Elisa is in 2nd grade, and she was really looking forward to participating in
the "See You at the Pole" event at her school. She ended up being disappointed
because her principal had made a rule making this event for 6th grade - 8th
grade only. Elisa began to pray about it and asked God to show her what she was
supposed to do. She felt strongly that kids should be able to pray, and age or
grade shouldn't matter!
One night, about 3 weeks ago, while I was tucking Elisa into bed for the night,
she said "Mommy, I started a Kids prayer group at school today." I was very
surprised at that moment, because it came totally out of the blue. I asked her
to tell me more about it. She told me that she asked two of her friends, a boy
and a girl, if they'd like to pray with her for 15 min. every day, out on the
playground during lunch. Well, both kids said yes.
Elisa said that God told her that He wanted her to get permission from the 2nd
grade teachers and the school principal before they started praying. God also
wanted this to be a group of kids. So, these 3 kids asked both 2nd grade
teachers and the teachers said yes. The kids asked the two teachers if they had
any prayer requests...the teachers gave them a few things to pray about. Then
these 3 kids went to the principal's office. Elisa proposed their plan and asked
him if it would be okay....he said yes. (His mouth dropped open)
Elisa and her 2 friends told all the kids (Kindergarten-2nd graders, 5-8 year
olds) what they were going to do and asked all of them if they'd like to join.
They decided to pray for 15 minutes during lunch recess on M/W/ and F, to begin
with and they'd add days and time later. They're in their 3rd week of praying.
They've had between 11-15 kids who pray, and they've been consistently praying
on M/W/F on the playground during recess. (Recess is 30 minutes) They've even
come up with a name to identify their group; they call themselves "Kids in God's
Hands." This past Monday, it rained. What Elisa told me happened next is truly
AWESOME!
There were 11 kids who wanted to pray on Monday. They wanted to be in a quiet
place. So, they went to the front office at the school. They asked the staff if
they could pray in there. The staff said yes and asked if they could join them.
So, 5 (out of 7) adults joined the 11 kids that day, on the floor, holding hands
and praying. One of the adults was the principal! A staff member made a sign for
the office door that read: "Praying in Progress." When the praying had ended,
the principal asked Elisa if it would be all right if he joined them again
sometime. She said yes, anytime! Today, was another day of prayer. The principal
joined the 11 kids, along with two playground supervisors, in prayer.
God is moving in a mighty way! He has moved through Elisa in many ways. She
started a kids prayer ministry at our church that meets between services in a
hallway. The prayer group at church is called "Kids P.U.S.H." (Kids Pray Until
Something Happens) and it's for 2nd-5th graders. In June, Elisa will go on a
Missions Trip to Haiti (without Mom or Dad) with a Medical Team from our church.
This was something she prayed about and asked God if it would be "OKAY."...God
said "YES!"
By the way, Elisa turned 8 this year. She goes to a public school, John Adams
Elementary, and it's the Laboratory school of our State University.
Author unknown. If anyone has a proprietary interest in this story please
authenticate and I will be happy to credit, or remove, as the circumstances
dictate.
Thanks to The Story of Encouragement
PBN-on@mail-list.com
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
messages. HTML and plain text versions available.
The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.