Raising Future Leaders Through Prayer
Our children are the future leaders of the next generation.
One of the most powerful gifts we can offer them is prayer. We pray to the Creator of the universe, knowing that the prayers of the righteous are powerful and effective. We are not righteous because of ourselves, but because we have been made the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Scripture Anchor: Psalm 144:1–15
Especially this promise:
“Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace.”
— Psalm 144:12
A few years ago, during the last couple of weeks of the school year, I prayed in the classroom before the day started, on behalf of the students, teachers, and staff, as well as my loved ones. The Holy Spirit guided me to Psalm 144.
It was a day of testing.
Some students froze and struggled to remember what they had learned. I understood that feeling very well.
Brain freeze.
Not the kind of brain freeze that comes from eating something cold too quickly, but the kind caused by trauma, stress, anxiety, or cognitive overload. Everything they have learned is still within them, but anxiety can overpower their ability to recall it in the moment.
I struggled with this when I returned to school. I believed I was incapable of learning. But when I began to understand that my struggle was connected to trauma, I felt relieved. I also felt hopeful that what had been wounded could be healed and redeemed through the grace of God, wise counsel, and therapy.
On this particular day, a student came into the classroom and began testing, but he froze.
I asked him, “Do you want me to pray?”
He looked at me like I was crazy, as students might say. I paused and reframed my words.
So I asked again, “Do you want me to pray that God would bring to remembrance everything you have learned?”
He smiled and said, “Yes.”
So I began to pray while he took his test, led by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit through Psalm 144.
That day, I began to understand the meaning of praying without ceasing.
When I stopped praying, he froze again. Then I remembered how the Israelites were winning the battle while Moses held up his hands in prayer. But when Moses grew tired and lowered his hands, the enemy began to prevail. Aaron and Hur came beside Moses and held up his hands until the battle was won.
The Holy Spirit was teaching me to hold this young man up through prayer. He was also showing me something deeply valuable:
God hears my prayers.
So I continued to pray until the young man finally looked up with a smile and said, “I’m finished!”
This young man had been in danger of not graduating. But when he walked across the stage to receive his diploma, he seemed to be the happiest one there. I believe his faith was renewed that day.
Mine was too.
At the beginning of the school year, this young man and his best friend walked into the classroom without much concern for their future. They fooled around on their phones and laughed with one another while the teacher kindly asked them to check their laptops and complete their assignments.
His best friend said he would not graduate that year. He believed he was too far behind.
But when I looked into his eyes, I saw a flicker of hope still sparkling. I remembered the words of Jesus:
“A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out.”
The Holy Spirit confirmed this to me through His Word: sow seeds of righteousness.
I also remembered my own struggles when I went back to school. One teacher said I had dyslexia. Later on, she discovered I was actually pretty smart, and she was very apologetic; I just froze during testing.
A note of wisdom: we should be careful not to diagnose someone solely based on an assumption. We can observe, support, encourage, and guide, but we should do so with humility and care.
Because of my own history with anxiety and negative self-talk, Jesus opened my eyes to see how toxic those words had become in my life. I had spoken death over myself without realizing it. But the Bible tells us that the tongue has the power of life and death. I chose life.
Every day became a day of resolve.
I had to train my mind to move away from its default patterns of fear, unbelief, and defeat. Every day, we make choices whether we realize it or not. Even not deciding is still a decision.
After I relinquished control to Jesus’ sovereignty, hope for my future began to bear fruit. By the power of His Spirit within me, I began to see His faithfulness in my life and in the lives of those around me.
I was amazed that I was actually attaining what I was learning.
It is true: we affect or infect the people around us.
Our attitudes can become contagious. Pessimism can drain life from others, even when we do not mean to. But we can also become refreshing springs. We can look at hardships as lessons. We can ask the Lord for a teachable Spirit instead of only asking, “Why me?”
I am in awe of how God uses certain people to strengthen me when I feel completely spent. Sometimes just knowing they are there refreshes me.
I finally concluded that I did not want to keep walking in the same old patterns. But change takes work. Healing takes surrender. Growth takes humility.
As students are taught life skills in our schools, we must also continue learning. We must remain open to God’s leadership.
The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years because they complained and refused to change their thinking, even after God delivered and blessed them.
Don’t we do the same?
I saw God’s goodness, but like the Israelites, I sometimes quickly forgot His faithfulness. I suffered consequences because of my sin of unbelief. I did not understand the magnitude of loss until I lost everything.
Before I started this job, I felt alone and without purpose.
Then I noticed this young man still had hope for his future, even if it was buried under discouragement. God had a purpose for me there. My part was not to do everything. I was only one link in the journey toward his graduation. Although a very small part, one link still matters.
On my daily journey, I have learned that every person God brings across my path is significant. They may be part of my growth, and I may be part of theirs. Sword sharpens sword. Every part matters!
Elizabeth means “an oath to God.”
I made an oath and a promise after the death of my son: I would spread awareness about the effects of mental health struggles. I would comfort others with the comfort God has given me.
After my son died, I lost faith and stopped praying for a time. But now I fight through prayer for his offspring, my other grandchildren, and for the children I serve at school.
I also shared with these young men that the second saddest day of my life was watching my friends graduate high school while I did not graduate with them. I told them regret is one of the hardest emotions to carry. We can take the easy way in the moment, but we may miss the joy of learning, growing, and finishing what God placed before us.
Ignorance is an enemy when we choose it instead of seeking knowledge, wisdom, and understanding from the LORD our God.
They already knew the worst day of my life was losing my son. They also knew the only way I could keep moving forward without him was through the hope that I would see him again. That hope is the cord that keeps me moving forward: the God of Hope, who has given us everlasting life through Christ Jesus, His Son.
On the last day of school, the young man who had seen that glimmer of hope came into the classroom to say goodbye.
I could not hold back my tears when he hugged me. Then he said,
“We did it!”
This young man was graduating from high school. He did it when he started doing his work. He did it when he asked his teachers for help, and he did it when he chose to fight for his future. I am just an encourager, a listener, a helper—a prayer warrior.
I cried tears of joy for him and for his best friend, too, because they fought for their future and persevered. For me, I felt like I kept my promise to my son. Today, I continue to honor his legacy by raising awareness and doing my part in the students’ journey.
To God be the glory.
Closing Reflection
Prayer matters.
Encouragement matters.
One adult noticing hope in a student’s eyes matters.
We may think we are only one small link in someone’s story, but in the hands of God, one faithful link can help hold up a future.
Our children are not forgotten. Our students are not hopeless, and
God hears our prayers. He is the Giver of all good things.
May our sons in their youth be like well-nurtured plants.
May our daughters be like pillars carved to adorn a palace.
May there be no cry of distress in our streets.
Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.
Prayer of Repentance and Surrender
Father God,
Forgive us for the times we have complained more than we prayed. Forgive us for the times we gave up on children, students, or loved ones because their struggle looked too difficult.
Forgive us for speaking words of death over ourselves or others. Forgive us for unbelief, discouragement, impatience, and fear.
Lord, cleanse our hearts and make us faithful servants. Teach us to pray without ceasing. Teach us to hold up the weary through prayer, encouragement, wisdom, and Love.
Bless our children and students. Strengthen their minds, guard their hearts, and remind them of what they have learned. When fear causes them to freeze, bring truth back to remembrance. When they feel hopeless, send someone to notice the flicker of hope still burning.
Make us faithful links in the journey of those You place before us.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria