
Specific prayer needs for Uzbekistan: Operation World/Uzbekistan
192 // Vanuatu
Locate Vanuatu on a world map or globe
Natural hazards: cyclones, tsunamis
Religion: 40% Protestant, 12% Roman Catholic
Age of Population:
0-14 years old: 31.1%
15-64 years old: 63.8%
65 years and over: 5%
Median age: 24.6 years old
Find additional information about Vanuatu from The World Factbook/Vanuatu
Specific prayer needs for Vanuatu: Operation World/Vanuatu
193 // Venezuela
Locate Venezuela on a world map or globe
Natural hazards: floods, rockslides, mudslides, droughts
Religion: 48% Roman Catholic, 32% Protestant, 14% none
Age of Population:
0-14 years old: 25%
15-64 years old: 65.9%
65 years and over: 9.1%
Median age: 31 years old
Find additional information about Venezuela from The World Factbook/Venezuela
Specific prayer needs for Venezuela: Operation World/Venezuela
194 // Vietnam
Locate Vietnam on a world map or globe
Natural hazards: typhoons, flooding
Religion: 6% Catholic, 6% Buddhist, 86% none
Age of Population:
0-14 years old: 23.2%
15-64 years old: 68.5%
65 years and over: 8.3%
Median age: 33.1 years old
Find additional information about Vietnam from The World Factbook/Vietnam
Specific prayer needs for Vietnam: Operation World/Vietnam
195 // Yemen
Locate Yemen on a world map or globe
Natural hazards: sandstorms, dust storms
Religion: 99% Muslim
Age of Population:
0-14 years old: 34.4%
15-64 years old: 62.2%
65 years and over: 3.4%
Median age: 22 years old
Find additional information about Yemen from The World Factbook/Yemen
Specific prayer needs for Yemen: Operation World/Yemen
196 // Zambia
Locate Zambia on a world map or globe
Natural hazards: drought, tropical storms
Religion: 75% Protestant, 20% Roman Catholic, 18% Hindu, 5% Muslim
Age of Population:
0-14 years old: 42.1%
15-64 years old: 55.1%
65 years and over: 2.8%
Median age: 18.4 years old
Find additional information about Zambia from The World Factbook/Zambia
Specific prayer needs for Zambia: Operation World/Zambia
197 // Zimbabwe
Locate Zimbabwe on a world map or globe
Natural hazards: drought
Religion: 40% Apostolic sect, 17% Pentecostal, 14% Protestant, 6% Catholic, 8% none
Age of Population:
0-14 years old: 38.3%
15-64 years old: 57.8%
65 years and over: 3.9%
Median age: 21.2 years old
Find additional information about Zimbabwe from The World Factbook/Zimbabwe
Specific prayer needs for Tunisia: Operation World/Zimbabwe
Scripture to Pray for Countries of the World
In addition to praying for the specific government leaders, missionaries, aid organizations, and most importantly, that individual people in each country would accept the good news of Jesus Christ, you can use scripture to pray for the world.
Pray for all the earth to worship God…
The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him. All the families of the nations will bow down before him.
Psalm 22:27
All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name.
Psalm 86:9
I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
Acts 26:17-18
Pray for missionaries and Christians living in these countries to share their faith…
Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ.
Colossians 4:3
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 2:1-4
Additional Resources to Pray for Countries of the World
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If your kids develop a passion around praying specifically for unreached people groups, or simply learning more about the diverse people who share this planet, below are a few resources to consider.
Joshua Project: website focusing on the people groups who have the fewest numbers of Christians
Window on the World (younger kids) and Operation World (older kids to adult) books highlighting a variety of countries and people groups.
Praying for the World: Fun-Schooling Prayer and Research Journal
Psalms Prayers for the Nations: scripture-based prayers for missionaries, Bible translators, and people who need to hear the gospel.
World map and globe: help your kids visualize where the countries are located, especially in relation to where you live.
Scratch-off map: allows kids to scratch off the foil covering and track your prayer journey around the world
Visit my homeschool resources page for monthly unit study ideas, projects, and homeschool planning help!
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