Pray in our schools

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Colossians 4:2

I believe we have taken the idea of prayer in school to be a verbal prayer that is made before a large group of people or maybe a teacher’s opportunity to pray in front of his/her class. We have heard the argument for and against prayer in our schools for a very long time, and with the recent horrible events in Parkland, FL the calls for "Prayer in school" is heard daily. We should probably end the argument for "Prayer in school" and begin to quietly, "Pray in our schools".  I believe the constant, quiet prayers of a teacher, administrator, or student will be heard and rewarded by our Heavenly Father.  We will begin to see the changes our country needs to happen in our homes, communities, and schools. Throughout the bible we are given examples of how we are instructed to pray, or not to pray. In Mark 6:5 we are told to "not pray like the hypocrites who love to pray where they will be seen and heard on the streets". In Matthew 14:23 we read about Jesus going onto the mountain to be alone and pray. And in Mark 1:35, we see where Jesus went away to a solitary place to pray. Jesus, the only Son of God, knew the importance of quietly praying in a solitary place. 

I believe, if people of faith, will follow the example given to us by Jesus we will change our schools. As I enter my school building each day I can, in the solitude of my mind, pray for the young men I will be with during football workouts. I can walk through the locker room as they prepare to go to class and pray for each of the young men. I can walk through the halls between classes and say a quick prayer for the students and teachers, even if I do not know their name. I can take the first few minutes of each class period and pray for the diverse group of children who I will spend the next hour teaching. When the final bell of the day would ring, and the students would leave for the day, I will have prayed for possibly one thousand people. The prayers may have only occurred within my mind but God will hear each one, and He definitely knows each name. Each of us, whether we work in a school or not, can pray in our schools.  We all have attended a school, have a school in our community, have children who attend a school, or simply drive by a school on our way to work.  If all Christians will begin to pray for the administrators, teachers and most importantly, the children in our schools, I believe God will hear our quiet prayers and He will change many lives for eternity while others will still be fighting for an opportunity to loudly pray for others to hear.

Chad