Child Starting School? Use Son-screen

How can summer be screeching to a close? Didn’t we just stock up on sunscreen, bug spray, sidewalk chalk, water balloons, and popsicles?

Now it’s time for Back-to-School shopping with the excitement of seeing school friends. Then there’s those things that aren’t as much fun, like long nights of homework and adjusting to new schedules and teaching styles.

Do worries for your child creep in

• Will my child find a Christian friend?
• Will his/her teacher be a good fit?
• Will my son or daughter be bullied?
• Will my special-needs child find what’s required in his or her classes?
• Will my family’s finances cover school activities?
• Will my student have the strength to stand up for our beliefs when school curriculum teaches something different?

At the start of a new school year, it is always fun for moms to come back together and hear about summer activities, who has which teacher, or which sports our kids have chosen. But most importantly, we can speak to all those concerns we have about our children in a Moms in Prayer (MIP) group.

A mom from my group said it’s like putting sunscreen on our kids when we gather and pray for them! And we can rest in knowing that Jesus is also praying, “Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” Romans 8:34

As praying moms, we have an opportunity and a privilege to slather our kids with “Son-screen!” When we use the Four Steps of Prayer and pray scripture in agreement for our children, we are speaking God’s will and purpose over their lives—covering them with His shade and His shield.

1. Praise—Through my years in MIP, I’ve learned so much about God by using Bible verses to praise Him. The prayer sheets on the website have helped me memorize scriptures about His attributes, giving me a bigger picture of who He is and more reasons to love and praise Him!

2. Silent Confession—This time allows me to come to God with the sin that weighs heavy on my heart, agree that it is sin, repent, and know that my requests to follow will come from a clean heart.

3. Thanksgiving—This is the time to celebrate all the wonderful ways God has answered prayers our group has prayed together.

4. Intercession—This is where we apply the “Son-screen.” We pray a scripture prayer over our children; God’s word and will, which are our most powerful prayers. We follow these with specific requests, then another mom agrees and adds her own words as led by the Holy Spirit. We also pray for the schools, teachers, and finally, for Moms in Prayer.

Our prayers are confidential—each prayer sheet ends with “What’s prayed in the group, stays in the group.” MIP is a safe place for vulnerable hearts to pour out their pain.

Do you know a mom who has a list of concerns for her child as school starts back?

Have you prayed in a group before, but taken a break for a while?

Now is a great time to invite a Christian friend to pray with you or to renew your own commitment to pray for your children and schools.

Even though summer is on the downhill slide, it’s the perfect time to pull out the “Son-screen.”

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Celia and family camping by the Chugach Mountains at midnight in June

Celia Koelsch lives in Anchorage, Alaska with her husband of 31 years, Andy, her son Wayne, a recent graduate of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and her daughter Anita, a junior at UAF. She grew up in Tennessee milking cows on the family dairy farm. Her family enjoys the beautiful state of Alaska through fishing, sightseeing outings, riverbank cookouts, and camping trips in their small airplanes. Andy is a retired aircraft mechanic and he and Wayne are both recreational pilots. Along with serving as the Alaska Group Information Assistant for Moms in Prayer, Celia leads an online group and an in-person church-based group, teaches Sunday school and helps with music at her church, and serves as Assistant Children’s Supervisor for her Bible Study Fellowship class. She enjoys needlework, gardening, and reading.