(This is way number four in the blog series The Top Ten Ways to Spiritually Prepare Your College Freshman for Campus.)
Pray for them. Strategically. Seriously. Scripturally. Intentionally. Intelligently. And with other moms.*
And yes, while you can do it alone, while you can do it informally with other moms, I strongly encourage you to do it in a Moms in Prayer group. My sixteen years of participation and leadership in this ministry has been a life changer. I’d love to see you start or join a group, but whatever you do, pray!
I wasn’t even a mom yet when I first heard about Moms in Prayer on the radio. I filed that idea away in my mind thinking, “one day, when I’m a mom, I want to do that.” Fast forward to the year my first child entered public kindergarten; I sought out Moms in Prayer training in order to start a group for our school. Seventeen years later, with two college boys of my own, I now equip and encourage moms to pray through the college years as the College Groups Facilitator for this life-changing ministry.
Here are three main reasons to pray for your college student, especially in a Moms in Prayer group:
For yourself—one of the best ways to spiritually prepare your child for campus is to spiritually prepare yourself. It’s like the oxygen mask on the airplane–put it on yourself first. By praying for your child, you will:
○ reduce your anxiety about their college experience
○ experience the wisdom and Holy-Spirit-led prayers of other moms that will minister to your soul and your mind
○ experience peace
○ grow in your knowledge and understanding of God’s attributes which develops your trust in him despite circumstances
○ learn to pray less self-centered and more God-centered prayers
○ be connected with a legacy of praying moms throughout the centuries and across the world
○ stay connected with your college child when you ask how you can pray for him/her, and
○ revolutionize your personal prayer life, and more.
It truly is a way to “go to school” with them when your physical presence cannot.
For your child—your child will:
○ observe the importance of intercessory prayer intercession in your life and hopefully desire to do the same one day
○ be affected for eternity
○ walk in an atmosphere of prayer and experience God’s answers now and in the future
○ be encouraged that there are prayer warriors on his side and for her campus at large
○ see and experience prayers answered, which increases his trust in God
As you pray for the campus ministries, local college churches, professors, departments, and campus issues, you are also releasing the power of God’s word over the facets of their college life.
For the campus and the future culture–The college campus is the epicenter of thought training in America. Our future leaders in every arena of society come out of the universities. The battle for our children’s minds and souls is intense, and our campus classrooms largely reject the Christian worldview. We must do battle in the spiritual to help affect change in the natural. (See Exodus 17:8-13) There is a rich history of the way Christian students on campus affected great movements in the world and were the vessels for birthing revival and spiritual awakening that changed our society. The campus can be that place again and the prayers of moms can help birth it again as they have in the past. We must pray for our students, the professors, and their campuses. We pray, as the Collegiate Day of Prayer website points out, in light of the way churches used to pray believing “… that the direction of their churches and that of the whole nation would soon follow the spiritual bent and character of America’s college students—as the students go, so goes the nation.” It has been widely documented that every great movement of God on the college campus (historically) was preceded by a great outpouring of prayer. “
“The campus has more influence on the direction, morality, and overall fabric of society than any institution on earth. Will the campus be a starting point in a spiritual awakening that will shake the earth? The answer is a resounding yes.” Rice Broocks, evangelist, campus ministry, author of the book God’s Not Dead
“The University Campus holds such a pivotal position in our world, it has become a battleground of immense proportions. Satan knows its strategic importance. The church must not surrender this territory over to the enemy.” Mike Armstrong, Christ on Campus
Starting or joining a Moms in Prayer group is very doable. Just go to the website and click to get connected. Joining a group will change you, your students, and your campuses. And if you don’t believe me, believe the moms who pray and have posted their testimonies on our College Praying Moms Facebook page:
“Prayer is the best weapon against what the world is pouring into them. Prayer works! My son returned to the Lord his freshman year and now leads bible studies on campus. Never give up praying for your children.” Christine
“My college moms in prayer group helps me battle in prayer…and college is a whole different war zone!” Kathryn
“Pray for them now because it keeps you more connected as a parent to the joys and challenges of their lives in this season of becoming more independent from you. Pray for your college-aged children because it is your primary means of connecting to God’s power and ultimately seeing Him at work in their lives–He alone can transform and mature and perfect them.” Lisa
And Karen summarizes it well: “In Isaiah 6:8 it says, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” Who will go and continue to pray for our college students and post graduate children? I have committed myself to the Lord to keep on praying, will you?”
Will you?
I will.
* While I neither discount nor discourage dads from praying for their college students, I am addressing moms and grandmas in this post particularly because of the ministry of Moms in Prayer which is structured for women and for the value of this type of corporate prayer format the groups follow. Couples should pray. Churches should pray as well. They can use the Moms in Prayer format if they wish, but Moms in Prayer groups are strictly for women.
Julie Loos is a writer and speaker with a passion for prayer for college campuses and apologetics training for our youth. She is currently the Director of Prayer at Mama Bear Apologetics and was a contributing author for our first book. Julie is in her eighteenth year of leadership with Moms in Prayer International, and she worked for five years on the national staff for the campus apologetics ministry Ratio Christi.
