Henry County Schools Prayer Gathering

As schools begin to open this week, it is important to reflect on the need for prayer for students, teachers and parents. On August 1, I attended a prayer gathering organized by Pastor Shawn Golden of Campbellsburg Baptist Church. Several dozen Christians gathered at the steps of the Henry County High School and divided into teams to pray at individual schools throughout the county. Pastors, teachers, students and concerned people alike prayed for everything from God's wisdom for teachers to deliverance from the temptations that face children in public schools.

Children need our prayers. Not simply prayer for help in school or protection. Children need our prayers of encouragement and a bold faith in Christ. We need not ship our children to school expecting them to keep clean and perform well in class. Faith is to be bold, a love for God with all our being at the expense of ourselves. When loving Christ is unpopular, will your child love Christ?

Temptations surround children in our culture today in ways that years ago were avoidable. From advertisements to clothing trends to lyrics of popular music, children face a continuous barrage of images and words to replace a joy in Christ with a temporal happiness (and oftentimes depression) in our own pleasures. Such a life breeds corruption in the lives of these children (Galatians 6:8).

We need to pray, but our children need more than prayer. Make certain you live a life glorifying to God. Teach your children what faith looks like. Preach sound doctrine in your home. Confront issues relating to culture and in school with the Scripture. Christ must be more than a Sunday tradition to us and our children. He must not be dwindled to witty t-shirts or a happy feeling. Christ must be everything to us at the cost of ourselves (Galatians 2:20).

So, let us pray! For the incoming students, for faithful teachers, and for parents who fear the Lord. Let us not cease in praying for them. May the God of wisdom bless them this upcoming school year.