Praying for Our Students All Year Long
“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:12)
As the school year begins, our children take up most of our prayer time. As time passes, sometimes the passion and enthusiasm fades. Do not let Satan distract you from the most important and vital thing we can give our students - prayers!
We have seen the effects of what praying can do in our children’s lives. Last month’s School Prayer Walk is just one example of how our community can come together to pray over our students and educators. Over 150 people from BHBC joined 14 other churches to cover 124 schools in prayer! How awesome!
Currently, there is a group of ladies – the God’s 100 prayer group - who meet weekly at Burnt Hickory to lift up our students and student ministry to the Lord. It began shortly after our students returned from an international mission trip to Kenya in 2018. During that trip, a group message was created to allow us moms whose children were over in Kenya to share pictures, prayers, and scriptures to encourage us all as we waited for them to return. We had an opportunity to meet at church to pray in person a few times during those two weeks. This started a fire in us to pray continuously for our students, even after the trip.
Now with our prayer group, we have the pleasure of praying scripture over them and stepping back and watching God move. We pray for all aspects of their lives - the peers they encounter, the music they listen to, shows they watch, social media, school, etc. Each week we walk in with no agenda, no plan, and allow the Holy Spirit to move and reveal to us what He wants us to pray for them. God brings scriptures to our minds and almost always He has laid the same topic on our hearts to pray about. It’s been quite an experience!
For example, we prayed for the college mission trip to India, and we feel the Lord answered every single request - travel mercies, safety on every level. Literally no harm came to the group - not one mosquito bite, injury, or illness! Many grew in their love and desire to follow the Lord with a more sincere heart. It was miraculous!
Here are some of our main requests to the Lord:
- That the students will know their worth In Jesus Christ, know that they are LOVED, that they are worthy of the Lord's BEST for their lives, and that the Lord can orchestrate their steps. (Matthew 17:20b).
- That the leaders of Burnt Hickory and our community will have the Lord's guidance, and His peace and strength.
- That students and leaders will lead by Godly example of lifting one another up with kindness, unity (including everyone), and love.
- That they will love one another and serve others.
- That students listen to music and watch programs that the Lord would not find offensive (1 Timothy 4:12).
- That many will turn away from temptation of all kinds!
- That they will do “everything without grumbling or arguing,so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain (Philippians 2:14-16).
- That the Lord will teach us all how to have less anxiety, and that He will show us how to takes steps to reduce anxiety (less phone time, less comparing ourselves to others, more exercise, don't use social media to gauge our success and decisions, etc.).
I will close with writing about how THANKFUL we are for our leaders, Barbara Clark and Lynda Poole, who have helped start this group. Barbara has a vision to see hundreds join, and that Burnt Hickory will lead our community as a house of prayer, for the Lord's glory alone. They help teach us and guide us as scripture says: “Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God" (Titus 2:14).
We hope you’ll join us in prayer as part of the God’s 100 prayer group. We encourage you to join us Sunday mornings at 9am or Sunday evenings at 5:30pm. You won’t be the same!
Jennifer McCollum
and Eve Latting
