Covering a Generation with Prayer

Editor’s Note: Sept. 14-20 is the annual Back to School Prayer Emphasis Week in the Assemblies of God.

As the school year begins, Assemblies of God adherents are asked to cover teachers, students, and schools in concentrated prayer.

In today’s culture, children and youth are navigating a society filled with temptation, sexual immorality, substance abuse, identity confusion, and many other forms of spiritual opposition, according to Joe Oden, national director of prayer and evangelism for the AG.

“In the hour in which we live, our kids more than ever before need the presence and empowerment of the Holy Spirit – and that comes on the precipice of prayer” Oden says.

Oden references the role of the Holy Spirit in the temptation of Jesus. Jesus was filled with the Spirit in baptism and then led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. If Jesus relied on the Holy Spirit to face the enemy, how much more should our children and youth?

Rick DuBose, assistant general superintendent for the AG agrees, adding, “Pray with and over your children as you send them into any and every place beyond your control. Your hands may no longer be on them, but your prayers can still determine their outcome.”

Oden references another pillar of prayer: preparation. “Before Jesus sent the disciples out to minister, before the apostles began preaching to the nations, they were sent to the upper room. It wasn’t just a prayer meeting, it was where the Holy Spirit prepared them for ministry.”

These themes of power, preparation, and the person of the Holy Spirit echo the Fellowship’s Pentecostal heritage, Oden continues. And these themes prove the covering that prayer provides.

Oden recalls observing the work of the Spirit in his own family’s life.

“When my daughter was in second grade, she was sent home with an assignment that incorporated elements in direct opposition to our faith,” he says. After following the Spirit’s guiding about how to respond, Oden and his wife stood their ground and called the school to take a stance against the assignment. “Not only did the school apologize, but there was never another incident of this nature,” he says.

“The cultural climate demands that our kids are discipled daily. They will either be discipled by media, peers, and influencers, or they will be discipled by parents or caregivers who usher them into the presence of the Spirit,” he explains.

The church also has a role to play. “Our churches must begin shifting away from rote prayers for the children and youth and start interceding until heaven’s burden falls,” says Oden.

Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, family members, pastors, and church members, are encouraged to commit to crying out to the Lord on behalf of the children and youth for this upcoming school year with the following prayer focuses:

• Students – Pray that our children and youth would walk in the power and the presence of the person of the Holy Spirit.

• Teachers – Pray for wisdom, patience, and the boldness to live out their faith in the workplace as an example of Jesus and His love to every child.

• Parents – Pray that parents would nurture environments in which discipleship thrives and under which children find spiritual covering.

• Schools – Pray for protection for students, teachers, and administrators as they walk through the halls, ride on busses, or gather together for community events.

• Revival – Pray that revival would sweep through the next generation and that their spirits would be ignited by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Finally, model a healthy prayer life for your children. Teach them how to fight spiritual battles on their knees and stand firm in their faith through the empowering of the Spirit.

Through prayer, families can equip and send the next army of spiritual giants into the world.